2008 Mercedes C Class Review

Specifications

It’s hard to believe that there is such a thing as a bread and butter productfor Mercedes-Benz, but the world renowned German luxury car maker actually has such a car, and its identity might actually surprise you. Mercedes sells masses of vehicles around the globe, and although there’s a growing trend towards efficient, versatile vehicles, the brand’s front-wheel drive A- and B-Class hatchbacks aren’t the answer to this riddle. Neither is the E-Class, one of the top-selling executive sedans on the market, and when painted in pale yellow a common sight in Germany as taxi cabs. And although there’s quite the chunk of change to be made off SUVs like the ML and GL, they don’t even come close to the matching the numbers of M-B’s biggest seller. Neither does the S-Class, although it’s the primary choice of dignitaries, celebrities and high-powered financial winners the world over. No, as process of elimination shows, the answer is the C-Class compact luxury car.

It makes sense that the C-Class is a best seller. With a broad selectionof engines, body styles and the quintessential rear-wheel drive layout, it also competes in the hottest category amongst premium vehicles, the junior luxury car segment. Indeed, the current C-Class was Benz’s most popular vehicle, capturing more than two million sales in sedan, wagon, and sport-coupe guise since the jellybean-shaped vehicle was launched in the spring of 2000. The first-generation C-Class, and successor to the 190E, also sold well at 1.85 million units during the course of its seven year run. Though the car currently on sale is a solid drive, being safe, secure and comfortable, as all Mercedes-Benz products should be, it hardly lures in the sportier crowd currently buying up Audi A4s, BMW 3s, Infiniti G35s and Lexus IS 350s. Still, its a far cry from its predecessor when it comes to straight-line performance and handling. Having ditched the recirculating ball steering system from the first-gen C-Class, it took to corners in a ways that small M-Bs never previously did. Add to that some seriously cracking drivetrains, such as the four valve per cylinder 3.5-liter V6 and six-speed manual combination, and in its twilight years, the C-Class lit a flame capable of singeing the likes of some of its top rivals. Yet at the same time, this very C-Class which I am praising had its darker moments. It was one of the cars plagued by that unmentionable bout of poor build quality and nasty reliability, not to mention purchasing one would set you back more than any similarly equipped rival.

For 2008, the C-Class is completely revised with Benz pulling out all the stops in order to restore its presence in an increasingly competitive field. The new C is a car the brand firmly believes will not only one-up the outgoing model, but the key players in its segment. In short, if there’s one way of describing the new C-Class, it’s that it lookslike a new S-Class that’s been through the spin cycle and then put in the drier for a bit too long. Still, while clearly a shrunken S, it remains proportionally attractive from every angle, retaining most design details that debuted on the flagship Benz sedan but toning them down so that it doesn’t suffer from little big car complex. It has the same pointed jewel-like headlights and the prominent five-sided grille, which conveys a stronger Mercedes-Benz image. Yes, even the debatable wheel arches and elongated taillights made the cut, although thankfully the frumpy looking trunk lid didn’t. Mercedes-Benz was also unusually proud of its innovative taillights, which are now ventilated. No, they don’t enhance the car’s braking ability (or perhaps more relevantly, the ability to see the brake lights), but rather they’re slotted in order to improve the car’s aerodynamics.

One big step forward that will endear the new car to C-Class loyalists are its thinner pillars. A big complaint consumers have about modern cars is that they’re often fitted with pillars large enough to cause a sequoia redwood to shrink back from a fear of inadequacy, in order to provide good crash protection of course. Through the use of higher strength materials and intelligent energy absorption tactics, Mercedes avoided this nasty trend.

Mercedes-Benz has also taken the initiative to visually differentiate the trim levels of the car, with regular or luxury versions getting the traditional highly-polished grille with mesh insert, while the sports model boasts a well-defined body-color triple bar grille as seen on the CL-Class Coupe, with the three-pointed star on the grille itself, a first for a C-Class Benz.

