New four-link suspension systems, front and rear, hold up the new C-Class. A self-leveling air suspension with driver-selectable ride modes can be added as an option. Variable-ratio and variable-assist electric-power steering is also part of the mechanical package.
Most of the technology available on the S-Class can now be found on the C, either as a standard feature or an option. This includes the Intelligent Drive suite of technologies including standard Attention Assist, which monitors the driver for inattentive or drowsy behavior and can use the optional navigation system to suggest a rest stop. There’s also an available Enhanced Active Lane Keeping Assist that can nudge the car back into its lane by applying the brakes on one side.
This is the first C-Class that feels as substantial and uncompromised as its big brothers. Yes, running on an 111.8-inch wheelbase and stretching out 184.5 inches long, this is the largest C-Class yet. In fact, that wheelbase is only 1.4 inches shorter than the current E-Class sedan’s and 1.6 inches longer than that of the seminal W124-generation E300 midsize sedan of 1986. The introduction of the CLA has allowed the C-Class to grow larger.
Open a door and it unseals with a whoosh as if you should apply for a visa before entering. Finished in optional brown leather, the interior is striking, comfortable and sweetly lined with wood. The surface shapes are similar to those in the S-Class, but more inviting and, well, playful. That’s especially true of how the screen for the navigation system floats above the three center air vents. An Air Balance package of cabin air purification and fragrance is offered for $350. You can skip that and insist that your passengers use a deodorant soap.
The steering wheel is relatively small in diameter, relatively thick-rimmed and absolutely flat on its bottom. It’s an instantly more engaging invitation to the driver to have fun than you’ll find in other Mercedes sedans. The transmission is still controlled by a wand behind the wheel, and because it’s up there, there’s not a pointlessly large shifter taking up acreage on the center console.
Instead, the console has a track pad and dial from which to control the Comand interface, which alternates from being amusing to being utterly frustrating depending on the task. You can make manual shifts with paddles behind the steering wheel.
The C300’s 4-cylinder engine is virtually silent. This is a version of an engine rated at 208 horsepower in the CLA, where it’s mounted transversely and isn’t as well isolated as it is in the C-Class. The 4 is too good to dismiss. It’s so easygoing that most buyers will never feel as if they’ve settled for second-best.
The C400’s V6 growls when started and always has a trill to its exhaust note. It’s a muscular engine that can roar into Marshawn Lynch beast mode when the car sees an opening it wants to exploit.
Based on the E.P.A. rating, the C300 can return an impressive 24 miles per gallon in the city and 31 on the highway; the C400’s numbers come in at 21/29.
C400 4Matic measured romping from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.7 seconds and through the quarter-mile in a blazing 13.3 seconds at 107 m.p.h. — solid numbers for a muscle car. The C300 0 to 60 time is 6.5 seconds.
Prices start at $41,325 for the C300 4Matic and $49,515 for the C400 4Matic. The test cars were loaded up: The C300’s sticker reached $55,995, and the C400 was $62,725. Not cheap, by any means, but I could skip some of the options, including the $1,480 oversize Panorama sunroof. And anyone not subject to the Polar Vortex who wants a C300 can wait for the less expensive rear-drive version, which will start at $39,325. Mercedes has already announced that a high-performance AMG C63 powered by a 503-horsepower 4-liter twin-turbo V8 will go on sale next year. But just as tantalizing are the prospects for diesel and gas-electric hybrid versions that are likely to come.
All the virtues of a big S-Class sedan have been scaled down to make the new C-Class immensely attractive. In addition, the C is less intimidating, more efficient, more fun to drive and easier to park. That’s a new and better kind of Mercedes mojo.