Splendid revelations

This model has changed dramatically since I first drove the 190, as it was called in 1982. It was then a staid, nicely made example of Teutonic engineering. The Avantgarde tested today provides all the excitement of a sports saloon, with comfort, elegance and superbly crafted build along with the sheer quality that had motoring journalists calling Mercedes ‘The best car in the world’ 20 or more years ago.

Five people sit in really well-constructed seats, able to take the lateral G-forces that this sports saloon imposes when being cornered hard, and yet relaxed to a state of near-perfect somnolence when a decent driver is responding to imperfections in the road surface, or cornering in cruise mode, rather than addressing each metre of the journey as a dramatic challenge to the car’s masculinity and ability to absorb surface changes in bendsor hills.

As expected, every moment behind the wheel was a splendid revelation, not least because I could see and enjoy the expanse of the aluminium bonnet, and the hazard warning bleeps and bars played no part when approaching a pavement ‘head on’, a mostrefreshing change.

I was most pleasantly surprised with the fact that despite the car’s length of 4,591 mm and width of 2,008 mm, it was incredibly easy to accurately ‘place’ on the approach to corners and other traffic.

After a nominal mileage, the car was so ‘sweet’ to handle that it appeared to be far smaller than it actually was. After all, a standard five-people car with a decent luggage boot often feels far larger than it actually is as Maltese town streets are most unhappily negotiated.

Much attention to detail has been put into the redesign of the front and rear of the model to give it a far more sportingly purposeful look.

The more prominent radiator grill makes a vital difference to the head-on view and side-sections continue below the headlamps to blend in with the lines along the vehicle’s flanks.

Tail lights have been even more neatly integrated and the rear bumper has been modified to give an impression of an even wider vehicle than it is.

Inside, all is comfort and grace, and for the driver the dynamics of the instrument cluster neatly surmounted by the sort of raised ‘blister’ that would in years gone by have been surmounted by a small ‘Brooklands’ screen in open models makes the driver feel at one with his ‘office’ from the word ‘Go’.

The test car had the new 7G-Tronic Plus automatic transmission. This gear shift with paddle operated change for enthusiasts must be absolutely marvellous on long journeys on roads where the car is a normal means of getting to journey’s end at a sensibly high speed.

Here, in this nanny state where most cars are able to exceed 160 km/h, and we keep boasting about the difficulty of passing the current driving test, we really need three-speed vehicles with a top speed of no more than 100 km/h.

Truthfully, we enjoyed the car’s performance(0-100 km/h in 8.4 seconds) far more than we thought possible, partly because the chosen roads had few mind-numbing slow mobiles, and the car was therefore driven at a safe speed for theprevailing conditions.

So the steering is brilliant with a great deal of on-board adjustment for height and reach. The brakes are dynamic, positive and fade-free, the acceleration and handling well up to sports car standards and then we come to the ‘driving assistance systems’.

I’m a bit of a slob, for my own vehicles have no safety aids apart from belts, and I come from a forgotten generation who were taught how to handle a car, even in extreme conditions. Having said this, it’s incumbent upon me to reassure the less enthusiastic that the assistance systems in the new ‘C’ class are mind-bending.

Listed, in no particular order, we come acrossA Blind Spot Assist and an Adaptive HighbeamAssist, an Active Lane Keeping Assist is matched with an Attention Assist, a Speed Limit Assist, Parking Guidance including parktronic and Pre-safe Brake which initiates braking 0.6 secondsbefore a collision to cut down on the severity ofthe bang. There is an internet access point, larger displays, telephone directory transfer, display of SMS messages, Bluetooth and USB. A map pilot is a first, and the ECO stop/start function works with the car stopped and foot brake on.

Obviously, the car has all the normal electronic features that stop it from becoming a danger to inexperienced drivers and I rather like the optional Distronic Plus Adaptive Cruise Control, which works to keep the car at a safe distance from the car in front, even braking to a stop if necessary.

Verdict

Comfort
Serious design work went into these ‘chairs’.

Performance
We know there are faster models available.

Cool
Here is a fine sports car with all the attributes.

Quality
Mercedes is approaching perfection in the quality stakes.

At a glance

Price
Starting from €39,900 (petrol)

Top speed
231/232 km/h.

0-62mph
8.1 or 8.4 seconds.

C02
Between 117-136 gm/km.

Engine
Four-cylinder diesel CDI with Blue Efficiency (BE).

Power
170 bhp at 3,000rpm.

Torque
400Nm from 1,400rpm.