2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class review: Australian launch

New looks, new interior, new safety features and some very cool user technology go a long way to justifying a stiff price increase for Mercedes-Benz’s latest generation medium luxury sedan.

What we love

MBUX system is a visual treat

2.0-litre engine is smooth and muscular

Sublime driving experience

What we don’t

Price rise will drop it from shopping lists

Voice activation system needs work

Ride comfort let down by sharp reaction over road joins

Introduction

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class used to be an important car for the Three-Pointed Star. The C-Class, and its rivals Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series, were once the gateways to luxury motoring for aspirational consumers. 

A little more than 20 years ago, the C-Class sedan and coupe were major drawcards in the Mercedes-Benz showroom. Shoppers who bought their first C-Class one day might step up to a more expensive C-Class a few years down the track, or go on to buy an E-Class or even an S-Class as their careers bloomed.

Not any more. Today, buyers head straight for the SUV aisle in a Mercedes-Benz supermarket that now has twice the variety that it did 25 years ago. They load up on relative newcomers like the GLA, GLC or GLE SUVs, or the CLA or A-Class small passenger cars. 

The attraction of the veteran C, E and S-Class models is diminishing with every year. In 2021 they accounted for just one in five Mercedes-Benz sales. And that trend shows no signs of changing. 

In fact, it’s quite possible that this all-new fifth-generation (W206) C-Class which launched in February 2022 could be the last of its kind as Mercedes-Benz morphs its range yet again to accommodate the next big thing: Electric Vehicles. Think about it. The next C-Class will be due around 2030. What will the potential market for medium sedans look like then?

That’s a shame in many ways because this new C-Class is the best ever. It’s also the most expensive ever. Mercedes-Benz has raised the price of entry to its one-time entry-level model by between $12,000 and $15,100 depending on the variant you’re looking at. 

There are two C-Class variants initially, the C200 priced from $78,900 and the C300 we’re testing here priced from $90,400, both before on-road costs. Now, don’t make the mistake of thinking those prices are negotiable. Mercedes-Benz, like Honda, has moved to a fixed price structure similar to how Apple sells its products. There is no haggling, and there are no specials. The price is the price. 

All stock is advertised on Mercedes-Benz’s website, so buyers can see exactly what is available, and at what price. At the time of writing the cheapest available was a silver C200 priced at $87,121 drive-away (Victoria). The cheapest C300 carried a $104,078 drive-away price. 

That’s a long way north of the previous starting point of $66,900 for a W205 C200, so it will do wonders for that generation’s resale values. But we’re here to talk about the W206 generation, so let’s take a closer look at how Mercedes-Benz justifies a $12,000 price rise.

The new C-Class is an evolution of the W205 (2014-21), which in turn was a huge leap forward over its predecessor the W204 (2008-14). It retains the same basic building blocks, but has been refined and improved in almost every way. 

Its powertrains are exclusively mild-hybrids which means less fuel is consumed, and the interior has been overhauled to incorporate the Mercedes-Benz User eXperience (MBUX) operating system.

All Australian-delivered C200 and C300 sedans come standard with the AMG-Line dress-up kit, which includes sports bodykit, bonnet with ‘power bulges’ and AMG-style alloy wheels. This makes the new C-Class 4793mm tip to toe, which is 107mm longer than the model it replaces, and quite a body-stretch considering the wheelbase has only grown 25mm to 2865mm.

The more obvious exterior changes include moving the cabin glasshouse back in the wheelbase for a more coupe-like profile, LED headlamps and two-piece taillights. 

A digital light package is optional which replaces the LED headlights with a complex system of 1.3-million micro-mirrors. Mercedes-Benz says this isn’t about increasing the headlight range, but increased clarity in the existing range.    

Later this year, the Mercedes-AMG C43 sedan will join the party, followed by the full-fruit C63 AMG in 2023. In what might come as a shock for performance car fans, the once-upon-a-time 6.2-litre V8 C63 is now expected to be powered by 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with plug-in hybrid capability. 

A new C-Class coupe based on the W206 sedan will follow down the track, but the wagon variant launched alongside the sedan in overseas markets has been ruled out for Australia.

Inside

Slide inside and the C-Class’s new interior will impress. This is a premium space, even in the less expensive C200 variant. So it’s no surprise to learn that some themes and touches have been adopted from the S-Class limousine.

