Yes, a Mercedes-Benz is Wheels Car of the Year 2007.
The new C-Class is a comfortable, well-engineered sedan that bullseyes the criteria of Australia’s longest enduring and most respected annual motoring award. The Mercedes’ performance is good to great (depending on which of engine options is selected), its fuel efficiency is outstanding throughout the range, its safety credentials are unimpeachable, and its dynamics truly brilliant. So the C-Class is a car that deserves both great respect and our coveted trophy.
The W204 is also the model that marks a welcome return to the intrinsic engineering integrity once taken for granted from the world’s oldest car maker. All the great qualities that made Mercedes-Benz the envy of every other manufacturer from the ’60s to the early ’90s, when the company undoubtedly built the best cars in the world, return in the new C-Class.
So polished is the compact Mercedes that it surpasses the BMW 3 Series in talent and desirability. Across the entire model spectrum and in every aspect of its performance, the new C-Class represents a significant step forward over the previous model. Here is a high-quality, incredibly capable and enjoyable car that is more affordable than ever before.
Every model in the C-Class range shares the same core engineering values and key driving characteristics. Its slightly enlarged, though little heavier body is strong and stiff. The structure provides a sound foundation for Mercedes’ dynamic, refinement and safety engineers to build on. And they made the most of the opportunity.
Some may question the absence of fully power-operated seats in the C220 – a car costing over $60,000 – but such omissions cannot detract from the essential driving, comfort or safety experiences.
The C-Class sedan line-up opens with the $56,990 C200K Classic and ranges upward to the $92,800 C320 CDI. There are four different engines – two petrol and two diesel – that offer a real choice in performance, economy and character, across three trim levels: Classic, Elegance and Avantgarde.
Buyers even get to choose between a traditional grille (Classic and Elegance) with thrusting three-pointed star on the bonnet, or the more forceful Avantgarde that opts for a huge star integrated into the grille, rather like the treatment applied to Mercedes’ coupes and sports cars. Yet more choices are available in the obligatory and copious range of often (too) expensive options.
While its options price-list is eye-watering, the C-Class earned average or slightly higher scores from most judges for value. It wasn’t always easy.
“At $56,990 [the C200 Classic] matches the high-grade Mondeo in spec levels, but does it drive $15,000 better?” noted Sally Dominguez. But even those inclined to raise eyebrows at the basic models’ high prices had to acknowledge that the four-cylinder C-Classes cost much the same as the top end of the Commodore range (the Calais V V8).
A decade ago, a base C180 Esprit with 90kW cost $56,300, or just $690 less than today’s bigger, better equipped, more refined and quicker entry-level model.
The new car is superior in virtually every area, including build quality and (according to a dealer contact) warranty claims. As a reference, during the same time-frame the price of a base Holden Commodore automatic rose by 20 percent. So there’s a persuasive argument that Mercedes’ compact sedan is stronger value than ever in 2007. This factor, along with the C-Class’ record of slow depreciation, meant there was never serious dissent among the judges on the question of overall value.
Regardless of engine, the new C-Class is easy to live with on a daily basis. Even the base and best-selling C200K’s 135kW supercharged 1.8-litre four – to prove that the C200 badge bears no relation to engine capacity – crept up on the judges. Initially, they were critical of the doughy throttle response, but with every kilometre behind the wheel came an appreciation of its willingness and surprising ability.
Because the engine mates beautifully to the five-speed auto, performance is seamless and the cruising refinement unexpected. “Engine does the job surprisingly well,” wrote Jon Hawley of the C200K’s drivetrain.
With 170kW and 300Nm, the 3.0-litre petrol-burning V6 C280 adds grunt (plus two gears) and improves refinement, although without, we should acknowledge, ever matching the silkiness of BMW’s inline sixes.
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