By Mercedes-Benz standards, the C-Class is relatively new in the product line-up. After all, there have been Benz cars driving around since 1886! But since 1982 – when the C-Class car was still called the 190 series, the Stuttgart-based company has sold 8.5 million of the so-called kleine Mercedes.

It is obvious then the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class had to be not just good, but very good, a big leap ahead of its predecessor, since in volume terms it is the most-produced car in the passenger line-up. And just before lunch on the very first day of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class international launch in Provence, France, I was of the opinion that yes indeed, this is not only a good Mercedes, but an excellent one.

Relief? Well, I have been less than convinced by the A-Class and its sedan-coupe sibling, the CLA, launched here in the past nine months or so. Styling-wise, yes the A-Class is a huge success, doing the very job it was designed to do and that is to woo young customers to the Mercedes family. They are selling up a storm!

But as an overall package, they lack that composure for which Mercedes-Benz is famous, and I was afraid this might be the case with the C-Class too, that the chassis-cum-suspension engineers may have strayed too deeply in the stiff-equals-sporty territory that in my opinion mars the current entry-Merc.

C-Class safety tech

The new 2014 C-Class evinced all the characteristics that traditionally sets a Mercedes-Benz apart from entry-premium sedan segment competitors – composure, and an absolute sense of assurance, with no hint of aggression. Technologically, the new C-Class moves the boundaries in terms of having safety and driver-assist systems that have only just been introduced on the range-topping S-Class

As part of the new Intelligent Drive driver-assistance safety package it has the most advanced collision avoidance systems currently in production, its Plus system offering autonomous braking at speeds of up to 200 km/h. It also brakes automatically in response to stationary vehicles at up to 50 km/h and the braking force initiated totally without driver intervention is astounding.

Engine choices

The new C-Class comes with a variety of engine options, all designed to meet the forthcoming Euro 6 emissions standards. The diesel options include 1.6-litre turbo-diesels in 85 or 100 kW form, as well as improved versions of the current 2.3-litre diesel four-cylinder motor ranging in output from 85 kW to 150 kW.

Torque readings, more important from a diesel perspective, range from 280 Nm in the entry-spec 1.6 turbo diesel to 400 Nm in the C 220 BlueTEC, which we sampled on the launch drive. The petrol variants range from a 1.6, badged as the C180 (115 kW) to a 180 kW two-litre. South Africa will be getting initially, the C 180- and C 200 petrol variants, the C220 BlueTEC diesel and the C250, which is a 155 kW petrol model.

Ride and handling

In recent years, many manufacturers have battled in achieving this ideal steering feel, where the front tyres loading up in a corner transfer that increase on torque through to the steering wheel, as manufacturers have moved from hydraulically-assisted steering systems to electric power assistance, so that the electric systems can be switched off when there is no movement on the steering wheel and thus save energy.

A longer test drive in South Africa will confirm just how good it is, but for now, I feel Mercedes has achieved a great compromise. And the same goes for the suspension system with its all-new four-link from strut system which is superb in the way it absorbs bumps and keeps steering and suspension geometry accurate.

Build quality

The cabin is also very much a step way ahead in terms of tangible quality, the materials used being of exemplary class and tasteful, and the fit of panels, such as those on the inside of the A-pillars and the door arm rests and cappings, is way ahead of the offering in previous C-Class.

Design

All this, and the car looks good too. Mercedes’ designers have managed to incorporate many of the themes introduced on the SLS sports car, the A-Class and the CLA, as well as the S-Class, into an integrated whole that to my mind is very pleasing on the high. It has a cutting-edge feel to it, as well as a svelte elegance, something not that easy to achieve. There may be the odd fussy detail, but these, perhaps, add character too. Bland the new C-Class certainly isn’t, and yet it is still a C-Class.

Pricing and summary

There is much more to tell about the new car, but not enough time and space right here. By the way, the test cars we drove in France were produced in Germany, but right now as we speak Mercedes-Benz South Africa is ramping up to full production on the all-new C-Class in its East London.

Those will be the ones we will getting in a few months time and the average price increase over the current model is said to be just six per cent. That means that the launch prices here in May will range from R415900 for the c 180 to R502600. Right now, my leaning would be towards the C 220 Blue TEC at R459000, although this is for the manual model, and I would definitely go for the automatic model in this engine configuration.

For detailed pricing and specifications of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class, click here.