The interior is a little more in line with what we were expecting, leaning towardsconservatism as opposed to daring design. Customers, especially those with little patience for mess and disorganization, are sure to be elated now that the typical cluttered center console has been cleaned up with a new design that includes a pop-up screen for cars equipped with navigation. Perceived quality is another issue that’s been tackled. With the competition, particularly from Lexus’ IS and Audi’s A4, stepping up the game with immaculate build quality and top-tier materials, Benz needed to take major leap forward in order to maintain its world-beating reputation. The materials and color selection from the press photos show that Benz is, on first impression, doing a stand up job. Of course, only time spent inside poking around will prove this out.

The new C-Class is also roomier in two key areas, shoulder room (+40 mm up front, and +20 mm in back), plus rear legroom for greater rear passenger comfort. As far as technology goes, available systems include a 30-gb hard drive that comes preloaded with maps for the navigation system, plus 4-gb worth of space for storing music and other media. This system is controlled via an iDrive-style knob located behind the gearshift, just like the S-Class. We’re not quite sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but an all-in-one controller seems to be the chosen path for the three-pointed star and many other premium car makers. On another note, despite having a shorter rear overhang the C-Class has a larger trunk than the outgoing model, with the capacity to carry 16.7 cu-ft of gear, a gain of 0.71 cu-ft.

Striving to restore its name as an innovative brand, Benz is debuting a coupleof new technologies to help the C-Class keep up with the enthusiast-oriented competition. The car maker is coining the term “Agility Control” for this new model, and the standard package includes various components that fall under the category of suspension, steering and transmission. These include such features as adaptive damping, more direct steering and shorter more precise throws on cars with manual gearboxes. The new car maintains a three-link front suspension layout with a five-link unit in back, but it sits on a wider track (+1.7 inches in front, +3.0 inches in back). There’s also new geometry underneath, and the control arms and other components are made out of lightweight metals to reduce unsprung weight. Sounds like good fun, and given Mercedes’ performance improvements in recent years the new C-Class should be a hoot to drive. The baby Benz also receives Adaptive Brakes, which are borrowed from the S-Class. These not only prime the brakes if an unavoidable accident is detected, but also provide start-up assist for hill starts.

When the car makes its big debut, Mercedes-Benz will offer a wide variety of engines, though the initial information did not reveal which would be making the trip to North America. On the bill is the C180 Kompressor (supercharged) inline-four that makes 156 hp and gets installed in the base model. Higher up the engine lineup is the 184-hp C200 Kompressor, which could potentially serve as the base model in North America, although this is increasingly unlikely since all of its competitors are offering 200 hp fours in their bottom-rung products at the very least. Instead, we wouldn’t be surprised if the car arrived with V6s across the board, with unchanged displacements and outputs. On the other side of the performance spectrum, the amazing new 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V8 is thought to be reserved for the high-performance AMG model. Benz’s emphasis on Agility Control plus positive feedback from the current car’s six-speed manual gearbox leads us to believe that both the manual and the 7G-Tronic automatic will be the only gearboxes available when the car arrives here late this summer.

Mercedes will, of course, follow the new C-Class sedan up with a new C-Class wagon model, but there’s a surprise in the cards. Rumor has it that the Sport Coupe hatchback is going to be making a return, and although it will have the look of the new C-Class, mechanically speaking, it’ll be identical to the outgoing car. Smart move? Well, if proven true it’s hard to say, but it will save Mercedes-Benz some bucks and give those who have the utmost desire to own an affordable Benz another option. A new CLK, the junior-sized touring coupe and convertible derived from the C-Class is also another given, especially since its rivals are clearly targeting this market. While nothing has been said about the entry-level premium SUV segment, it only makes sense that M-B will use the new C’s architecture to develop an X3, RDX, LR2 fighter, and by so doing round out its SUV arsenal. No doubt there could be worse ways for Mercedes-Benz to spend recent profits, yet while such a venture might seem like a risky move by some, the C-Class sedan shown on these pages is an inarguable surefire winner in every respect.