2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Review

As for any child born in an affluent family, it would’ve been easy for this compact executive sedan to rest on its laurels. Nevertheless, the car does the exact opposite, offering us an excellent lesson on what a Mercedes-Benz stands for. Then again, the C-Class has had plenty of motivation for its serious step up.

As of 2013, the C-Class can no longer be addressed as the junior model of the MB family. The CLA has now borrowed that role and it isn’t going to give it back anytime soon. Even in Europe, where Mercedes has been offering the A-Class for almost two decades now, most people still used to regard the C-Class as the smallest big Merc until the CLA showed up.

Then there’s the C-Class’ pressure of living up to the standards of its mentor. When the world regards you as a “baby S-Class”, you are going to learn your lessons from what has become an icon of automotive luxury.

We have to admit the BMW 3-Series has also played a role in this equation. The current F30 is an incredibly capable offering, and it’s doing an awesome job when it comes to fuelling the eternal rivalry between the two Teutonic brands.

So is the W205 C-Class a smaller scale S-Class?

We won’t rush into driver’s seat just yet though, since the appearance of the 2015 C-Class deserves quite a bit of chatter.

We’re not huge fans of the family identity religion that has taken over German carmakers more than ever and yet we’re pleased by what we see when we behold a C-Class.

Instead of simply copying the S-Class, the premium compact sedan puts things into a perspective that, to our eyes, looks even better. It’s all thanks to the more focused look of the overall package. We’re exaggerating a little bit, but think tailor-made, slim-fit suit vs. a standard size attire.

Sure, the rear end of the S-Class commands a bit more respect, but it is exactly the shorter boot area of the C that deserves the most credit for making the car appear more poised. It’s almost as if the appearance of the 2015 C-Class is telling more dynamic competitors that it is no stranger to their tricks.

And since the CLA is the most aerodynamic production vehicle in the world, the C-Class was, once again, determined to perform well. Thus, the car comes with a drag coefficient that can go as low as 0.24, sitting only 0.1 away from that of the sedan-ized A-Class.

Underneath the skin, the new C-Class is just as far of a stretch from its predecessor. While the old W204 C-Class used under 10 percent aluminum, leaving the rest of the job to the heavier steel, the new model jumps to about 50 percent.

One of the benefits here is that the car is up to 220 lbs (100 kg) lighter, despite having grown. The sleeker styling cues may conceal this and yet the C-Class is now 3.7 inches (95 mm longer). Most of that, 3.1 inches/80 mm, has gone into the wheelbase while the width was increased by 1.6 inches (40 mm).

While front seat space remains pleasing and the luggage capacity is only marginally increased to 17 cubic feet (480 liters), the rear passengers are the ones who benefit the most from this elongation.

However, editors over 6 feet (1.85 m) only reported a “decent” rear seating experience, and we're referring to the headroom here.

It’s a bit difficult to focus on the cabin space at first though, simply because the new interior styling will easy grab your attention. Even in standard trim, the materials inside the 2015 C-Class support the lavish design.

We did have an issue with the Piano Black plastic on our tester though. Scratches. Many, many scratches everywhere. Sure, this was not a car that had been babied, but the intense use only simulates what will happen to this trim on a customer’s car over a longer period.

While one editor complained about the center console being too massive, most of us enjoyed the “serious” touch this adds to the overall feel of the cabin.

While the instrument cluster maintains Mercedes’ fetish for the round, buried-deep binnacle layout, the color display between the gauges is well executed.

In terms of ergonomics, as much as we welcome the addition of an optional Head-Up Display, we’ve been waiting for the universe built by the vast new-age Command menus to grow on us ever since the S-Class introduced this. Well, it hasn't.

Yes, the system offers a nice packaging for a wide variety of options. However, once you go past the initial eye candy, you’ll get tired of having to wait for a certain menu to “unfold” itself when you simply want to access a function.

To us, this Comand is still like having a partner with a superb voice, but who insists on communicating everything through singing.

As for the central display, the standard unit is a 7-inch screen. Opting for the Comand Online increases that to 8 inches, while bringing features such as hotspot functionality and the Linguatronic voice control. We didn’t get to play with this though.

The tuned is an incredibly light one inside the city though. This is where the 2015 C-Class easily shows the most important shift in its character. The car feels considerably lighter than it is and the actual weight savings are just a part of the package.

This is a characteristic we also encountered on the subsequently-launched 2015 VW Passat (Euro-spec).

Even in its basic suspension trim, with passive dampers and coil springs (more on that later), the 2015 C-Class delivers an agile feel. Don’t mistake this for the sportiness of a BMW 3-Series though, it’s a different story here. Let’s just say the C-Class is the kind of gentleman who both walks and runs, but will not brag about it.

And speaking of industry trends, we were pleased to notice that Mercedes-Benz has strayed from the efficiency compromises carmakers such as BMW and VW have turned to. We’re talking four-cylinder diesels here, namely the C220 d. You see, when we drove the BMW X3 20d and the VW Passat 2.0 TDI, both in four-cylinder automatic trim, the powertrains offers us odd underreving sensations at times, all in the name of superior MPGs. Not so with Mercedes though.

The same goes for the new-found driving modes of the car. As an option, you can choose an agility select switch, which offers the “Comfort”, “ECO”, “Sport” and “Sport+” modes. An “Individual” setting allows you to configure the parameters individually.

Depending on how well you’ve specced your car, the feature controls the throttle mapping, gearbox shifting points, suspension and steering behavior.

Sure, the 3-Series already had such a feature, but, as we were saying, the ECO mode feels like it doesn’t quite put tranquillize the car as much as BMW’s Eco Pro does.