![]() When shopping, look for a car that has been loaded up with factory options. Such a salary-sacrifice deal also often means that the car has been used as transport for one person, rather than being a pool car for a variety of drivers of varying degrees of mechanical sympathy.Īnd the former is precisely the C-Class you would want to buy now. Since many salary-sacrifice buyers bundle the car's cost up with running and servicing costs (into a single monthly payment) you tend to find cars with comprehensive service histories and no gaps in the maintenance handbook. Plenty of Mercedes-Benz cars are - and were - bought as part of a salary-sacrifice scheme, so they are often kept for about three years and then traded on something newer.įrankly, these are great buys because they often arrive on the market in one big hit, leading to a glut that lowers prices, but also because they're usually very good examples of the breed. So these cars are definitely better put together and seem to produce much fewer hassles for their owners than the previous couple of generations of C-Class. ![]() The real bonus for those thinking of a second-hand C-Class is that, while Mercedes-Benz did have some quality issues in the models immediately before this car, by the time the W204 arrived, head office had experienced a corporate change of heart and decided that quality was probably pretty important for a brand built on the premise of long life and reliability. The turbo diesels, meanwhile, gave that effortless feel and stunning fuel economy that has made the modern oil burner quite a sexy proposition. The larger V6 isn't quite as smooth as we have come to expect at this end of the market, but it certainly moved the C-Class pretty well. And the driving experience only gets better from there on, with the diesel, in particular, offering effortless progress, thanks to a range of five- and seven-speed automatic gearboxes that suited the role perfectly. Some may find the base model petrol lacking a bit of oomph, but in reality it does the job admirably. In diesel terms, the C-Class kicked off with the four-cylinder C220CDI with 2.1 litres and 125kW, and finished with the turbo-diesel V6-powered C320 CDI with 165kW of power and enormous torque. The entry-level engine was the 1.8-litre (although it was called a C200) supercharged engine with 135kW of power, and the range then moved up to a 3.0-litre V6 (C280) with 170kW. This area of the car came in for heavy revision when the C-Class was given a facelift in 2010.īut build quality was better across the board and the move from South African to German assembly for cars destined for this market was good news.įor those who like their cars as practical as possible, more good news: the C-Class could be had as a sedan or a very handy station wagon, which also just happened to look quite stunning as well.Īs well as the usual trim levels, the C-Class could be had in both four-cylinder and V6 guises, with a pair of turbo diesels aimed at those chasing maximum fuel economy. Inside, the new car was not quite as bold as on the outside and the instrument cluster, in particular, was a bit of a disappointment. The C-Class has always been an accurate steerer, but the W204 (to use Benz's in-house coding) was even sharper, thanks to a refined front suspension set-up that also aided agility. ![]() Good enough for there to be plenty of choice when it comes to engines and trim levels.Īs well as a fresh new look (which borrowed its flavour from the S-Class of the day) the new C-Class was better to drive than ever. Not only was it a better looking C-Class, the new model was also better to drive and was better built into the bargain.Īs a result, it took the compact prestige market by something approaching a storm and helped cement the C-Class's place as Mercedes' best-selling model around the world.Īnd now that the earliest ones have had their fifth birthday, they are beginning to hit the used-car market in good numbers. Mercedes-Benz really hit a bit of a sweet spot with its new-for-2007 C-Class.
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