Mercedes-Benz C-Class review

The new Benz costs a little more than the car it replaces and so is a little more costly than its arch-rivals – the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and to a lesser extent the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Jaguar XE.

Prices start from £45,165 OTR for the entry-level AMG Line petrol C200, but the big touchscreen is standard across the range, as is wireless Apple CarPlay/charging, heated leather seats, LED headlights, blind-spot monitoring and a rear-view camera.

AMG Line also brings with it big wheels (18-inchers are standard in the UK), schporty trim and more and more kit as the price climbs. For an extra £3,000-ish you get AMG Line Premium trim (starting from £48,555) featuring such luxuries as digital headlights, a head-up display and a 360-degree parking camera. Top of the tree is AMG Line Premium Plus which’ll set you back at least £52,555. That adds 19-inch wheels and the fancy Burmester stereo system.

As previously mentioned, you’ve a choice of four mild-hybrid engines, in the form of two petrols – the 1.5-litre C200 and 2.0-litre C300 – and two diesels – the 2.0-litre C220d and C300d. However, there’s now also a petrol plug-in hybrid, starting from just north of £50k. Click back to the ‘Driving’ section for more.

Monthly payments for the entry-level petrol start at around £535, and the diesel £575 respectively. You’re looking at around £625 and £670 for the upper petrol and diesels models, on a three-year agreement with a six-month down payment. 

Our choice? The C220d is sorely tempting – it’s the current best-selling C-Class engine, and for good reason – but if you can, we’d urge you to have a look at the C300e. It is obviously more expensive to buy outright, but for business users emissions of just 17g/km make it a great choice and this is one of those rare hybrids that actually works as well in reality as it does on paper.

Equipment levels are good, too – 12.3-inch digital driver display, 11.9-inch central display, MBUX infotainment system, heated seats, wireless phone charging and more – plenty to keep you happy. Expect to pay around £700 on lease. Tempting.