Test Drive: 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic Sedan

Please join me in congratulating myself. The new Mercedes-Benz C300 4MATIC is the first car I have reviewed since being awarded runner-up status as the Auto Journalists Association of Canada’s 2014 Automobile Journalist of the Year. Another reviewer of this car recently wrote in another publication that while most dimensions have expanded for a better ride, the 2015 doesn’t offer quite the headroom its predecessor did. Thankfully despite a fairly low ground clearance and overall height of just 1,442 mm, I could still easily fit my Journalist of the Year’s [Runner up, Steven, settle down… –Ed.] head in.

And while this is the first review I’ve done since being awarded, it’s also quite possibly the last I’ll do for a long time too. I’m moving to Italy in less than a month to live in central Milan with my wife. So let’s make this one count.

Thankfully despite a fairly low ground clearance and overall height of just 1,442, I could still easily fit my Journalist of Year’s head in.It’s a great car.

Okay, so maybe we’re off to a tepid start. But there’s no debating the C300’s quality.

Still, you are continually reminded that this is not the upper level Mercedes-Benzes. Of course, given the S-, M- and especially B-Classes, we can’t expect that C means déclassé or lousy marks, but we’ll explore a few of the little things that regularly remind you that you’re not with the law school kids. Mind, these are minor complaints: it really is a great car!

Outside, she’s as sleek and sexy as a posse of Berlin club-goers strutting the streets after midnight. The low, yet long downward sloping snout also spreads languidly on either side ­– with its mirrors out, like some angry big cat, the C300 measures over two metres wide – providing plenty of room for inhalation through the grille, into… we’ll talk about the engine later.  The flanks sweep smoothly up and back down, like some GTA drumlin formed patiently over thousands of years, tapering to a very pretty derrière you’ll continually catch yourself glancing back at after you’ve parked.

2015 Mercedes-Benz C 300 4MATIC, dashboard. Click image to enlarge

The daytime running LED lights look fierce while the LED headlights shine your way forward at night. (Because this may be my last Canadian review, you can have the following for free. LED actually stands for light-emitting diode.) Those headlights are static, so yes, they only shine forward, eschewing the more expensive technology that turns with your steering wheel and lights where you’re turning.

More LEDs box the taillights and, closing things off, even more flash decoratively as indicators embedded in stripes encompassing the mirrors.  The mirrors are heated, an example of how Mercedes-Benz may not dole out the bling to C-Class drivers with excessive generosity but there is zero compromise to your safety. Another example? When I returned the backseats to their upright position, I was remiss, not locking them properly. “Rear Right Back Rest Not Latched” flashed on the dial. So when it comes to safety, every Mercedes-Benz driver is first class.

Inside, it’s pure Mercedes-Benz. Yes, that’s a good thing. The trim is called Black Piano, very tasteful and ­– what with all that leather in the seats and steering wheel – slightly high-class naughty. Mind, the steering wheel isn’t heated, a legacy of C-Classhood. There are five air vents up front, quickly correcting climate conditions after the engine, which we’ll talk about soon, roars to life.

The driver’s seat is adjustable sixteen ways and has memory for three settings. So if you’re patient enough to futz, you’ll eventually be very comfortable and can stay that way for good (or at least till some jackass changes your settings).

For such a petite-looking sedan, the C300 has a generously long wheelbase of 2,840 mm, which boosts the handling and provides comfort to backseat passengers. If you don’t have any backseat passengers (my kids and wife have moved away to university and Europe, respectively) you can flatten those backseats with the pull of some serious mechanical levers in the top of the trunk which would look at home on an expensive exercise machine. With the seats down, you massively expand the already-impressive 480 litres of cargo space. With the backseats up, you can still flip down the armrest all the way to reveal the ski door.

2015 Mercedes-Benz C 300 4MATIC seating, trunk. Click image to enlarge

The techy cockpit almost screams for aviator sunglasses prior to entry. Everything for control and comfort is laid out exactly where it ought to be, from volume and listening mode control to cruise control, to drive mode and nanny control off switches. Yay! But more about the drive a little later.

