New Mercedes C-Class review: better to drive than ever

Petrol-engined saloon gets an overdue facelift, but can it stand out from its new electric sibling?

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By the time a car reaches its mid-life facelift, you expect it to have settled comfortably into its role. The fifth-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class hasn’t really had that luxury. A good five years after it went on sale, this ICE model now finds itself sharing showroom space with an electric model of the same name based on a completely different platform, wearing more modern styling, offering more contemporary drivetrain technology and answering a totally different set of questions.

That doesn’t mean Mercedes is ringing big changes for its traditional saloon and estate, though. Instead, it’s another careful sharpening for the Audi A5 and BMW 3 Series rival – and, on the evidence of this first drive, that decision looks sound. It’s an update aimed at taking the existing C-Class and making it feel relevant again, rather than reinventing it.

New Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars in stock

 Mercedes-Benz C Class 1.5 C200h MHEV AMG Line G-Tronic+ Euro 6 (s/s) 4dr opens in a new tab
£41,410
 Mercedes-Benz C Class 2.0 C300e 25.4kWh AMG Line G-Tronic+ Euro 6 (s/s) 4dr opens in a new tab
£46,965
 Mercedes-Benz C Class 2.0 C300dh MHEV AMG Line (Premium) G-Tronic+ Euro 6 (s/s) 4dr opens in a new tab
£47,660
 Mercedes-Benz C Class 2.0 C300h MHEV AMG Line (Premium) G-Tronic+ Euro 6 (s/s) 4dr opens in a new tab
£46,260
 Mercedes-Benz C Class 2.0 C300dh MHEV AMG Line (Premium Plus) G-Tronic+ Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£52,910
 Mercedes-Benz C Class 2.0 C300dh MHEV AMG Line (Premium Plus) G-Tronic+ Euro 6 (s/s) 4dr opens in a new tab
£51,160
 Mercedes-Benz C Class 2.0 C300h MHEV AMG Line (Premium Plus) G-Tronic+ Euro 6 (s/s) 4dr opens in a new tab
£49,970
 Mercedes-Benz C Class 2.0 C300h MHEV AMG Line (Premium) G-Tronic+ Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr opens in a new tab
£48,010
 Mercedes-Benz C Class 2.0 C300dh MHEV AMG Line (Premium) G-Tronic+ Euro 6 (s/s) 4dr opens in a new tab
£47,660
View all 167 cars

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DESIGN & STYLING

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British buyers get a narrower choice than before. The diesels are gone, leaving the C250 and C300 petrols alongside the C300e plug-in hybrid, which scores up to 67 miles of WLTP electric range. Saloon prices start at £46,995, with the C300 tested here from £49,145, while the estate carries a £1750 premium, opening at £48,745.

The most visible of the changes is a new grille, which now carries a chrome surround with integrated illumination, a hundred or so subtle three-pointed stars and, depending on the market, an illuminated central star emblem. The lights too have been altered, getting a new headlight shape and a star-shaped daytime-running light signature, while the saloon’s tail-lights adopt the same motif.

Combined with reshaped bumpers front and rear, this makes for a bolder-looking and more expressive car than before, although whether it constitutes an improvement will depend on your tolerance for illuminated jewellery.

Elsewhere the changes are subtler. Above the standard 17in wheels, a new 18in design arrives, as do two new 19in AMG options. An AMG Line Plus spec appears for the first time on the ICE C-Class, bringing black tailpipe trim, a small boot spoiler, sports seats, red stitching and red seatbelts.

INTERIOR

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Inside, the fundamentals are unchanged: the 12.3in digital instrument display and portrait-oriented 11.9in central touchscreen are both carried over. What have changed are the graphics on them and the software behind them.

Underpinning this technology is the latest generation of Mercedes’ MB.OS operating system, bringing with it Mercedes’ fourth-generation MBUX user interface.

The optional 15-speaker Burmester 3D Surround Sound System now senses how many people are belted in and adjusts its audio focus accordingly.
Greg Kable
European editor

Combining AI agents from ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing and Google Gemini, this allows the driver and passengers to hold conversations with a so-called Virtual Assistant featuring a short-term memory function.

Navigation is now based on Google Maps data and a real-time 3D representation of your surroundings is overlaid onto the instrument display. Augmented reality nav is now also available as an option for the head-up display.

Meanwhile, new materials replace the cheap-looking black gloss plastics of before. Better still, Mercedes has seen sense on the steering wheel, the capacitive touch controls being replaced by a physical rocker switch for cruise control and a rotary dial for volume. It’s a small change that makes a big difference to the operation.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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The C300 tested here is rear-driven, but 4Matic four-wheel drive remains available as an option.

The 2.0-litre four-cylinder mild-hybrid turbo petrol engine has been reworked extensively. It still produces 258bhp and 295lb ft of torque but does so with greater flexibility. It now runs on the Miller combustion cycle, which is claimed to improve thermal efficiency by shortening the time of the intake valve opening.

A new 48V electric compressor has been introduced to fill the gap below the turbocharger’s threshold, too. The effect is a more seamless low end: whereas the old engine required a beat or two before boost arrived, the new one pulls cleanly from little more than idle.

A second-generation integrated starter-generator within the nine-speed automatic gearbox adds up to 23bhp and 151lb ft, further improving response. An overboost function adds another 27bhp for about 20 seconds at a time.

As such, Mercedes now claims a fractionally reduced 0-62mph time of 6.1sec for the C300.

RIDE & HANDLING

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The chassis has also received attention. Stiffer bushes and newly tuned adjustable damping give the ICE C-Class a welcome two-sidedness: it settles quickly over poor surfaces without ever feeling brittle and it resists lean through a bend without turning rigid over a long motorway stint.

In this specification it strikes a happy balance between composure and comfort. The four-link front and five-link rear suspension is carried over with revised tuning; and rear-wheel steering remains, offering up to 2.5deg of rear-wheel angle and reducing the turning circle by 43cm to 10.64m.

The steering is the standout: well weighted, consistently precise and unusually communicative for an executive saloon, it gives you the confidence to place the car exactly where you want it, whether threading through a tight urban junction or holding a line through a fast, open bend. It’s class-leading in this respect: few rivals offer the same sense of connection.

Refinement is just as impressive. Few if any of the four-cylinder cars in this class come close to the C300 for sheer quietness and freedom from vibration. The cabin stays hushed at motorway pace, wind noise is well suppressed and the engine only makes itself properly heard when it’s worked hard – and even then it’s a distant, muted sound rather than an annoying intrusion.

VERDICT

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The interior remains a pleasant place to spend time. New materials are a genuine improvement, the displays are crisp and the optional augmented reality navigation is more useful in practice than its novelty suggests.

The case against the C300 is not that it’s deficient but that the C-Class Electric now exists. The EV is quicker, bigger, quieter and, on paper at least, more compelling. It’s also more expensive, though that might change once single-motor versions arrive.

For those who cover long distances at pace, the ICE C-Class remains a thoroughly competent and, in this specification, genuinely improved executive saloon. Mercedes hasn’t tried to make it something it’s not, and that restraint deserves credit.