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THE
Mercedes-Benz C-Class has always positioned itself as
direct competition to the BMW 3-Series or 3er, the Audi
A4 and the Volvo S40. Its combination of civility and
controlled aggression has always put itself on a par or
even better than the aforementioned vehicles.
But with
the E90 (the current BMW 3er) having showcased excellent
variants of late and the new Audi A4 soon on its way to
the country’s shores, Cats Motors, the local distributor
of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, deemed it fit to launch the
new C-Class in June 2007. And to let the entire motoring
media discern the good and the bad about the W204 (the
current C-Class), Cats Motors recently threw in a group
test-drive in order to let the automotive press “C” for
themselves.
First up
was the teaching of the proper driving position and the
correct way to select gears, courtesy of head instructor
Wim Daens and instructor Florian Franz. Daens said the
whole C-Class Experience (or CCE) puts emphasis on
safety, especially during emergency maneuvers in any
condition, and it all starts with the proper driving
position. All one has to do is get behind the wheel and
face forward, extend one’s arms, make sure that one’s
wrists are directly above the wheel’s 12 o’clock
position and the shoulders rest right between the
bolsters, adjust the tilt/telescoping steering wheel,
power-assisted seats, side- and rear-view mirrors
accordingly, and strap on the seat belt. “All these
prevent you from getting tossed about, should you need
to swing the steering wheel extremely in either
direction due to the sudden presence of any road
hazard,” said instructor Franz.
Since
the W204s used for this test-drive—the C200 Elegance,
the C280 Avantgarde and the C350 (with AMG
package)—toted automatic transmissions, putting the car
in gear requires stepping on the brake, releasing the
footbrake, moving the A/T stick to the proper gear and
letting go of the brakes.
Next was
an exercise in which drivers were to hurl the cars
through a tight left to right chicane at 75 to 90 kph
with the electronic stability program (ESP) on, and all
windows down. This was to stimulate sudden
change-of-lane maneuvers and the C-Class’s Pre-Safe
program, which rolls up the windows and tightens
seat-belt slack if the ECU (electronic control unit)
detects a potentially dangerous situation, such as
strong oversteer or understeer. That said, it was
observed that with the C200 Elegance, the Pre-Safe
program and the ESP wake up at 78 to 80 kph. On the
other hand, the C280 Avantgarde’s Pre-Safe program and
ESP wake up at 85 to 90 kph. With the C350 one can get
into the powerband real early (3,250-3,500 rpm) and
enjoy much sportier driving; at 90 kph the C350’s
Pre-Safe program was asleep all the time, and easily
allowed the driver to catch errant slides without waking
up the ESP.
Then
came the slalom maneuvers (all in C200 Elegance units),
in which drivers had to make the car weave through a
series of pylons, go through a wide left-hand U-turn,
then go back and weave through the same series of
pylons. This highlighted the C-Class’s Agility Control
package, which automatically adjusts the dampers at each
wheel, and gives a significantly smoother ride than
conventional dampers, thus giving occupants superb ride
comfort. Also, the exercise highlighted the W204’s
steering, which walked a thin line between light and
firm, but not stubborn.
The last
exercise highlighted the C-Class’s stopping power, and
required drivers to accelerate from zero to 80 kph and
enter a wet pylon-shaped “brake box.” Having entered the
“box,” one had to stomp hard on the brakes and turn
either left or right, then drive the car through two
more pylons roughly 100 meters from the “box.” From the
said exercise, it was observed that the brakes grabbed
hard at the slightest prod, requiring little effort from
one’s leg, and that the hazard lights were activated in
order to serve warning to following or oncoming traffic.
As shown
by the recently concluded C-Class Experience, the new
C-Class is in every way a “C”-erious match for its
Teutonic rivals. |