Up front, the biggest change is the fitment of an 11.9-inch touchscreen in the centre to complement the 12.3-inch screen that replaces the traditional instrument cluster in front of the driver. 

The C200 has what Mercedes-Benz calls Artico trim that kind of looks and feels like leather but isn’t. It also has electrically adjustable front seats (and steering wheel) with electric adjustment. Adding the available Vision pack adds seat memory and heating, plus a panoramic opening sunroof.

Dual-zone climate control is standard, as is satellite navigation with augmented reality, wireless smartphone mirroring, a smartphone charging pad, keyless entry and start, and 64-colour ambient lighting.  

The C300 steps this up with a full leather interior and tinted privacy glass for back windows.

Both C200 and C300 get new and more aggressively scalloped internal door skin, which combine with external dimension increases to liberate 22mm more elbow room at the front, and 15mm more in the rear seats. Rear seat headroom is up a claimed 13mm. I fitted my 173cm frame in without issue, but anyone over 185cm is likely to be brushing the roof lining. 

Mercedes-Benz is also claiming a 35mm rear knee-room increase to make back seat passengers more comfortable. 

Back seat passengers get twin air vents in the centre, but there are no rear seat climate controls or USB ports. There is, however, a fold-down centre armrest with built-in phone- and cup-holders, although if you’re like most Australians and you have your phone in a protective case, it won’t fit. 

The C-Class’s boot space remains an unchanged 455L which is slightly smaller than the BMW 3 Series.

Infotainment and Connectivity

The headline act of the new C-Class is the MBUX infotainment system, which is based in the 11.9-inch centrally-mounted portrait touchscreen. This system is of an exceptionally high quality, which is important because you’ll use it to interact with everything from the climate controls, to the satellite navigation, to smartphone mirroring, to adjusting the safety systems and more. 

The system is beautifully presented and responds quickly to touches. Those touches, by the way, will show up as fingerprint smudges when the screen is powered off. 

Speaking of fingerprint, there is a built-in fingerprint sensor that unlocks personalised MBUX settings, although your saved driving position is still linked to the key.

The MBUX system allows interaction via touching the screen, talking to it, or by making wavy hand gestures that are picked up by a camera. We found the first method to be the most reliable. The voice recognition is good with basic stuff like “I am hot” and “call the boss”, but struggles with anything a bit complex like “give me directions to work”, or “show me the sat-nav map”.

As for the hand gestures, that was very much hit and miss. Point your finger forward and circle it one way to turn the volume up, the other way for down. That worked well. As did thumbing a ride to change to the next song or preset radio station, but thumbing a ride the other way refused to go back to the previous song or station. Maybe it didn’t like my manicure.

In addition to the 11.9-inch central screen, the C-Class retains the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster as found in other Benz models, which is also highly impressive. It can be adjusted via small touchpads on the steering wheel, which work well, allowing you to change the theme from Eco to Sport, or add detail to the head-up display, or many other essential and non-essential functions. 

Safety & Technology

The new Mercedes Benz C-Class represents a big step up in passive and active safety, starting with the addition of a centre front airbag to prevent front occupants clashing heads in a crash. There are now ten airbags in total across both rows of occupants. 

The C-Class comes standard with 360-degree external camera coverage, active lane keeping, blind-spot assist, radar cruise control, driver drowsiness monitors and active parking assist. 

The C200’s lane awareness systems will not keep you from straying.

Buyers who step up to the more expensive C300 are guarded more zealously by active blind-spot assist, active brake assist with cross-traffic awareness, emergency stop assist, active lane-keeping and lane change assist, active steering assist and active stop and go. 

The C300 also has Mercedes-Benz’s evasive steering assist, extended stop and go and a presafe side-impact anticipation and protection system.

The new C-Class has not been crash-tested by ANCAP at the time of writing. Mercedes-Benz has a history of five-star results, so we’d be gobsmacked if the new C scored anything less. 

Value for Money

This is a tough question to answer. Does the new C-Class represent good value for money compared to its predecessor? 

We’ve mentioned the $12,000 to $15,100 price increase compared to the old W205 C-Class, and that’s quite a deficit to make up. So let’s try. First, W206 C-Classes come standard with the AMG-Line styling treatment inside and out, which was a $3200-$3700 option previously. 

