2011 Mercedes-Benz C200 Reviews

The C-Class was the entry to the prestige segment and still resonates as a solid choice. New The Mercedes-Benz C-Class was conceived to compete with the BMW 3 Series at the entry level of the prestige segment. When the W204 series C-Class arrived in 2007 it had the common Benz trait of coming in a bewildering range of

For a long time Mercedes struggled to get on terms with the BMW 3-Series, which was slaying them in the compact prestige market, but the C Class launched in 2007 was good enough to finally get the three-pointed star into the game. New The W204 was all new, it had new looks, the cabin was new, the suspension was

Mercedes-Benz has just launched an all-new C-Class model, so there's a good chance many owners of older models will be trading up. Meaning there could be a glut of used C-Class in Australia, giving you the chance to select between the many on offer, as well as the opportunity to select from the best of them. 

The small-medium Mercedes-Benz C-Class, while costing significantly more than many cars in its class, is becoming increasingly affordable by the standards of the prestige car market.Though it has been built down to a price when compared with upper crust Mercedes models, the price trimming has been done intelligently and you still get a car that’s well built and uses good quality materials.The C-Class is sold as a three-door coupe, a four-door sedan and five-door station wagon body. Coupes from 2008 to 2011 were called the CLC-Class in an attempt to give them a sportier image. That didn’t seem to work and with the new model of 2011 the C-Class coupe name was revised.This is a rear-wheel-drive car so those travelling in the back seats of sedans and wagons will find themselves a little squeezed unless the front seats are moved forward a notch or two. This situation has improved over the years as the C-Class cars have become slightly larger, but it’s still smart to take the family along during your pre-purchase road test to make sure it suits them.Boot space is good and the big bootlid in the sedans makes it easy to load. The wagon is of the stylish school, with a sloping tailgate that robs the load area of some cubic capacity.Naturally the back seats and boots of the coupes are on the cramped side, but that’s par for the course.Few cars come with such a staggering range of engines as the Mercedes C-Class. Four, six and eight-cylinder engines are offered. The latest petrol engines have direct petrol injection and are significantly better than the older units in terms of performance consumption and emissions. Look for the letters CGI in the car’s title, indicting the new-generation engines. The name Kompressor in the car’s title means it has a supercharged engine to provide extra torque. Later units use a turbocharger rather than a supercharger.The hot AMG models use the V8s and have tremendous performance, but this comes at a cost in high fuel consumption.Mercedes-Benz C-Class with turbo-diesel engines have been sold for many years, long before they became common in other European marques. They have either four or six cylinders. The newer diesels (look for CDI on the badge) are a big advance on the older diesel in smoothness and refinement and once the car is cruising at a steady speed we defy you to pick them from petrol powerplants.The great majority of C-Class Mercedes-Benzes will have an automatic transmission, though you will find some four-cylinders cars have a five-speed manual gearbox, they may cause real hassles at resale time.Luxury levels are Classic, Elegance, Avantgarde and Sport. The latter has firmer suspension for better road feel and will make a nice car for the enthusiastic driver.Spare parts, servicing and repairs are all expensive for a car of this size, but certainly not for a machine with the high prestige rating the Benz affords you. Insurance costs are generally reasonable for a car in this class.It pays to buy a used Mercedes-Benz which has been serviced throughout its life by an authorised dealer. Their mechanics are not only trained to high standards, but are in constant touch with the factory. A car with a full service history will almost invariably command a higher price but be sure the service books are genuine.Mercedes-Benz Australia offers a good used-car scheme on cars up to five years of age. The length of the warranty varies according to the workshop’s assessment of the car.WHAT TO LOOK FORBe sure the steering is positive with no unnecessary free play in the straight-ahead position. There were some problems with the early version of the Brake Assist System (BAS). These should have been rectified by a dealer after a recall. Contact the dealer or Mercedes’ head office to see if this work has been done.Do a visual check of the car inside and out for signs of damage or worse-than-average wear. Pay particular attention to the bumper-bar corners for signs of paint scrapes. Also have a good look at the condition of the seats.Always call an expert for the final say no matter how good the Mercedes appears to be after your own inspection. Either use a mechanic formally trained on Mercedes or a senior inspector from your motoring association. Noisy engines, or units that are slow to start may be about to rack up an expensive repair.CAR BUYING TIPIf you’re considering getting an old prestige car rather than a new, but somewhat mundane, car make sure your budget is up to the task of supporting the higher running costs of the upmarket machine. 

