Category: Compact Executive 
Price Range: £19,672 to £51,570
Roomy, composed, comfortable, with a choice of good engines.
Short on flair.
A bigger, better car that's at its finest when it's most like the E-Class.
Mercedes refers to the suspension, steering and gearshift of the C-Class as 'Agility Control' technologies. The idea is that, together, they provide swift responses without losing ride comfort.
The steering is more direct than before, at the back there's a new multi-link suspension system with hydraulic subframe mountings for vibration damping, and the new adaptive shock absorber system can sharpen the handling when needed. The C-Class is smooth and refined, it rides well, and the 45mm longer wheelbase gives a more mature feel.
There's also an Advanced Agility package with speed-sensitive steering and Sport and Comfort modes for the auto 'box: press Sport and the car sits lower, the steering firms up, the gearchange becomes more urgent and you get to enjoy the full fruitiness of the exhaust note. This is all very neatly done, but most of the time you'll disengage Sport, put it in normal auto mode and enjoy the ride.
This is where the new C-Class excels: at being like a smaller, less expensive E-Class. And on that basis the one to go for is the C320 CDI in Elegance trim with that automatic gearbox. With the three-pointed star badge on top of the bonnet, and the torquey engine taking care of business, you feel as though you could very happily cruise around all day.
The three diesel and five petrol engines are familiar from the outgoing range, but they have more power (by as much as 13%), torque (around 18%) and efficiency. Until the V8-engined C63 arrives, the quickest C-Class is the C350, a 3.5-litre V6 that makes 268bhp and has an electronically limited top speed of 155mph and a 0-62mph time of 6.4 seconds. It's quick and it's fun, and the chassis copes well with the performance.
The C350 comes fitted with a seven-speed automatic transmission; everything else comes with a six-speed manual as standard, but the auto is an option on other six-cylinder models. Don't be afraid of the fact that it has seven speeds - you'll barely notice. The transmission is well matched to the engines - or least to the 350 petrol and 320 diesel that we've driven so far. Whether you're letting it change for itself or you're doing it manually, the shifts are smooth and quick, and it kicks down without hesitation when you need extra acceleration.
The slowest engine is the C200 CDI's 2.1-litre four, with half the power output and a 0-62mph time that's four seconds slower than the 350 petrol's. But the joy of the C-Class is that whether you go for the C350, the C200 CDI or something in between, you're getting an extremely accomplished all-round package.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes C-Class
wrote on 14 11 2006