One Mercedes-Benz, two new looks

One Mercedes-Benz, two new looks

The C-Class has been a winner for Mercedes-Benz for the past 25 years.

So when the fourth generation C-Class was announced, Mercedes had to take into account traditional owners while trying to attract a younger crowd more interested in sports sedans.

Solving the problem is the 2008 C-Class that arrives in Canadian showrooms as two models that look distinctly different.

They are based on a 3.0-litre DOHC V-6 model called the C 300 and C 300 Sport, and the C 350 and C350 Sport, based on a 3.5-litre DOHC V-6.

The difference will be immediately recognizable by the grille. The C 300 and C 350 have the classic louvred grille and are supposed to appeal to the more conservative owner. The C 300 Sport and C 350 Sport both get the big ring with three-pointed star that was, until the C-Class came along, reserved only for its highest two-door performance cars such as the SL, although it is used on all its SUVs.

The overall styling takes a lot of cues from the premium luxury CLS sedan, with an upward wave from the hood that flows over the concave roofline to a swooping rear deck. The already aggressive looking Sport can be equipped with an AMG sports package that includes lower front and rear aprons as well as side skirts.

In Europe there will be initially eight models, including three diesels. That does not count whatever AMG, the Mercedes-Benz in-house tuner company, does. An AMG C-Class with a 5.5-litre or 6.3-litre V-8 is a possibility.

Canadian pricing won't be established until the end of August, but it should be slightly above the current model. Like Mercedes-Benz Canada did with the E-Class last year, more content will be added, but at approximately the same price of the previous model.

As noted, both C-Class models use V-6, quad cam engines of 3.0-litres and 3.5-litres respectively. The 3.0-litre produces 231 hp and 300 lb/ft of torque while the 3.5-litre makes 272 hp and a full 350 lb/ft of torque.

We will see a diesel C-Class maybe by the end of this year, and hopefully with the environmentally responsible Bluetec V-6. Both gasoline engines should come with a seven-speed electronic automatic transmission. There is a six-speed manual offered on the C 280 in Europe and supposedly offered here, but I doubt anyone in North America would want it.

With the 3.0-litre, the C-Class accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 7.3 seconds, is limited to a top speed of 250 km/h and returns an estimated 9.4L/100 km combined city/highway. The 3.5-litre shaves the 0-100 km/h time down by almost a second, to 6.4 seconds, with top speed also limited to 250 km/h with an estimated combined fuel rating of 9.7L/100 km.

Suspension is the same for both, with three links at the front with coil springs and stabilizer bar. The gas shocks feature an amplitude-dependent damping system called Agility Control which means the body stays stable no matter how hard the shocks are or are not working.

The rear suspension is the latest iteration of the fabled Mercedes-Benz multilink independent system. It has both anti-squat and anti-dive built in, which means the rear doesn't go down when you hit the gas and doesn't go up when you hit the brakes. The gas shocks also have amplitude-dependent damping, and there's a hefty stabilizer bar.

Coming probably next year is the Advanced Agility package. Thanks to leading-edge computers, the system offers a choice of two gearshift-handling programs called Sport or Comfort. Although it's a lot more complex, in simple terms, each shock absorber is infinitely variable, but all four work together to provide ride and handing for serene boulevard ride or challenging the most daunting roads with verve.

Brakes are discs at all four corners, and as you'd expect from Mercedes, ABS, Brake Assist and electronic stability control (ESP) are all standard.

I had a very limited time to test the new C-Class in Spain due to, of all things, a forest fire fanned by gale-force winds that closed the original test route. Much time was spent on highways where the C-Class, as one would expect, performed impeccably. I did try the European spec C 280 Avantgarde with Advanced Agility fitted, and cornering response was fantastic. I also drove a C 350 with the standard Agility Control on some 15 km of Spanish mountain switchbacks, but such limited exposure did not do the car justice. Also with the C 350, it was noticeably faster than the C 280, thanks to all that torque, but again, so little seat time was not a proper yardstick by which to compare to something like the BMW 335i.

The interior of the car is very, very Mercedes, with the use of materials that show what can be done with a little more thought, effort and budget. For instance, the plastic used to line the top of the dashboard was Germanic black, but its texture was grippy and did not reflect glare, which is a personal gripe of mine. A seven-speed automatic in any car this side of the pond would make headlines, but here is one in what is essentially a mid-size sedan.

Luddite that I am, these twist-punch knobs that control HVAC, audio, navigation and engine-drivetrain functions are baffling to me, and top of the list is the Mercedes-Benz COMAND (Cockpit Management and Navigation Device). However, it seemed somehow easier than the first one I ever experienced that I remember coming with a 350-page instruction manual.

My co-driver used the opportunity to head down to the beach in the Spanish resort town of Benidorm, a place he used to go 35 years ago as a youth because it was cheaper to vacation there than in his native England.

Here the streets are narrow and those little buzz-bomb scooters storm around, making a large car a handicap. Thanks to shortish overhangs and good sight lines, we could motor along at a normal speeds, but nothing like the locals who view speed limits as some kind of personal insult.

Cruising along the seaside esplanade, I was surprised at how many people in this town gave the C-Class a second and even third look.

Indeed the CLS-style looks of the Sport do take the C-Class out of the solid and staid and put it squarely into the sporting category, a quality that many Canadians will probably also appreciate, which is, of course, the reason for two different looking C-Class sedans.

Will the C-Class put a dent the BMW 3 Series, currently the Euro sedan of choice?

Mercedes-Benz officials are quietly confident, but the proof will be what the car is like to live with, which is what I will be bringing you later this year in a full road test.

SPEC SPECS

Body style: Mid-size luxury sedan

Drive method: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive

Engine: 3.0-litre DOHC V-6 (231 hp, 300 lb/ft); 3.5-litre DOHC V-6, (272 hp, 350 lb/ft)

Fuel economy: 3.0-litre V-6, 9.4L/100 km combined; 3.5-litre, 9.7L/100 km combined

Price: (Est.) $40,000 to $55,000

Website: mercedes-benz.ca

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