C-Class becomes even classier

Not many people, including a great many South Africans, seemed to know that for the last ten years the C-Class has been rolling off the production line in East London, with the current C-Class being part of the third vehicle generation built in the Eastern Cape.

Fuel consumption and emissions have been lowered, new engines have been added and improvements have also been made to sharpen the 7G-Tronic plus automatic transmission, an ECO stop/start function has been added, and driver aids such as Attention Assist and Distronic Plus are now also available, along with clever telematics that include internet access and a 3D navigation display.

In terms of fresh make-up the sharpened pencils created subtle changes to the front bumper contours, radiator grille, air intakes, new front and rear light clusters to give the upgraded (or new-generation, in Merc-speak), C-Class range a slicker, more road-hugging appearance.

Classy, comfortable - and conservative

Merc cabins are generally very comfortable and classy; quite predictable and instantly recognisable by anyone who has travelled in C-Class Mercs during the past five years; smart, but a little conservative by general consensus.

Now the dashboard shows off with a completely new look, thanks to added trim, smarter controls and a fancy new central display unit. As always, C-Class comes in the two specifications, Avantgarde and
Elegance which distinguishes between a three-spoke or four-spoke steering wheels with multiple adjustments and also by the brown ash wood or burr walnut wood trim in the Elegance models, to the brushed aluminium and high-gloss black ash wood trim in the AvantGarde models.

Impressively, in spite of its added grunt, the C350 sips just 7.0-litres per 100km which Merc says is 3.3 litres (29%) less than the preceding model.

All told, more than 2 000 new components have been added to the new range because keeping the C-Class looking pretty and appealing to the market is vitally important to the German car maker because it is by far its biggest seller and way ahead on the sales charts of everything else in its segment since 2008.

With a range of 13 models it is impossible to go into details of each model so I will single out the C350 model I drove on pot-holed stretches of neglected tar between East London and Stutterheim when the upgraded C Class vehicles were introduced to the motoring media.

More muscle

The addition of this model's new direct injection V6 petrol engine is probably the most exciting thing to happen to the upgraded C-Class. Power has been bumped up significantly to 225kW and 370Nm (from 200kW and 350Nm) which gives it so much muscle it feels as fast as Germany's high-speed ICE intercity train.

Because of a delay in the day's events my driving partner and I had to push quite hard on the way back to East London Airport, thankfully most of it on the motorway, and the flagship was unflappable, even at go-to-jail pace.

The steering, which in the standard C-Class cars has never felt quite as sharp as that of the Beemers, seemed to have improved.

The steering, which in the standard C-Class cars has never felt quite as sharp as that of the Beemers, seemed to have improved, although Mercedes made no prominent mention of it in its media releases, so perhaps the weight of the engine and the suspension have been better balanced because the car felt really good on the road.... like the ICE trains, on rails.

Bright lights - in both senses of the word

The C350, which wears a R520 000 price tag, comes standard with features such as Intelligent Lights, Comfort Control, Automatic headlamp assist, Attention Assist, Speed control with Speedtronic and a 7G-Tronic plus automatic transmission (and Formula One flappies on the steering wheel).

Our test vehicle was dressed with an R56 300 Avantgarde basket of optional fancy features including metallic silver paint (R2 500), Climatised front seats (R12 800), sunroof (R10 000), Media interface (R3200) and the AMG Sports Package (R28 200).

Impressively, in spite of its added grunt, the C350 sips just 7.0-litres per 100km which Merc says is 3.3 litres (29%) less than the preceding model.

Now the dashboard shows off with a completely new look, thanks to added trim, smarter controls and a fancy new central display unit.

Mercedes also claims excellent figures for its most economical model, the C 200 CDI BlueEfficiency with the 7G-Tronic Plus automatic transmission and standard-specification ECO start/stop function of only 4.9 litres per 100km and emissions of just 131 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

Quite chuffed - and it oozes class

While Mercedes-Benz is clearly quite chuffed with all the new safety features and driving aids for its new range, they also made much of their new telematics generation which they say is simple to operate and has features such as a larger display, phone book transfer, display of SMS messages, wireless music reproduction via Bluetooth and a USB interface.

Popular features of its multimedia system Command are expected to be weather information, a special destination search via Google, as well as the option of downloading a route that has been previously configured on a PC using Google Maps and sent to the car.

Fuel consumption and emissions have been lowered, new engines have been added and, amongst others, improvements have also been made to sharpen the 7G-Tronic plus automatic transmission.click to enlarge

Overall, the new C-Class Merc oozes class and its executive looks, sublime ride, effortless performance, high safety standards and switched-on technology offer the kind of closeted comfort and peace of mind one has come to expect from this executive saloon.

But it's not only a round of applause and back pats for the clever chaps back in Germany because the new generation C-Class is also a feather in the cap of the East London plant where these cars are produced with so much sharp focus on quality and detail.

One for East London

Not many people, including a great many South Africans, seemed to know that for the last ten years the C-Class has been rolling off the production line in East London, with the current C-Class being part of the third vehicle generation built in the Eastern Cape.

Of the more than 100 000 locally-manufactured Mercs, many left-hand drive vehicles for the USA have also been made locally.

Choosing between executive options such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Lexus and others of the snootier echelons very much depends on the wallet thickness, personal taste and individual requirements, but it's not a choice that should ever be made without a good, hard look at the upgraded wearers of the three-pointed star badge.

And yes, home work and comparative studies are essential. Mercedes cars have always been expensive and the upgraded range consisting of 7 sedans and 6 estate models range in price from R359 000 to R520 000.It stands to reason that the models vary in specification, trim, performance, engines and looks - and, just to add to the confusion of a first-time Merc buyer, the attractive, but expensive, list of options is also long.

Below is a quick breakdown of key power and consumption figures for the range:


(BE = BlueEFFICIENCY, *figures for manual transmission, automatic transmission in brackets; **figures for automatic transmission).

The new C-Class comes standard with a six-year/120 000km maintenance plan and a full unlimited kilometre warranty.

The models and prices are:
C 180 BlueEFFICIENCY R359 000
C 200 BlueEFFICIENCY R379 000
C 200 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY R380 000
C 250 BlueEFFICIENCY R469 000
C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY R470 000
C 350 BlueEFFICIENCY R520 000
C 350 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY R520 000

The C-Class Estate models are:
C 180 T BlueEFFICIENCY R368 000
C 200 T BlueEFFICIENCY R388 100
C 200 CDI T BlueEFFICIENCY R389 300
C 250 T BlueEFFICIENCY R478 600
C 250 T CDI BlueEFFICIENCY R479 600
C 350 T BlueEFFICIENCY R530 000

Specifications

Technical specifications

MERCEDES CLASS C350 car review


Mercedes-Benz C 350 - Testdrive