Price as tested: €48,387.
In brief: All the usual Mercedes strengths and a beautifully balanced chassis, but lacks the space to be a proper family estate.
I have an instinctive, gut reaction to Mercedes estates. I want them. Any of them. I can’t explain it, it’s not based on anything rational, but I just love them. Ever since the quietly handsome W114 estates of the late seventies, I have just lusted after a big Merc hauler.
So, this updated C-Class estate should be pushing all my buttons, and statically at least, it does so. The restyled front end looks crisply handsome, especially in Avantgarde trim with the big, bold three-pointed star in the grille. Our test cars’ silver paint was entirely appropriate and, far from making it look boring or predictable, merely served to accentuate the clean lines.
Inside too, things a good. Very good. When it updated the C-Class this year, Mercedes did an excellent job of eradicating the slightly coarse, cheap-feeling plastics of the first-gen model and instead giving it much more a a mini-E-Class feel. As is usual with Mercedes, there are few (if any) gimmicks or geegaws beyond the the reasonably simple rotary controller for the Command system and you get the impression that it’s a cabin that will wear years with grace and resilience. Just as it should be.
Behind the three-pointed star lies the lowliest of Mercedes’ current diesel engine range, the 134bhp 200 CDI four cylinder. Don’t go feeling short changed by it though, for when it’s optionally bolted to the front of the excellent seven-speed automatic gearbox, this is a very satisfying engine to drive. Refinement is excellent, and despite having just that 134bhp (and 360Nm of torque) it really does pull with a pleasingly relentless feeling. It’s not blisteringly fast (0-100kmh in 9.6secs) but neither does it feel under-engined at any point.
It earns its BlueEfficiency badge as well, with Co2 emissions as low as 125g/km and claimed fuel consumption of 4.8-litres per 100km. Mind you, we only managed a relatively disappointing 6.2l/100km average, but you can in part at least blame a couple of long motorway runs for spoiling that.
The best part of the C-Class estate though has to be its chassis. Mercedes has, thankfully, ignored the received wisdom that a car with sporting pretension must ride like its suspension is constructed entirely from RSJs and concrete. The C glides along, always with an underlying firmness, but riding really quite beautifully.
And, as if to prove that the late, great LJK Setright (look him up) was right when he said that “whatever is done to improve ride is, when done properly, also good for handling” the C proves itself able to entertain too. The steering feels meaty and positive and, unlike most modern electrically assisted systems, feels like it’s telling you what’s actually happening at the contact patch, rather than relaying some kind of computer simulation. Front grip is excellent, and the C resists understeer very well for what is, let’s face it, a comfy family estate.
Ah, but is it. This is where the C’s case falls apart just a bit. You see, sporty, compact premium saloons, a class that the C falls firmly into, generally have one mission in life; to massage the ego of their drivers and owners. And that’s fine, but it usually means that space in the rear seats is compromised and that is the case here. It’s not actively cramped, but certainly big, bulky child seats really chew into the available room, often forcing the front seat occupants to sacrifice their comfort somewhat.
And the news in the boot is not much better. Yes, it’s square and flat back there, and yes, it passed my usual massive-three-wheeled-buggy test with ease but 485-litres of space, with the rear seats up, just doesn’t seem enough any more. Does it?
You see, I think that the C-Class estate’s problem is that it’s caught in an uncomfortable middle ground between the likes of the Mondeo, Passat, 508 and even Skoda Superb estates (bigger by far, better equipped as standard, barely any less well built or engineered and cheaper by up to €20k) and the E-Class estate, which regular readers will know I am madly in love with.
The E is everything a Mercedes estate should be. It’s massively spacious in every seat and in the boot, drives with the kind of calm sure-footedness that a big German car should and feels as if it’s built to withstand a concentrated napalm attack.
The C-Class manages to do many of those things well, and it has a really good bash at being the perfect Mercedes estate in miniature. But it’s that miniature bit that holds it back. At its cheapest, it starts to make a little more sense, but the price of our test car would have you into a decently specced E-Class, and that’s game over.
A shame. I loved the C estate when I saw it, but the simple fact is that you would be better off buying it as a saloon, or saving up for an E.
Facts & Figures
Mercedes-Benz C200 CDI estate Avantagarde A/T
Price as tested: €48,387
Range price: €38,750 to €98,455
Capacity: 2,143cc
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 360Nm
Top speed: 209kmh
0-100kmh: 9.6sec
Economy: 4.8l-100km (58.8mpg)
CO2 emissions: 125g/km
Road Tax Bad: B €156
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 82% adult, 70% child, 30% pedestrian, 86% safety assist.
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