Then there’s the hugely updated and very impressive interior, which now includes the 11.9-inch MBUX user interface incorporating voice recognition and augmented reality. 

The new C200 also gets a raft of once-optional equipment as standard, including radar cruise control, active lane change assist, speed limit assist, 360-degree cameras, high-beam assist, keyless entry and go, and a powered boot. 

Lastly, this is the first C-Class to get Mercedes-Benz’s second-generation 48-volt electrical assist system which provides greater assistance at lower speeds.  

That feels like $12K worth of extras to me, so I’d say the value is still there. 

The C300 has a bigger $15K deficit to make up, which is why, in addition to everything mentioned above, its active safety suite has stepped up with five new features all mentioned in the Safety section above. 

So, strictly speaking, the value is there. What remains to be seen is whether potential customers will see the value too. For many previous purchases will have been optioned up, so the difference may not be as large.

I think the bigger problem is the fact that the C-Class’s higher starting price will exclude it from some buyers’ consideration sets because instead of starting in the mid-sixes it starts in the high sevens.

In terms of everyday costs, the C200’s 6.9L/100km combined cycle fuel economy rating and the C300’s 7.3L/100km rating are both more than acceptable. Whether you get anywhere near them in daily driving is down to how you drive. On the launch, we saw 7.2L/100km from the C200 over a mix of city and country roads, and 8.0L/100km from the C300 in a mainly country setting.

All Mercedes-Benz passenger cars come with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and a 12-month or 25,000km service interval. Servicing for the first three years will set you back $2450.

Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp

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Driving

We drove both the C200 and C300 at the Australian launch in late-February, and while the little 1.5-litre turbocharged engine in the former does well for its size, the latter’s 2.0-litre turbo unit is more in keeping with the effusive and effortless motoring expected of a Mercedes-Benz. 

The C200 is not a bad engine, in fact it does quite well for such a small unit in a 1650kg sedan. Mercedes-Benz claims its 150kW and 300Nm outputs will propel the rear-drive C200 from rest to 100km/h in 7.3 seconds, helped in no small part by the second-generation 48V electric unit which aids initial acceleration and a nine-speed automatic that swaps quickly between the gears. 

But it’s the C300 that has the grunt to respond more generously to every prod of the accelerator. The 2.0-litre turbocharged unit’s extra 40kW and 100Nm make a huge difference, as a 0-100km/h time of 6.0 sec demonstrates. Accelerating up to speed after turning onto main roads or overtaking on highways is faster and less stressful thanks to this engine’s more muscular torque delivery between 2000 and 3200rpm.

The C300’s ride quality with optional adaptive dampers is a real highlight. In comfort mode there’s a limousine-like waft to the way it deals with undulating surfaces, yet it remains stable and relatively nimble too. Switch to Sport or Sport+ mode and the ride firms up a little while the responses sharpen considerably, making the C300 quicker to bite when you turn the steering wheel. 

The optional adaptive damping package includes a rear-wheel steering system which sees the rear wheels turn 2.5 degrees to make slow speed turns sharper, or turn the other way over 60km/h to increase stability. It’s a nice to have, but not a need to have, because the C200 we also tested felt pretty good dynamically without it.

The only chink in the new C-Class’s armour is the front suspension’s dislike for road joins or sharp pothole edges, particularly when the car is going through a corner. The short, sharp shock transmitted through to the cabin temporarily ruffles the otherwise impermeable serenity – but the C-Class is not the only Benz to suffer from this affliction, and it’s really a minor issue in an otherwise impressive dynamic unit.

Conclusion

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan may be losing its sales appeal in SUV-mad Australia, but it’s still a massively important car to Mercedes-Benz worldwide. The previous generation W205 C-Class sold in over 100 markets and racked up 2.5 million sales between 2014 and 2021. 

Thanks to the C-Class’s importance globally, Australians can now enjoy the significant benefits of the new W206 C-Class. It is a deeply impressive car, not least for its brilliant interior, refined driving and high levels of efficiency and safety. 

We will be putting it head to head with the BMW 3 Series to see which one is the better premium mid-size sedan, and we think the BMW will have one hell of a fight on its hands. 

As for whether this new C-Class can revitalise sales in Australia, that will come down to how well Mercedes-Benz communicates the value proposition at the higher price points, and Australians’ willingness to buy a prestige car at a fixed price with no haggling. 

Keyword: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C-Class review: Australian launch