‘Aggressive-looking’ Merc shapes up well

THE arrival of a Mercedes' latest C-class estate raises the game in the quality stakes for the German maker. It's roomier, chunkier but has lost it's smooth curves in favour of an angular-looking, almost aggressive body which we think suits the estate's shape much better than the saloon.

The Sport model we tested comes with adaptive suspension that automatically reacts to road conditions, and it also benefits from lower, stiffer settings and more direct steering to give the car that sharper feel compared to non-Sport versions.

This version of Merc's C-class comes with much less roll than the previous version, too.

Engine choices include a supercharged 1.8 petrol with either 156hp or 184hp, and three petrol V6s of 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5-litres. There are also three Cdi diesels – 136hp and 170hp 2.1's, which are badged C200 and C220, or a 224hp 3.0 as tested here – and the latter comes with Merc's super-smooth 7G Tronic auto box.

And there's more options to choose from too, including a panoramic sunroof, advanced agility package, bi-xenon headlights with cornering light function.

The C-Class dash is made from soft-touch plastics and the cabin has a solid feel. Switches and knobs are much more chunky and like many other mainstream makers, Merc has now added a single rotary knob to let you scroll through on-screen menus to access parts of the car's systems. It reduces clutter, but can be distracting until you learn the process without the need to look.

Buying a C-class is now much more about load space than before. Although the load floor isn't quite flat with rear seats folded, there are useful touches including hooks for bags, anchor points for lashing down loads and a collapsible shopping crate assembly.

There's plenty of room for four adults, too, although the transmission tunnel – as with many rear wheel drive cars – is bulky for the fifth passenger.