Category: Compact Executive 
Price Range: £19,672 to £52,675
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.
Though never cheap to buy, Mercedes buyers can at least fall back on good reliability and strong residual values. Fuel consumption of the petrol models hovers around the 30mpg mark, with diesels returning around 40mpg. Two traditional Mercedes-Benz strengths are its cars' high quality and strong resale values. That's why German taxi ranks are full of old C-Classes, because they'll run-and-run and still fetch more at auction than a million-mile Toyota Carina E worth £3.52. Buy wisely - choose a good colour and pick desirable options (automatic gearbox, leather seats) for the best returns. It starts from less than £20,000, but entry-level models are rather stingily specified. If you want real value in this class, look at the Lexus IS range... Still, it's a Merc, it's effectively a scaled-down E-Class and it should hold its value well, as demand for second-hand Mercs is always strong, especially for the estates, which make great family cars.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes C-Class
wrote on 14 11 2006