Mercedes C-Class Saloon review

You can have your C-Class with a selection of petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains.

On the petrol front you’ve got a choice of a 1.5- or a 2.0-litre unit, each with varying power outputs. The C180 and C200 models use the 1.5-litre engine, which produces 170hp and 204hp respectively.

The C180 returns around 46mpg, and while the C200 returns the same economy in rear-wheel drive form, if you choose the 4Matic four-wheel drive option this drops to around 43mpg. The C200 is probably the best all-rounder in terms of price, performance and efficiency.

The C300 model uses a 2.0-litre petrol with 258hp, and returns about 43mpg in rear-wheel drive form or 40mpg in four-wheel drive form. This model is pretty quick, though, as 0-60mph takes just six seconds.

The C220d and C300d diesel models both use a 2.0-litre engine, and produce 200hp and 265hp respectively. These models are good for longer trips on the motorway, as both will return around 56mpg.

With a 0-60mph time of 5.7 seconds, the C300d is even quicker than the petrol C300, with a strong turn of pace regardless of which gear you’re in. It’s pretty refined, too, although as its only a four cylinder unit it does get gruff when revved out. The six-cylinder diesels in equivalent BMW or Audi models are smoother and make a nicer noise.

All of these engines include mild hybrid technology, which adds a small electric motor to boost efficiency and assist acceleration at low speeds. It’s pretty hard to detect, but still comes in handy when you’re pulling away from a junction.

Then there’s a C300e, which is a plug-in hybrid. It’s got a 204hp petrol motor under the bonnet plus an electric motor with 129hp. It’s got an excellent all-electric range of up to 62 miles, which is seriously impressive for a car in this class.

The C-Class uses a smooth nine-speed automatic gearbox in every model.

The Mercedes C-Class is designed to be more comfortable than alternatives such as the BMW 3 Series, and while the difference between the two isn’t huge, this new C-Class certainly makes for a relaxing cruiser. It feels more S-Class-like than before, and has an impressively smooth ride even on pot-holed UK roads.

That said, we were driving a German-plated car with optional adaptive suspension. Oddly, you don’t seem to be able to spec either adaptive suspension or air suspension on the C-Class yet. Thankfully, we’ve also driven a UK C-Class on the standard suspension which still manages to be more cosseting than similar alternatives.

The C-Class has light steering that doesn’t have much feel but it’s direct and plenty accurate enough – even if it doesn’t feel as sporty or fun as a BMW 3 Series. The C-Class has lots of tech to help ease the strain of long distance driving too, including adaptive cruise control with a steering function that works on normal roads as well as on the motorway. It’s a pretty faultless system, too.

It’s very quiet inside (apart from some noisy air-con vents) with hardly any wind or road noise. The C220d diesel engine is a bit noisy if you really give it the beans, but it sounds smoother than most diesels so this isn’t the end of the world.

All up, the C-Class is a solid all-rounder. It’s spot-on when it comes to comfort, yet it’s not out of its depth in the bends. The engines are punchy, too, so performance is good. Visibility could be a little better, though a great camera set-up is available to help make parking easier.