Sunday Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: Dashing past the goalposts
The new 2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class is packed with technology, drives well and looks great inside and out
It’s called a baby S-Class. To be likened to the flagship of the Mercedes range (and upstaging the senior E-Class in the process) is possibly the best compliment the all-new Mercedes C-class could get. But why is it more of a baby S-Class and not just a smaller E-Class? It starts with the design. The all-new W206 C-Class has scaled down, but similar proportions, to the S-class. The long bonnet, longer wheelbase (25mm more) and a distinctive ‘three-box’ shape gives the vehicle the stately demeanour of the luxurious S-Class.
Tech treats
But it’s inside the cabin that the likeness to the S-Class is most apparent. That’s largely because the massive 11.9-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen is lifted directly from the S-Class. It’s intuitive to use, with a logical and uncomplicated menu system. The sharpness, colour and contrast are all fantastic and functionality is top-class too. The ‘Hey Mercedes’ voice assistant gets smarter with every new Merc and works well, understanding even the thickest of accents.
The new C-Class is jam-packed with driver assistance aids and there’s a lot of onboard tech, like fingerprint-based biometric authentication, which lights up blue and automatically selects your profile stored in the memory. Smart. The Mercedes Me app now gets features like remote cabin cooling and cloud connectivity. Over the air updates allows Mercedes to share rain and traffic alerts, and even calls for assistance.
Inviting interior
The cabin is a big step up from the previous model in terms of design and overall fit and finish. The circular air vents are illuminated and the ambient lighting lets you choose from almost any colour to suit your mood.
The multi-layered dashboard, the door pads and chunky steering wheel with piano black spokes are high quality, but lower down the cabin, the bits you don’t regularly see or touch aren’t made of the same grade of plastic.
Where Mercedes has taken a step back is with the functionality of some of the switchgear; the swipe sensitive, steering mounted switch gear doesn’t respond easily and is annoying to use—the same goes for the sunroof slider control. The seat pictograms are touch sensitive too and don’t click like before, so you’re never sure if the buttons are working or not.
The front seats are large with generous cushioning and outside visibility is good. Comfort levels in the back seat are much improved too, thanks primarily to extra legroom. However, this is a compact luxury car and rear seat space is limited. The boot isn’t very large and the spare tyre eats into a lot of the space.
Driver’s delight
Within the first few kilometres behind the wheel, you can tell the new C-Class is far improved. Lighter on its feet, it feels responsive, stable and secure. What elevates the driving experience is the steering, which is quick, direct and accurate and reaffirms my belief that Mercedes is the best when it comes to steering feel. The ride is comfortable and the suspension irons out bad roads quite well. It’s only the sharper edges and ruts that filter through.
The C-Class comes with three engine options—two diesel and one petrol—all of which have a 48V Integrated Starter Generator, a hybrid system that gives the engines an electric boost to improve efficiency.
To fully exploit the car’s dynamics, the 265hp 300d is the one to go for. This motor is smooth and has tremendous grunt, propelling you forward with one strong, relentless tug. This is indeed a very quick car which can accelerate from a standstill to 100kph in under six seconds.
The base C200, which gets a 204hp, 1.5 litre petrol is the engine of choice for city dwellers, but enthusiasts may find it a bit wanting.
With prices ranging from ₹55 lakh to ₹61 lakh, the C-Class is on the pricey side, but that said, this all-new model has moved the goalposts far more than its predecessors. It’s packed with tech, drives well and looks great inside and out, which makes it the most desirable compact luxury sedan in the market today.
The views expressed by the columnist are personal
From HT Brunch, May 28, 2022
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