Category: Compact Executive 
Price Range: £19,672 to £51,570
Agile handling, driving position, quietness at speed, clever electronic controls and features, indicator repeaters built into door mirrors, big glovebox
Foot-operated parking brake, cheap, hard plastics in facia, hard ride on optional low-profile tyres, baffling array of buttons
The C-Class is a (relatively) affordable way into Mercedes ownership without compromising on the key Mercedes qualities and characteristics.
This class demands a high level of security and safety, and Mercedes makes no exception. Two stage front airbags, which tailor their opening speed to the speed of impact, are fitted as standard. High-level window bags are standard all-round, with side-airbags in the front and optional side-airbags in the rear. Brake Assist, which is supposed to detect an emergency stop and apply full braking pressure, and Electronic Stability Programme are also standard fare. The C-Class has achieved the full five stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests, so we can't fault its protection, though the cynical would point out that its fifth star was awarded for its seatbelts-on warning system.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes C-Class
wrote on 14 11 2006