Subtle design tweaks and impressive tax savings may not be all that novel, but they make the C-Class 200 an ideal entry point into the premium market
FOR A CAR brand that traces its lineage to the first commercially developed motor car, you might have expected Mercedes to be previewing the flying car by now. The fact that 125 years after Karl Benz built his three-wheeled horseless carriage, we’re still working with the same oil-fuelled fundamentals may be considered as much a testament to our failings as to his foresight.
Today marketing messages are all about the revolutionary changes coming our way, but the idea of cutting fuel costs is hardly novel. While global warming and emissions might not have dominated the headlines over the last century, fears over rising fuel costs has been a fact of motoring life since the 1940s.
So is BlueEfficiency just another marketing ploy? Perhaps, but it is part of a wider strategy by the firm to play a leading role in the next evolution of the motorcar. For all the marketing ploys of the past, we are quickly approaching a time when we need to replace the oil-powered engine.
It’s an exciting – and frightening – prospect for car firms. Back the wrong technology and your brand could be the next Betamax. In an effort to waylay the risk, larger car firms are spreading their engineering investment across many fronts. For Mercedes this means its Blue hue covers not only models like the C-Class, but natural gas versions, petrol and diesel hybrids and fuel cell technology. It might delay the eventual engineering epiphany, but it means they won’t be caught out.
So where does the C-Class BlueEfficiency model stand in the crusade to save the planet? It’s the equivalent of foregoing baked beans in an effort to reduce methane levels: a plethora of minor changes that start with aerodynamic improvements and include smooth underbody cladding which reduces wind turbulence.
Then they sealed the small gaps between panel joints and around headlights to give the car a better profile. Finally, a 15mm reduction in the body ride height helps to reduce drag. Nothing earth-shattering then, but smart all the same.
The final touches include a modified rear axle ratio, rolling resistance tyres and a power steering pump that works on demand. All changes that you might think they could do on every car without too much fanfare.
In terms of performance, you’d be hard-pushed to notice the difference. As with all automatic Mercedes, it comes with a choice of comfort or sport settings on the transmission and the sport does improve responsiveness without compromising on ride quality. For a car of this size, aimed to be a more agile proposition than the larger models, it should really be the standard setting.
The 2.1-litre diesel may not be as lively as its Bavarian rival but it never feels like a slouch. Perhaps it’s the eco-effect on driving expectations. We’ve come to expect “green” variants to be asthmatic sloths, yet in most cases the weight reduction and improved aerodynamics reap rewards in terms of performance.
Where this more environmentally-conscious C-Class did show a little discrepancy is in terms of grip from the lower rolling resistance tyres. While the roads retained a sprinkle of frost, we were surprised by the number of times the little yellow triangle flashed on in the dash, signalling traction control in action.
It’s never too intrusive and not something to be concerned about, but if you kick down mid-corner, the rear end wiggles slightly before the traction control comes in to iron out any further wheelspin. Various independent tests have shown that rolling resistance tyres involve a degree of compromise in terms of grip: it’s not an issue of safety – the traction control is there for that – but performance and the delivery of all the power of the engine onto the road.
As for the all-important fuel savings, the regular version manages an official combined consumption figure of 5.7l/100km (48.5 mpg), while this model achieves a figure of 5.5l/100km (51.4 mpg). During our week behind the wheel we managed an average of 5.8 l/100km (48.7 mpg).
However, the real benefits aren’t at the pumps. In the automatic version – let’s face it, Mercedes saloons have to be automatic if you want to resell it at a decent price – the CO2 emission levels drop from 177g/km in the regular version to 144g/km.
In tax terms that’s a drop from €630 a year (band E) to €302 (band C). It’s a sizeable saving now, and will improve with age as used car buyers in the years to come will be weighing this car up against nonBlueEfficiency version and a €300 annual saving on road tax will quickly win the day.
It’s not just with road tax that the savings are evident. We took a peak at the prices for C200 diesels back in January 2008. At the time a new C200 diesel automatic was listed at €50,825. Even an entry-level C180 Kompressor started at €43,240. In comparison, the well-equipped test car, with leather upholstery and the sporty Avantgarde pack and smart alloys, was €44,000. The starting price for this C-Class diesel variant is €36,350. Looking back to 2008 again, it’s less than what buyers were paying for 2-litre diesel versions of the Ford Mondeo or VW Passat.
So fantastic news for the new buyer, unless they’re trying to offload their old car, in which case they must drop their asking price to be competitive.
Ultimately this is a real value proposition for those looking to enter the premium market. It’s further enhanced by the fact that as well as carrying the cachet of the three-pointed star, this generation of C-Class is the best Mercedes entrant in this segment for over a decade.
Previous models never matched the class of the E-Class and were poor relations of the S-Class. As we stated at its launch, it’s the first Mercedes of this size that we’d consider buying since the era of the 190 model.
It faces stiff competition, however, from the recently introduced Audi A4 and the BMW 320d. Both have variants that match it in terms of eco-performance and tempting prices.
Then there’s the Volvo S80 Drive, a big family car at an attractive price. This C-Class sits nicely between the more performance-orientated BMW and the spacious Volvo.
The allure of the Mercedes badge to Irish buyers has always been incredibly strong, but the problem for the C-Class range is that as prices dropped it was just too close to the larger E-Class. A little environmental tweaking and the C-Class is back in business.
Factfile
Engine:2143cc four-cylinder in-line turbocharged diesel engine putting out 136bhp@ 2,800rpm and 360Nm of torque @ 1,600rpm
0-100km/h:9.2 secs
L/100km (mpg):urban – 7.1 (39.8); extra-urban – 4.4 (64..2); combined – 5.5 (51.4)
CO2 emissions:132 g/km for manual; 144 g/km for auto
Tax:manual – €156 (band B); auto – €302 (band C)
Specifications:Along with usual features for C-Class the BlueEfficiency versions come with a gear shift recommendation on the instrument cluster and lower rolling resistance tyres
Price:€44,000 for Avantgarde automatic (starting price for C200 CDI BlueEfficiency is €36,350)
The Rivals
Audi A4 2.0 TDI SE Multitronic
- Power: 143bhp
- 0-100km/h: 9.7 secs
- L/100km (mpg): 5.7 (49.6)
- CO2: 149 g/km
- Tax: Band C, ¤302
- Price: €41,850
BMW 320d SE Business edition auto
- Power: 177bhp
- 0-100km/h: 8.0 secs
- L/100km (mpg): 5.4 (52.3)
- CO2: 144 g/km
- Tax: Band C, ¤302
- Price: €44,689
Lexus IS 220d Executive
- Power: 175bhp
- 0-100km/h: 8.9 secs
- L/100km (mpg): 6.1 (46.3)
- CO2: 148 g/km
- Tax: Band C, ¤302
- Price: €37,530
Volvo S80 1.6D Drive S
- Power: 109bhp
- 0-100km/h: 9.5 secs
- L/100km (mpg): 4.9 (57.6)
- CO2: 129 g/km
- Tax: Band A, ¤104
- Price: €34,360