Mercedes-Benz C-Class 2007 Review

Those buyers will confirm that this is a very impressive compact sedan that now drives on a different road to its rivals at BMW and Audi. In fact, it doesn't even follow the same path as its highly successful though rather uninspiring predecessor.

Now the C-Class has muscle for performance, handling that comes up to the hurdle set by BMW, quality to match Audi and yet it also manages to go on its own way by being refreshingly uncomplicated.

Compared with its main German rivals, the C-Class — available here in July — has lighter steering feel but morphs quickly into a taut, precise machine through the corners.

The ride is plush and compliant for general driving, though body roll is tightly controlled.

On a sunny day in Spain last week, only the C350 petrol and C320 diesel were on offer for a drive. Impressive as the V6 350 is, it falls in the shadow of the diesel. Mated to a seven-speed automatic, the diesel pumps out an impressive 510Nm of torque to wonderful effect.

Like a locomotive that has lost its rails, the diesel's mid-range delivery is so strong that the gearbox is often reluctant to downchange. All this and a 0-100km/h time of 7.7sec and 9.1-litres/100km when driven hard.

And just to add to the experience, it remained rock solid on the Spanish roads and allowed for quiet conversation between occupants at speeds of 200km/h.

Mercedes states this new model is "destined to take the lead in its segment" and has placed emphasis on an ergonomic cabin to create an "impressive first impression".

In practice, it is very user friendly and immediately feels compatible with its driver.

The dashboard style is simple and uncluttered as Mercedes hides its layers of convenience — ventilation, audio, satnav and communication — within a central command button, steering-wheel buttons and, of course, a voice-activated system.

Despite the breadth of functions, the system is child's play to use and trounces the complexity of BMW's iDrive.

Clearly, there's a lot of the technology from the car's big-sister S-Class at work here.

The C-Class is clearly a Mercedes in styling and could be initially forgiven for resembling the old model. But put the old and new together, however, and the difference is dramatic. The new car gets a higher and more vertical grille for improved pedestrian collision safety, while the boot is neatly tapered without a lip spoiler.

To achieve this remarkably low 0.27 co-efficient of drag (Cd), Mercedes employs vents in the tail lights to create a neutral air-pressure zone behind the car.

Interesting is the choice of two C-Classes. There is one C-Class sedan but by changing the nose, Mercedes has come up with two distinctive models aimed at different buyers.

The Avantgarde version has the Mercedes three-pointed star within the grille; the Classic and Elegance models have the trademark star atop the bonnet edge.

Mercedes believes younger, more sports-oriented buyers will opt for the Avantgarde while older, more conservative buyers will probably be lured to the Classic or Elegance.

Subjectively, the Avantgarde looks better. Meaner, more dynamic and, yes, more sporty.

That aside, the difference between the C-Class versions is pretty much negligible.

The sedan is marginally longer than the outgoing C-Class but because it rides on a wider track and a stretched wheelbase, it travels with E-Class ease and comfort. In fact there is a lot of E-Class in this smaller car — so much so that some buyers may be lured to consider downsizing in the Mercedes ladder. Pricing and specification levels for the

Australian market have yet to be confirmed. However, the European cars will sell for practically the same as the outgoing model, despite having more up-to-date features.

Engines have been retuned to deliver up to 13 per cent more power and 6 per cent less emissions. Most will have the seven-speed automatic though there's the option of a six-speed manual gearbox. The new C-Class model will be built in German factories.

All variants get seven airbags, adaptive braking, adaptive brake lights that flash rapidly when braking hard, auto headlights and wipers and dual-zone climatic airconditioning. Cabin options include infotainment system with Bluetooth, 175mm colour display for TV/sat-nav and computer, voice-control that accepts spoken words, and an iPod/MP3 plug-in server with a 4Gig memory.