Category: Compact Executive 
Price Range: £19,672 to £52,567
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.
The interior is roomier than before, with rear passengers getting significantly more legroom and, up front, the shoulder room has increased by a welcome 40mm. That makes a huge difference: the seat/wheel/pedal relationship is unchanged, but the extra space makes for a more relaxed driving experience.
Sport versions have more of an emphasis on metal in the cabin, whereas SE and Elegance go big on wood. In both cases, the plastics feel sturdy yet soft to the touch. The cubby in the armrest is usefully big, as is the boot, but the glovebox and door pockets are small.
If you opt for a sat nav system - and who won't? - it's displayed on a screen that pivots out of the top of the dash, which seems unnecessarily fussy but at least when it's up it's well positioned for glancing at. Most of the operations can be controlled by a dial behind the gearlever; it's a simple affair, and very easy to use.
There are several infotainment options, including a new generation of Linguatronic that allows voice activation of sat nav, phone and audio. It works remarkably well.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes C-Class
wrote on 14 11 2006