It is wonderful to get into the car after refueling and to see a range of over 1100 kilometers on the display. Not the only pleasant sight here in the interior of the Mercedes C 220d, which is probably the most elegant in its class. Welcome to the Baby S-Class that could be such a pleasant travel companion.
Could? Well, actually it is. It drives wonderfully smooth, steers well, the two-liter diesel is extremely economical, you sit comfortably, it remains quiet at all times – but the operation of the MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) system can pull the last nerve. Details are given below. Following the motto “don’t judge a car by its control elements”, we want to go into other things first. The one with the Baby-S-Class, for example, because it’s not just being said: The C-Class (which once succeeded the 190 series, called Baby-Benz) is on the same platform as Daimler’s flagship. The relationship can also be recognized by the sucked-off shape, the drag coefficient of 0.24 should have a positive effect on consumption. The chocolate side is at the front, where two power domes have been folded into the bonnet. The C-Class has grown in length by six and a half centimeters to a stately 4.75 meters, the wheelbase has stretched slightly to just under 2.87 meters, but the roof is now running an inch shallower. You want that back when you are tall and take a seat in the back. Speaking of taking a seat: when the car is uphill, the door no longer slams each time you open it. The weak door holder had actually been a dubious distinguishing feature for a Mercedes for many years. Very well. But the front door opening is relatively narrow, with my height of 1.88 meters I have to twist myself slightly when getting in. But the yacht-like interior with its pin-striped wooden panels and the upright display makes up for it. And after all, you don’t have to get on or off often on longer trips, see consumption. And no matter how long you are on the road – you arrive relaxed. Which brings us elegantly to driving The engine of the 220d is a two-liter mild hybrid turbodiesel with 200 hp, which is supported by a belt-driven starter generator with 15 kW or 20 hp. Noticeable, because it excellently fills any turbo deceleration when accelerating until the maximum torque of 440 Nm occurs at 1800 tours. All of this is delivered with a serenity that can almost be described as provocative. After all, it is only the base diesel in a sedan weighing 1772 kg according to the type certificate. Shouldn’t that seem somehow sluggish? Don’t do it, on the contrary. It goes neatly, 7.3 seconds are enough for the sprint to 100. Only the standard nine-speed automatic cannot always keep up in terms of smoothness, it jerks sometimes. You don’t even miss something on German autobahns. A travel speed of 180, 200 km / h is easy, really not much more, because then there is usually too much traffic and the approach around the top is longer. In clear moments, the Benz runs up to 245 km / h. This is how economical the C 220d is. The inclined reader may recognize from these lines: We didn’t carry the car, we drove it quickly. And far. In the end, after almost 3000 kilometers, including long full-throttle stretches in Germany up to top speed, an average consumption of 6.3 l / 100 km was on the clock. That is most remarkable. If you don’t let it go like that, you can easily get by with five and a half liters without holding back. A constant travel speed of around 180 km / h requires around seven liters per 100 kilometers. The suspension and steering are great, but … The optional sports suspension that is built into the test car is also wonderfully supple. So comfortable that it doesn’t translate bad roads too much inwards, but also so concise that winding country roads are fun. There would also be adaptive dampers (no air suspension) and rear-axle steering, if you want (but only the normal version, not the one with a ten-degree steering angle from the S-Class). But even with only two steered wheels, nothing is missing, the steering is sensitive, pleasantly direct and absolutely successful. When maneuvering, it is not the steering that disturbs, but the poorly adjustable brakes, as well as the assistant, which cuts the engine power when things get tight. It feels like an emergency program, not a support. The stress level of the driver increases every second because his eye-hand-accelerator coordination suddenly no longer works. Who approved these controls? I always get this impression when I operate the MBUX system via the steering wheel elements. When the developers have done their homework and actually have the customer in mind, buttons, buttons, controls or anything else react as well as the steering or drive of the Mercedes C 220d. I would be seriously interested in what you were thinking of at Mercedes when these elements occurred to you. Because these touch and slide surfaces on the steering wheel belong on the pile before VW’s touch sliders, which the apprentice turns away in the evening, and you need them all the time. The left double spoke of the steering wheel is responsible for the content-rich menu on the speedometer display and for the cruise control, the right double spoke for the central touchscreen as well as volume and telephone etc. Hitting / finding something by sliding is a matter of luck. Turn the music down or up a bit? Works: If you lightly run your finger over the surface, the music becomes louder or quieter. But since you usually only have one of the two as your goal, that’s unsatisfactory. The volume slider on the center console can only do this marginally better. Function follows form – if at all, it works similarly with the other touch surfaces. In short: the longer I am out and about in the C-Class, the more the wait staff annoys me because they react badly or incorrectly and that is just tedious. Mercedes once had real buttons on the steering wheel that worked perfectly. But that’s probably no longer important when developing a car, new possibilities have become an end in themselves. Before you accuse me of eternal yesteryear or old-fashioned thinking: It has nothing to do with a matter of taste, but with certainty, because if these things don’t work properly, they are distracting. And that’s dangerous; after all, voice input works well. But that cannot be an excuse for the hand operation problems. Incidentally, adjusting the exterior mirrors is not that easy either: You have to look at the “buttons” because you can’t feel where to push. “Hey Mercedes” doesn’t help either. The MBUX itself is actually a matter of taste, with the menu navigation you can in principle find your way around, provided you have dealt with it a bit. However, some functions should be more directly accessible. For example the lane departure warning system, which is active after every restart. If I want to switch it off, I have to tap on the car symbol, then on switch off, then on back. That’s a quick access function anyway, but a single push of a button should be enough. Why? Anyone who likes to drive with this assistance system may not be a very safe driver. If he wants to turn it off, it may be because the situation is currently confusing. Then tipping around can lead to excessive demands. Let’s put it this way: If you need a reduction in performance when parking, you are overwhelmed by now at the latest. The price: Everything is just the beginning The base price for the C 220d is 54,400 euros, the test car costs just under 70,000 euros, es so there is a lot of extras on board. Delicacies such as matrix headlights, rear-axle steering, automated driving or adaptive dampers are not yet included. You shouldn’t expect a bargain in this vehicle class, even on this side of the S-Class. The cheapest C-Class, the C 180 with 170 hp 1.5-liter four-cylinder petrol engine costs 48,410 euros and is equipped in such a way that you can actually live with it doing a lot right. When it comes to driving, he’s really impressive. However, it is really advisable to test the control system extensively before buying it, not just for two minutes at the dealership, but on a long test drive. It doesn’t have to be 1100 kilometers… Why? Very smooth driving behaviorStrong, very economical engineHigh quality impressionWhy not? Annoying controlsOr maybe …… Audi A4, BMW 3/4 Series Gran Coupé
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