UPPER CLASS

A classy little number, Mercedes-Benz step-up a gear with their new C-Class. Paddy Comyn reports

When Mercedes-Benz were developing their new C-Class they had to decide whether to make a traditional-looking car that would appeal to the many faithful owners who like the elegance of the three-pointed star, or bow to pressure from a younger audience who were largely ignoring the C-Class because it came with a rather staid image.

THIRD GENERATION

So like any shrewd company would in a situation like this, they made both. The third-generation C-Class comes with the choice of two fronts – a more classic, retrained look on the Classic and Elegance spec models, and on the Avantgarde models you get a big badge in the middle of the grille.

ULTRA MODERN

There is a choice of five petrol and three diesel engines in the model line-up and the first driven by Irish Entrepreneur was the 170hp 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel model, the C220 CDI Avant-garde, fitted with automatic transmission and a pretty AMG bodykit.

The C-Class looks much more impressive in the metal than before and in the Avantgarde spec, with the optional AMG styling kit (€3,905) it is now a car that demands attention like never before. The differentiation between the grilles is a clever marketing ploy and from public reaction to our test car it is likely to attract the younger audience away from the now ubiquitous BMW 3-Series.

With our car having younger, sportier intentions the cabin is dark and tinged with aluminium detailing. Quality has been a bit of an issue for Mercedes-Benz over the last few years and while some areas feel better, the black plastics feel downmarket in places and the roof headlining and boot lid in particular were areas that felt like they should not belong on a €63,000+ car.

SURPRISINGLY SILENT

But as soon as you move off, the time that Mercedes-Benz so famously spent testing this car seems to have paid off as it is incredibly quiet, whisper quiet in fact and this remember was powered by a four-pot diesel.

This car came with automatic transmission, which meant paddles behind the wheel as well as the usual gearlever method of changing gear. You can use the transmission as a regular automatic or shift the gears yourself.

CONNECTED

The new car feels much more well sorted dynamically than before and you feel much more connected to what is going on than before too. And merged with the incredibly frugal 2.2-litre diesel this is a very nice package.

The difficulty in choosing this car might, for some be the high price tag compared to the likes of the cheapest Audi A4’s or BMW 3-Series, but the new car does feel like a very different car than before and while the quality could be better in places, this is definitely a car that has the ability to loosen BMW’s grip of the small executive segment.

Published in the October 2007 Issue of Irish Entrepreneur