Sprint Review: Mercedes-Benz C220 BlueTEC

One new car, lots of short paragraphs

What you need to know: The new C-Class was introduced earlier this year so this car commands a lot of attention. It’s available with turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel engines, of which this is the smaller one. What you concede in performance, you’ll make up in fuel savings. Mercedes claims 4.3L/100km.

Some more facts: Looks like a small S-Class, rides more like a BMW than a Merc. The adaptive damping system “Agility” comes as standard, as do big bass sounds and a comprehensive active ‘n passive safety package. Available in 11 exterior and five interior colours, depending on model and options selected.

An oven-fresh C220 BlueTEC costs N$459,000. If you tick ALL the boxes, it will add N$294,250. We recommend the LED Intelligent Lights (N$20,000), Media Interface (N$3,250) and leather interior (N$13,000) but make sure it isn’t all-black as the car is exceptionally well-insulated and ten minutes of sunshine turns it into a cauldron.

Where we went: Woolies, a burger restaurant, the Kwikspar around the corner and an airport. The obligatory two large suitcases and two pieces of hand luggage fit in the 480L boot just fine. Rear leg room is impressive and our car’s active steering made parking a doddle.

You should watch out for: Although Mercedes charges extra for the 7G-Tronic automatic gearbox, most C-Classes leave the factory with it pre-installed. We can’t comment on the six-speed manual ‘box as we’ve never encountered it. If you somehow find one, you may want to steer clear. Mercs should be automatic.

Why you’ll want one: It’s new and desirable with added dynamism and specs. Our real-world fuel use hovered around 7L/100km from the 41L tank but high milers should easily do better. Mercedes-Benz seals the deal with a full six-year/100,000km service plan.


Happy Snaps

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