Mercedes-Benz C-Class review

Look familiar? The C-Class's cabin looks as though it was lifted straight from the latest S-Class. Yup – the tech trickle-down used to take years, now it’s down to mere months.

That big, 11.9-inch portrait touchscreen, which is standard across the range and canted slightly towards the driver, could so easily have been complicated and tricky to use. But it’s actually quite intuitive to operate. Not as intuitive as BMW’s iDrive, with its rotary controller and previously separate climate controls, but for a touchscreen it’s not bad at all. 

On the move it’s easier to use Merc’s voice assistant, which gets cleverer with every generation and nowadays isn’t far off Alexa or Siri. There’s also the obligatory Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. Pity about the many finickity touchpads on the steering wheel though, which every so often fail to register your prods and swipes.

Material quality is hit and miss: the bits you touch most are good, but the plastics lower down the dashboard and around the glove box feel more A-Class than C-Class.

What else do I need to know?

It’s probably helpful here if we pick out some of the options that are included as you step up the trim levels. For example, the entry-level AMG Line includes a reversing camera, but the AMG Line Premium and Premium Plus improve on that with a 360-degree camera and assisted parking. 

The top-spec Premium Plus also adds a fancy Burmester surround sound system and a head-up display, while all but the entry level trims get Merc’s augmented reality navigation. 

Is it comfortable?

Yup, the AMG sports seats are great and the driving position pretty spot on. This is a quiet cabin, too, with little wind- or tyre-roar. Doesn’t feel like as much of a sensory deprivation chamber as the ludicrously refined Audi A4, but it’s really very good.

What's it like in the back?

Relative to its competitors, the C-Class Saloon is short on space in the back and boot. It’s better and physically bigger in every respect than the old C-Class, but leg- and headroom for those sat in the rear seats is only OK and at 455 litres the boot is not only smaller than a 3 Series’, but smaller than a Mercedes CLA’s too. Oh, and if you go for the plug-in hybrid the big battery will eat into that space, so you’re looking at just 315 litres.