Mercedes-Benz C-Class | Video Review | CarsIreland.ie

Published on 15 May, 2018

Refined, elegant and one of the more generously equipped models in this segment - Mercedes-Benz C-Class still has plenty to offer in the deadly battle of the German saloons.

Overview

Overview

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a handsome, premium German saloon that is rarely mentioned in a sentence without reference to its handsome, premium German rivals – namely the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A4.

This very posh trio divides the junior executive market in the same way the Volkswagen Golf scraps with the Ford Focus and the Opel Astra only this one is more of a white collar boxing match.

Interior Gallery

It has the same boot capacity as both of those rivals at 480 litres. There's not much in it in terms of cabin space either, with generous legroom for rear seat passengers. Headroom does suffer ever so slightly due to the sloping roofline, although that will only the tallest of passengers.

The children who are more likely to be back there will be perfectly fine, and no doubt pleased  with the novelty of a pull down centre armrest complete with cupholders.

The front of the cabin is beautifully laid out. Everything looks and feels as luxurious as you would expect from a Mercedes and a splash of piano black trim has managed to bring it up to date without losing the timeless elegance it's famous for. One minor gripe is the positioning of the touchscreen, which floats above the dash rather awkwardly and makes it feel like a bit of an afterthought. It also lacks the wow-factor of its BMW and Audi rivals here in terms of both graphics and execution.

In its favour, it is a very straightforward system to use and comes with some very handy features as standard like SatNav, a reversing camera and Bluetooth phone integration.

Other standard features in the C-Class include a leather multi-function steering wheel, heated leather seats, an interior light package, and keyless go.

There's also the option of an AMG line styling package which gives it the look of the high-performance AMG model without the full AMG pricetag (or running costs).

The car we had on test was the C200d, a 1.6l 136hp  diesel with impressively low running costs. The claimed fuel economy of about 4.2 litres per 100km and annual motortax bill of €200 make it a tempting and sensible option, although it's not particularly fast with a 0-100km time of just over 10 seconds and it can get a little bit noisy when pushed.

This is in stark contrast to an otherwise serene cabin and the overall experience behind the wheel of a C-Class is a very refined one. It’s extremely comfortable, with an effortlessly smooth power uptake from the automatic transmission, and the body control is excellent. It holds itself really well around corners and the sharp, responsive steering makes for good fun on a windy road.

The sports suspension on the AMG line adds to this further, although it can get just a bit fidgety over poorer road surfaces and ramps around the city where you really do need to slow down to a crawl.

There are a few more powerful diesel options in the 220 and 250d, as well as a hybrid, a plug-in Hybrid and a wide selection of petrols including the famous high performance AMG range.

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class remains a well-executed machine and one of the more generously equipped models in the class when it comes to standard kit. This along with the recent price restructure make it a more tempting option than ever.

Facts & Figures

Sinead McCann

Sinéad is our resident car tester who has the unenviable (-ok, slightly enviable) task of reviewing all the latest new cars to hit the market. You can follow her on Twitter @smcani and on Instagram @whatshedrives