Mercedes-Benz C250 2014 Review

Between the new structure and engines, the gorgeous styling inside and out, and the upgrades to technology and safety, Mercedes-Benz is making a bold attempt to package similar levels of luxury and features in the C-Class as you'll find in the E-Class and S-Class.

DESIGN / STYLING

At a glance, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class is beautiful. Look closer, and that perception deepens. From the aggressive but not angry face to the sculpted hood and sides, over the architecturally arched roofline into the taut, balanced tail, the exterior of the new C-Class is S-Class in miniature, feeling every bit as elegant as the brand's flagship-just more compact.

Inside, the theme continues, with Mercedes' new round-vent and waterfall-console themes executed in materials that range from satisfying to truly impressive. Even in models closer to base specification-where rubbered plastics and piano-black finishes meet MB Tex synthetic upholstery, the sense of quality and careful design shine through; outfitted with a full leather interior and wood or aluminum trim, the C-Class's cabin truly rises into the premium ranks, despite its mainstream size.

Space is nearly as abundant as style, too, with the C-Class growing slightly this time around, up 9.4cm in length, 7.6cm in wheelbase and 4.1 cm in width. The most noticeable improvement is in the rear seat's leg room, which, while still a close fit for those over 1.8 metres, can hold even rather tall adults in comfort, without splayed legs or heads rubbing headliners. The front row offers plenty of space for the larger adult, as well as ample adjustability for drivers of nearly any proportions, thanks to a multi-adjustable seat and power-adjust tilt/telescoping steering wheel.

SUSPENSION

Underpinning all of this is an Airmatic suspension that combines a clever progressive-rate air spring system controlled by adjustable-rate hydraulic dampers. It marries the comfort and ease you want in a luxury sedan with the body control and minimal lean of a sport sedan.

Even in its sharpest Sport+ mode, however, the Airmatic system is not tuned for edgy performance-but that just leaves room for the next C-Class AMG, which is due to arrive in less than a year.

SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY

As much as the exterior and interior of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class speaks of a new level of luxury and design, the technology hidden just beneath the surface-and especially the safety-oriented aspects of that tech-truly move the C-Class on par with its larger stablemates, the E-Class and S-Class.

Mercedes' Intelligent Drive suite of safety gear, including Distronic Plus radar adaptive cruise control and steering assist, a stereo-camera-based lane-keeping assist function, and BAS Plus brake assist with cross-traffic function, matches features found on Mercedes' more expensive models. On top of these features, available safety extras include Active Parking Assist, which automates parking in parallel or perpendicular spaces; a 360-degree camera that provides views from several points around the vehicle as well as a top-down bird's eye view that we found to be remarkably detailed and accurate; and Traffic Sign Assist with Wrong-Way Alert, a system that reads speed limit, no-passing, no-entry, and other road signs and relays the information to the driver.

Also new to the C-Class is a head-up display, which can display a range of information, including navigation directions, speed, RPMs, gear selection, and more.

The COMAND infotainment system also receives some upgrades, coming with a standard 7-inch display (or an optional 8.4-inch display with the Multimedia package); Mercedes' mbrace2 app suite; and a new touch-sensitive pad controller hovering over the traditional COMAND dial control.

This last feature, the touchpad, allows gestural input, including swipes, pinch-zoom, taps, and more. While it's a more intuitive way to interact with the screen than the dial-controlled method of older COMAND systems, we found it to offer a bit of a learning curve at first.

Minor interface gripes aside, the 2014 C-Class offers several other features of note to the technophile-especially the audiophile. An available Burmester sound system turns the cabin into a listening studio, delivering clear and precise representations of your music, whether it's from the CD player, radio, or piped over Bluetooth from your mobile device.

The base stereo system uses Mercedes' Frontbass system, which puts subwoofers under the front passengers' footwell, as well as using the spaces within the side cross-member and body structure as resonance chambers for other speakers. For the olfactory enthusiast, Mercedes-Benz even offers the scent-dispersing air freshener system housed in the glove box-another feature drawn down from the S-Class-in the new C.

ENGINES

The range will launch with the C250's 155kW/350Nm four-cylinder turbo petrol, to be lated joined by the C250 Bluetec's 150kW/500Nm turbodiesel, the C300 Bluetec's 170kW/760Nm diesel-hybrid and the C400's 245kW/480Nm turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol – all mated to seven-speed dual-clutch automatics.

DRIVING

We found the C400's turbo V6 a fun and willing companion in hustling the C-Class at a brisk pace. The seven-speed automatic transmission, with or without use of the steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, handles the shifts with precision and quickness, though when the pace slackened a bit, we did notice a few rough shifts-perhaps issues for the software still to work out before the car's retail sales launch this fall. We didn't get to sample the C300 but the same engine detuned for the C250 still feels peppy.

When the suspension is set to its most aggressive mode, the 2014 C-Class is engaging and fun to drive through a winding canyon pass, but it doesn't exhibit the sharper edges of a true sport sedan.

Like most modern luxury sedans, the 2014 C-Class uses electric-assist power steering. Like most electric-assist power steering, the driver's feel for the behaviour of the front wheels' contact patches is somewhat muted, but the steering rack's variable ratio is spot-on, ramping up steering rate in a progressive and predictable manner.

In 4Matic all-wheel drive models, the extra tractive power sent to the front wheels, along with a little more weight on the nose in V6 form, serves to further reduce steering feel, but the rear-drive four-cylinder model's steering is noticeably lighter and more communicative.

While the smaller price tag means the sumptuous and even decadent feel of the larger sedans is muted in the C-Class, the sense the owner will get is one of unity: moving up the range is not so much about upgrading to greater technical capability, but to larger, more powerful, more exclusive vehicles.

VERDICT

Spending time in the 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class is to experience a bending in reality, powering along in a car that feels like it's worth twice its likely price tag. But it's a good bend, and one we'd like to see other luxury brands make with their smaller cars.

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Mercedes-Benz C250
Price: from $68,000 (estimated)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol, 155kW/350Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic, RWD
Thirst: 5.3L/100km 

Mercedes-Benz C250 Bluetec
Price: from $70,000 (estimated)
Engine: 2.1-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel, 150kW/500Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic, RWD
Thirst: 6.6L/100km

Mercedes-Benz C300 Bluetec
Price: from $80,000 (estimated)
Engine: 2.1-litre four-cylinder diesel/electric, 150kW/20kW 500Nm/260Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic, RWD
Thirst: 3.6L/100km

Mercedes-Benz C400
Price: from $90,000 (estimated)
Engine: 3.0-litre turbo V6 petrol, 245kW/480Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic
Thirst: 8.0L/100km