I have been called many things in my life. ‘Cute’, ‘fat’, ‘love-of-my-life’, ‘Makha’ (one may be fudged) however one title bestowed upon me has stood out to me, that is the title ‘impatient’. I do kind of believe it when they call me the latter title because when someone uses it on me I usually cannot wait for them to finish talking.
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The title also proved itself to me when I drove the latest Mercedes Benz C200 W206 because I knew I should have waited for the C43 AMG to be released before I asked for a test drive, but I had to know how the car is like ASAP. The question this raises then is whether my test drive was satisfying. I hope to answer the question as clearly as possible. If the answer comes across as a bit cryptic, I do not apologise.
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Let us get all of the numbers out of the way first. You can claim this car from Stuttgart manufacturer for almost R900k, in entry level trim. I cannot comment on how reasonable that is because I currently work for almost the same hourly rate as the slaves who built the Egyptian pyramids. My ‘pharaoh’ seems happy though.
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I am told that the car comes with a 1.5 litre turbo charged engine that has the capability to churn out around 201 bhp. Not bad. My biggest sticking point though, is that it has a smaller natural engine than the one in my parents’ Nissan Livina mommy wagon that I use. Yes, “glass houses” and the rest of it but I reserve the right to not be completely happy about the fact. We must move on though.
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On to the business of the face and body now. Always remember that looks may not always be everything as it relates to people but they are pretty damn important, I must say. I tried saying to my friends once “yes I know my crush is not a super-model but I love her warmth”. They said “WELELEH! Inganekwane!” When it comes to cars, looks are everything.
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The previous C-Class was astonishing when it came out. It was gorgeous and you could tell that they dedicated a lot of their time at the Mercedes headquarters towards refining the exterior’s look. It was wildly different from the version that came before it. It was sleeker, the face was prettier and it had a more coupe-like S-Class vibe to it. It proved to the world that mid-sized family luxury sedans could be beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, the offerings within this class of car had always been desirable, from all the ‘big German 3’, they were always just ‘nice’ but the previous gen C-Class was the first to be purposefully beautiful, especially in two-door coupe guise. It was a ground breaking, show stopping head turner. It had no business being that beautiful. It was simple, yet elegant.
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The latest C-Class wanted to go in that direction as well, it seems. The question then becomes “how do you out-simplify simplified beauty?” The answer Mercedes clearly came up with was “make it simpler!” After one design team staff member proposed that idea everyone in the boardroom clapped and they all high-fived each other, packed up their briefcases and called it a day. This is how I imagine it went down. The results speak for themselves. They came up with a design so simple it looks boring. The single most inoffensive thing they have ever created and with being inoffensive to this degree comes the risk of being dull. They took the risk; the car looks bland. Well done Mercedes.
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Granted, I drove the base model and do not mistake my words for me saying that the car is not appealing. I just think that they tried to appeal to everyone in the looks department, however, as an adage I learned just this week goes; “A friend to all is a friend to none” – Some Ancient Greek Dude. The old C looked good even in base trim but with this one you have to get the AMG kit to get it a bit exciting and nothing is sadder than a non-performance Merc with an AMG kit on, although it is brilliant upselling from the company. Again, bravo and high-fives all around.
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Now we get to the business of how the car felt on the road. I have to say, the two last car companies in the world I least expect surprises from are Mercedes and Volvo, however the drive with this particular Merc left me quite stunned.
The engine in the car I drove was clearly not happy. I may have caught it on an off day. It was Saturday after all. It was loud and you could hear it straining from within the cabin and since it is just a 1.5 litre unit, it doesn’t make an appealing sound. All through the twisty, hilly highways around Pinetown the gear box almost did not know what to do. Even in manual paddle-shift mode the changes were slow but I do credit them for being smooth. The car is powerful enough, make no mistake but the power unit does want to audibly let you know that it is the one doing all the work. WE GET IT! WE KNOW!
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Another surprise that the Merc pulled was that it was responsive. Note that it was not intrusive but the feedback I got from the wheel and was enough to let me know what the tyres were doing. I felt connected to the road. This was surprising for me because you sort of expect a Merc to be disconnected and aloof when it relates to ‘road-feel’. That was admittedly exciting, the sort of thing you expect from the Bavarians on the other side of the pitch. Another surprise was that although not mad fast, as it is the entry level spec, it felt quite nimble on the bends. It did not feel heavy and big. That was another exciting part. I did not find it to be the most comfortable of cars but it was comfy enough for a nice mid-distance trip.
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Another thing worth considering when looking at getting this car is the dealer. I was treated like an old friend by Nontando, my test drive chaperone, and the rest of the team at Mercedes Benz Pinetown. It felt like a dealership where you would get excellent after sales support. It is the first time that dealership service, especially for a non-paying customer, such as myself stuck out, to me. The bottom line is that the Mercedes I drove may not be the Mercedes for you but trust them to get the one that will be.
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All in all, the car’s flaws all balance nicely with all the car’s strengths, only if you are a younger person looking to get a premium sedan, mind you. The scales tipped in the car’s favour after having interacted with the dealership. I will not tell you to get this car. I will just tell you to definitely consider it.
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