How do you make a good thing better? This would have been the challenge at Mercedes-Benz when developing the mid-life makeover for the current generation C-Class, Merc's most popular car.They attacked the problem on a number of fronts tweaking the looks with more angular CLS-style headlights and sporty frontal and rear styling treatment. They introduced BlueEfficiency measures across the entire range to optimise fuel economy and minimise emissions. They introduced a seven-speed auto across the range and two new diesel engines one with an incredible 500Nm output from a "mere" 2.1-litre four cylinder.Putting this into perspective, many current V8 petrol engines struggle to generate that amount of grunt. Further aiding emissions reduction is the use of engine stop/start and "eco" driving "tuition" on the diesels. Mercedes also took the opportunity with this model to introduce a raft of new safety and luxury technology, some of which is standard equipment, some in packages and some as stand alone options.Distronic Plus radar cruise control is one such option as is active lane keeping which brakes one side of the car to steer it back into a lane if the driver strays. Aluminium is used more generously in the new car for the bonnet, front guards and suspension components while LED front driving lights and tail lights also make an appearance.Prices start from $58,900 for the C200 petrol sedan, two grand more for the wagon across the range.The interior has been comprehensively redesigned with a more homogenous look that flows from one side to the other and integrates the switches and dials more successfully. A new telematics platform is used offering more functions and easier operation.A new steering wheel contains up to 12 control buttons for audio, cruise control, information, oh, and the horn. More attractive "galvanised" fascia adorn the interior which is easier to use and looks a lot better than before.Safety is well addressed with nine airbags a slew of electronic controls/systems designed to either minimise injury or avoid a collision. Pre-safe which readies the car for a crash to offer maximum passenger protection is standard in all models. Pre-safe brake will automatically apply up to 100 per cent of possible brake force to mitigate an impact.Fuel economy across the board has improved in both turbodiesel and turbo petrol engines. The most efficient is the 500Nm CDi250 which achieves a combined rate of 5.1-litres/100km. Other engines aren't far behind including the 1.8-litre turbo and direct injection petrol four cylinder models. All engines meet Euro 5 emissions regulations due to come into force here in a few years.In luxury terms, the revised C-Class doesn't miss out with plenty of electronic communications and entertainment technology making an appearance including a 40 gigabyte hard drive for the satnav and audio system which has audio streaming.The satnav system is linked to a dynamic guidance system and audio broadcast facility provided by SUNA. It will advise of traffic problems and reprogram your route to avoid it - clever.We tried sedan and wagon variants of all four cylinder powertrain options and really enjoyed the C250 petrol turbo four the most. It is a compact sporty car offering superb ride and handling in a comfortable and stylish package. Performance is strong. The high output diesel, infact all the four cylinder powered cars we drove, were engaging and comfortable. We can't imagine what the six cylinder petrol and diesel must be like...

A new transmission and classier interior have transformed Mercedes-Benz’s mid-sizer from a good car into a great one.The seven-speed automatic linked to a stop/start system is the best bit of a 2000-part overhaul C-Class that is intended to future proof the class-leader against a double challenge from BMW’s 3 Series.The W204 C-Class already enjoyed a massive lead in the luxury segment but some customers reckoned the quality of the interior had slipped - particularly the display screen which was criticised for being “tacked on” to the dash.That’s now fixed. The latest generation telematics system is integrated under the instrument binnacle, with a separate TFT screen housed inside the circular speedo markings.Opt for the larger Comand system and there’s a 10GB hard drive to rip music, Suna traffic advisory for the satnav and internet connectivity, though only while the car is still.DRIVETRAINS AND PRICEThe four, four-cylinder models - two 1.8-litre petrols and a pair of 2.1-litre diesels - are on sale now ahead of the arrival of the six-cylinder engines around September. That’s also when the first high-performance AMG-enhanced C63 models should hit showrooms.The starting price is unchanged at $58,900 for the petrol C200 and tops out at $67,900 for the C250 turbo or diesel engines. The wagon adds $2000 and the options list is huge if owners want to “individualise” their vehicles.The only thing that may slow sales of the new models is a Merc itself - the C-Class coupe is due in July and the curvier roofline and two-door styling is certain to convert some sedan owners.ON THE ROADSerene best describes the C-Class drive. It’s as though Mercedes has taken the acoustic tuning used to give its diesel engines some aural character and applied it right across the cabin to dial out surplus sounds.So there’s a distant “whoosh” as the wind slides off the slippery sheet metal and a faint drone as something mechanical - it’s genuinely hard to pick the diesel from the petrol when cruising - generates the locomotion. The steering weight varies according to speed: there’s virtually no resistance at city limits, with the response becoming more direct as the pace picks up.Right now, the C-Class is the benchmark prestige mid-sizer. BMW gets a one-two hit in the form of a facelift for the 3 Series in the coming weeks and a new model next year. Both will have to be right on the chin in terms of pricing and performance if it expects to make a mark on the segment champion.INSIDE VIEW 

ANY time a car hits the road with more than 1000 new parts you know it's more than just an over-easy facelift job. Ford drilled that deeply for the creation of its vital new Territory, Holden has also dug deep for an impressive job on the comfort and control of its locally-made Cruze, and now we have an updated