Haters, as the kids say, gonna hate the added-on high-definition infotainment (yes, I hate that word too) screen. Last time I reviewed a Mercedes-Benz here, an Autos.ca reader said the screen looked like an iPad crazy-glued to the dash, then several others piled on with their own vitriol. So unfair. I think the screen is great. The picture’s as clear as your first day with your new prescription glasses. Affixing modularly, rather than integrating into the entire panel, makes it easier for Mercedes to upgrade year by year as technology and software sprint ever faster into the future. [It’s also safer. –Ed.]

Segue to the latest generation of COMAND, the infotainment interface. I wasn’t always a fan but am delighted with the latest improvements. The haters’ point regarding iPad comparisons are interesting but, in my case, I don’t see it as an insult. It’s supremely easy to manipulate within and between applications, each of which has several ways in and out. My only criticism is the “mouse” you click for choosing things. It is a truly unintuitive design. It’s also utterly unique, although in my observation’s case the word unique is not meant as a compliment. It looks like a small hockey puck with its own mouth guard. Still you’ll figure it out pretty soon.

2015 Mercedes-Benz C 300 4MATIC driver’s seat, centre stack, navigation. Click image to enlarge

All the apps work well. It’d be great to have had satellite radio but it’s not included in the C-Class. There is, however, a magnificent surround-sound audio system with 13 carefully positioned speakers – though you can upgrade to the Burmester system for $1,000 if you want even more quality. This vehicle’s test took place in the early days of CBC 1’s Jian Ghomeshi DeathWatch™. So, lacking satellite radio, I switched to CBC Radio 2 upon my first drive. Immediately, on came Astor Piazzola’s magnificent Milonga del Angel. It was only half finished when I arrived at my destination and I just sat there for two more minutes, drinking it in. Beautiful music rendered perfectly is one of life’s chief pleasures, so wonderful it’s shocking there’s no tax on it.

Okay, now the drive. The Agility Select switch offers several settings for drive modes: Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and the marvelously named “Individual”. Predictably, it allows you to tailor the ride to your preferences.  Also predictably, my Individual would turn out to be virtually indistinguishable from the Mercedes engineers’ Sport+.

The C300 lovingly houses a peppy four-cylinder turbocharged engine with 7G-Tronic Plus seven-speed automatic transmission. Yes, seven speeds in a mid-level luxury sedan, which explains how it can customize your Individual driving mode. After all, there are only eight notes in the western scale (speaking of black pianos).

Only four cylinders you say? If you’re wondering, the C does not represent chintzy-ness here. This engine releases a whoop-assed 241 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque at just 1,300-1,400 rpm.

So no wonder the C300’s combined city/highway fuel consumption numbers total 9 L/100 km.

2015 Mercedes-Benz C 300 4MATIC headlight, engine bay. Click image to enlarge

Add to that, the engine requires high-octane (minimum 91) premium gasoline. So if you find achieving that already chewy fuel-consumption number a challenge ­– I did ­– there’s an appropriately green conservation switch with all green’s extra meanings. When engaged, it turns off the engine during complete stops in traffic, which is most of the time in Toronto where I live. It comes back on when you remove your foot from the brake.

The three-spoke steering wheel (hey, that looks like a Mercedes-Benz logo!) feels great to grip. And the steering itself is magnifique, a real thrill to push aggressively between complete engine halts in traffic.

The handling (on preciously expensive run-flat tires) defies inertia in its precision. Pray for curves, hills and solitude.

Despite the fact that you don’t get all the bling you’d expect in a $46,000 car (minor stuff, like a fob you have to click for entry ­– having it on your person isn’t enough; non-heated rear seats and steering wheel; no satellite radio and static headlights) you are getting a wonderful ride. And as another author of another Mercedes-Benz review recently said in another publication, if you’re worrying about the baubles and bling you’re probably considering the wrong car.

Price: 2015 Mercedes-Benz C 300 4Matic
Base Price: $43,000
Options: Premium Package – $3,700; Memory seats – $900
Freight: $2,075
A/C Tax: $100
Price as tested: $49,755

Competitors:
Acura TLX
Audi A4
BMW 3 Series
Infiniti Q50
Lexus IS
Volvo S60