23 Jan 07
The current model dates back to 2000 and it didn't set many pulses racing even then. It was, and still is, the car your accountant or your dad would buy, its status and sound bottom line overriding any thoughts of style or - heaven forbid - excitement.
Yet that dull image hasn't stopped the current car netting 2m customers since 2000: Mercedes needs to carry their loyalty over to the new model while simultaneously luring BMW and Audi buyers.
The solution, says Mercedes's sales and marketing chief Klaus Maier, is to accept that buyers' requirements pull in opposite directions and to produce two different versions that not only look different but which drive differently too.
'We have created two tailor-made suits for the new C-Class,' he told journalists at the world premiere. 'Each of these reflects the relevant personal style.'
Yet behind the hype there are two extremely similar models, with the grille the only difference noticeable at a glance. The Elegance version, aimed at the traditional Mercedes customer, has the familiar Mercedes chrome grille and the raised star emblem on the bonnet.
The youthful, BMW-baiting Avant Garde model - which will be badged Sport in the UK - adopts the frontal design of sportier Mercedes lines such as the CLK and CLS, with the bonnet-top mascot replaced by a much larger star within the grille itself. The entry-level SE spec has the same body as the Elegance.
