The Emperor

If like many others, you have a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, you are not in an exclusive group. The German automaker has sent some 600,000 examples of this car to the U.S. in three generations since the 190 Series.

Mine is a 10-year-old C220 with — as of this morning — 131,524 miles on the odo. I appreciate our faithful C-Class and that's why I'm a tough judge of its successors.

By John Lamm • Photos by the Author
June 2007


Visually, the new C-Class fits the bill better than the last. There's a hint of S-Class but happily not too much, a purposeful profile with proper-size fender blisters and a rising character line that emphasizes the basic wedge shape. Customers get a choice of grilles: classic horizontal bars with a stand-up hood star in the Luxury edition, or a large three-pointer centered in the Sport edition's face.

Either grille is fine, but overall the Sport version looks more complete with its aggressive front valance, sculpted sills and pseudo-venturi rear bumper coloring. All this is wrapped around a body that's about 1.6 in. or more larger in all directions without looking pudgier. Curb weights are up by 150 lb. or so.

However, that added exterior size doesn't translate into a larger interior. While we prefer the Sport exterior, the Luxury model gets the nod inside. The warm beige interior with the wood trim is more inviting and expensive-looking than the Sport's in black and gray with metallic trim. In any color the seats are first-rate.

In either case it's an easy interior to use, a readable instrument package ahead and convenient thumb controls on the steering wheel. Get the navigation system and the screen rises from the top of the center stack; if not, the radio is placed there. Below are vents, then the radio (possibly a phone) with buttons a bit too small and similar, perhaps, but segregated from the heating/air-conditioning controls below that.

While Mercedes has plenty to brag about in the new C-Class, such as a bodyshell made of 70-percent high- or ultra-high-strength steel, the word to describe the powertrain is “carryover.” That would be two variations of the 24-valve aluminum V-6. The C300s use the 3.0-liter with 228 bhp at 6000 rpm and 221 lb.-ft. of torque at 2700-5000, while C350s get a 3.5 with 268 bhp at 6000 and 258 lb.-ft. at 2400-5000 rpm. You can get a C300 with a 6-speed manual, but the rest use 7-speed automatics, including the all-wheel-drive 4Matic C300s arriving this autumn.

Because the automatic's gear ratios are unaltered and the manual's little changed, it must be the added curb weight that adds a few tenths to the claimed 0-60, quickest being the C350 at 6.3 seconds.

There are no major changes in the suspensions, with coil-spring struts up front and a 5-link at the rear matched to the expected electronic wonderworks, like ASR traction and ESP stability control.
Although the C-Class isn't exactly all-new, that's okay because the result in the C350 Sport we drove was a delicious brew of ride and handling. Stuff it into a hairpin with fingertip ease and it won't betray you…go for groceries and it's a sweetheart.

If we had to replace our venerable C-Class, this one would be high on the shopping list, but unlike a decade ago it wouldn't be a shoo-in. This new Mercedes sedan is in that crowded $30,000-$40,000 segment of small luxury sedans including BMW, Infiniti, Lexus and more. Lucky us.

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