This is an important car. Not just because it’s the second-most expensive purchase over a person’s lifetime. But way more than that.
(I guess that depends on how you define college: investment vs. purchase. Have you seen the graduation requirements for some of these online schools?)
I’m talking in the royal automotive universe, the navel-gazing world of manufacturers’ bragging rights that may or may not translate into real-world dollars. You know, real nerd-type stuff.
I could easily make a case that the 2015 Mercedes Benz C-Class is one of the most important cars of a generation. I could further make a case that a five-year study of energy prices, safety standards and consumption habits has left a void in one of the most important automotive buying segments in the world. I could also make a case that AstroTurf is great for baseball too. These are all relative, people.
But when you consider that the compact luxury segment is easily one of the largest car markets in the world, and that Mercedes Benz is one of the largest automakers in the world, it would stand to reason that this car is more important than “bread and butter.” The new C Class is important to the automaker’s future like breathing.
Consider the popularity of the 1980’s BMW 3-series. Over time, that legendary compact car’s lore may have contributed so much to the brand’s identity that it vaulted BMW beyond Lexus and Mercedes with maturing buyers who could afford to buy their cars. Stretching reason even further, that mythos may have vaulted it so far in fact that it was announced last month that BMW overtook Mercedes again as the largest luxury automaker in the U.S. for 2014. A position they’ve traded back and forth with Mercedes since 2010.
See? True self-indulgent automotive awareness here, I know.
I’ll come back down to the C-Class — specifically the C300 4MATIC we have above. As the first foray for a wholly redesigned chassis and body, the all-wheel drive C300 is the picket troop for the rest of the class behind it. Mercedes will bring over a rear-wheel drive C300 later this year, a coupe in the next two years, a plug-in hybrid, perhaps an all-electric version at some point, maybe a diesel version, a wagon, a performance variant and all other manner of concept cars based on this C Class for the next 5 or 6 years. May I suggest a horse-drawn version?
No matter what comes over, the C Class underneath is remarkably different this year. From the arching roofline to the dramatic dropping curve of the rear glass, everything about the exterior of the 2015 C300 is essentially new. The exterior reflects Mercedes’ direction with most of their smaller cars, starting with the small CLA, which accentuates lines beginning at the hood-mounted diamond and arches back behind the rear wheel. A lower line, from the larger, lower front fasica, extends beyond the front wheels and reaches up toward the rear wheel. On the more-compact CLA, the three lines are busy, but on the bigger body of the C Class they start to make sense as something actually tasteful and visually break up the larger panels on the bigger car.
Inside, the C Class is the same story. Brushed steel accents for the speakers are everywhere in the car and break up large expanses of dashboard that may otherwise be a little boring. Those speaker accents, which can be found on much pricier S Class and Maybach cars, are standard on the C Class — a wonderful nod down to the upper-middle class by Mercedes.
The rest of the interior is just as impressive. Inviting leather seats, wonderfully touchable interior materials and a floating navigation screen highlight the C300’s comfortable cabin. This C Class has literally grown quite a bit over the decades, and with entry of the smaller CLA, it can. Adults can easily fit in the rear seats and, despite a short-looking trunk from the outside, plenty of cargo too. (Want to see how dramatic the drop is in the rear glass? Just crack the trunk lid a little.)
Mercedes can fit its new COMAND infotainment system into the C Class ($2,690 option) with a floating touchpad above a rotary dial, which highlights the amount of available technology that can be packed into the new C Class. Our tester was resplendent with COMAND navigation, driver assistance ($2,800), premium sound ($1,680) and panoramic roof ($1,480) and the list can go on — and up — from there. More than $14,000 worth of features from Mercedes’ options list were fit into our C Class that starts at $40,000, nudging the final price higher than $50,000, and would beg any buyer’s strict attention before buying. Who brought the red pen?
For this year, we get the C300 and C400 with turbocharged four and turbocharged six, respectively. Both sedans this year are all-wheel drive and both are mated to 7-speed automatic transmissions. Our test car, a 241 horsepower C300 is the champion of the group. A C400, with 329 horsepower, is borderline unnecessary and begs too much attention thanks to its competent — yet stiff — chassis. Our C300 comfortably cruised at any speed, and at just under 6 seconds to 60 mph, can race when pressed into duty.
All of this is important for a very specific reason.
For a long time, the BMW 3-Series was the standard-bearer for cars in its class. Huddled with the Cadillac ATS, Audi A4, Lexus IS, the C Class fought for years to unseat BMW atop the luxury compact mountain.
At the very least, the new 2015 Mercedes C Class is equal to that challenge. And it’s possible that it may have surpassed it now, too.
I told you I’m a nerd for this stuff.