The first thing that impresses about the new C Class is the almost total serenity in the cabin. There is no wind or road noise to be heard, as the C 250 wafts down the road.
Mercedes has done a good job with the new interior, and it looks all very luxurious.
Gear selection is via a wand on the right of the steering column.. up for reverse, down for Drive and Park is enabled by pushing a button on the end of the wand. I found it easy to use, but occasionally my left hand went searching for a console mounted shifter, out of pure habit. Gear changes in the 7 speed auto,can also be made manually with steering wheel paddles. Wheel adjustment is via another wand to the left of the steering wheel, and cruise and speed limiter is taken care of with yet another wand on the same side. Thankfully there's now an electronic park brake.
The seats are firm but supportive and there's reasonable room inside the cabin although tall rear seat passengers might find it a bit squeezy.
The large information screen is fixed and sadly looks like a bit of an afterthought. Audi has a similar sized display on its upmarket models but it retracts into the dashboard out of the way when not needed.
The C250 here was fitted with similar goodies to the new E class tested elsewhere in this blog. They include a sliding glass moon roof, heads up display in front of the driver, showing direction, the road you are on, speed and cruise settings. It's very useful and I liked how easily read it was. Other niceties, self parking and un-parking, active cruise control that will slow the car by itself to a full stop if need be....active lane keeping steering that keeps the car in its lane should the driver's attention wander, a lane change warning in the wing mirrors, a multi speaker digital sound system and more.
I didn't mind the fake wood interior trim, and I liked the illuminated door handles and scuff plates at night. Headlights are suitably brilliant on high or low beam.
The 4 cylinder two litre turbo engine is a ripper: quiet and powerful, from its 155kw ,350 nm of torque. Handling is very good as you'd expect, the C250 sits flat and purposeful through corners. The suspension is adjustable five ways, from ECO to sport plus, with Comfort in between.
However even on Comfort the ride is anything but..it's just too firm.Passengers I took on a couple of occasions remarked at the jiggling the average suburban ruts and bumps produced. On the highway at speed every bump is transmitted to the interior.
Perhaps the wheel and tyre combination was to blame..225/40/19s up front and 255/35/19s at the rear.
Many buyers might not notice this and probably will get used to it, but the ride should be much more supple in a car of this calibre.
The C 250 retails at just under 68K.
Peter Sellen
