New Mercedes C-class gives rivals run for their money

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Formula One drivers Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard like it. Hakkinen says its steering is light, good for a sports sedan, but it could do with more power. He praised its brakes, too - "the most important characteristic of a sports car."

Coulthard likes its balance and handling and describes it as a "very good package."

The two West McLaren-Mercedes drivers were talking about the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, specifically the C320 with AMG body kit, bigger, 17in wheels and firmer sports suspension.

The Finn and Scot weren't at the launch in Wellington this week of the all-new C-Class range, but Mercedes-Benz had them on videotape - the next best thing to a live video hook-up.

A drive in three of the new cars - including the model Hakkinen and Coulthard drove - on a mix of roads around the capital, showed they were pretty much on the money.

Okay, so they work for Mercedes-Benz in a roundabout way and would be expected to say good things about its cars. But who cares? They are supremely skilful drivers, more available as critics than ever before.

The new C-Class range - Classic, Elegance and Avantgarde - is as good as you get, with a mind-boggling list of standard equipment.

Some are better than others, but overall the new car is the most rewarding sedan in the stable - strong, dynamic, balanced, nimble, good-looking, with more powerful engines allied to a 5-speed manual/automatic transmission.

For the first time, Mercedes-Benz has a compact, sporty sedan to genuinely rival the interior appeal and driving dynamics of the BMW 3-Series.

Says the car's creator: "It is a youthful, progressive car characterised by newly developed chassis technology, powerful engines, the latest technical innovations and, in particular, sporty agility." That's about it in a nutshell.

The C-Class is longer and wider and its occupant cell - between the windscreen and rear window - is 40 per cent stronger than the model it replaces.

It has new front and rear axles, a more accurate rack and pinion steering system, new brakes with larger discs, and 16in wheels. Its aerodynamic CD factor of 0.26 is a significant improvement over the previous model's 0.30.

The extra strength in the car makes it heavier, by 105kg. But Mercedes-Benz says the extra weight only marginally affects fuel consumption.

The rear backrests now tumble downwards and sit flat to create extra load space through the boot. This is something Mercedes-Benz once said it would never do, believing it compromised the strength of the car. But modern technology, materials and manufacturing methods have allowed it room to move.

The carmaker has borrowed much of the technology in the C-Class from the flagship S-Class. Features such as the command centre, voice recognition, the multi-function steering wheel with 50 individual settings, fibre optics, ventilation in the seats, ride dynamics, noise supression ...

More than 20 trickle-downs are among the standard equipment, including a Nokia phone mounted in the centre console.

Ten C-Class models will be available within the next few months. The last to arrive will be the 270 CDI, a turbodiesel which borrows the engine from the M-Class four-wheel-drive.

The stand-alone, entry-level C180 Classic is powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine producing 95kW at 5500 rpm and 185Nm of pulling power at 3500 rpm. It costs $71,000.

The next model in the range is the C200K, powered by a supercharged version of the 2.0-litre engine producing 120kW at 5300 rpm and 230Nm between 2500 and 4800 rpm. The Classic is $78,000, the Elegance $91,000 and the Avantgarde $93,000.

The C240 range follows, powered by a 2.6-litre V6 engine producing 125kW at 5500 rpm and 240Nm at 4500 rpm. Prices are $85,000 for the Classic, $98,000 for the Elegance and $100,000 for the Avantgarde.

The top-range C-Class is the 320, powered by a 3.2-litre V6 producing 160kW at 5700 rpm and 310Nm between 3000 and 4600 rpm. The Elegance costs $109,000, the Avantgarde $111,000.

Some history here. Mercedes-Benz entered the compact four-door market in the 1980s with the 190E. It was a good car but it couldn't cut it with the segment leader, the 3-Series.

The 190E became the all-new C-Class in 1994. It was a huge leap, in operation, design and dynamics. But again it had overall weaknesses and couldn't match the 3-Series. Things are different now.