Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mercedes Benz C-class Blue Efficiency

After a long pause of content in automotive section, I finally manage to post a car review despite of some inputs which suggest more contents in inspiration section. Like usual in and specifically in automotive section, the car I featured here is reviewed with my own perspective, which means if you have any critics regarding my opinions about the car, please do kindly keep it for yourself. This time, as you can see from the pictures, I featured a Mercedes Benz C-class which has been Mercedes’s golden child for the last 16 years. While this note was written, I certainly believed that there was no car I have ever driven which has longer name than this one has, precisely Mercedes Benz C180 Kompressor Blue Efficiency T-model Avantgarde. This ridiculously long name obviously describes several things, such as the number 180 which indicates its engine capacity and don’t think that it is a 1800cc engine, instead it is a 1600cc petrol engine; a supercharger which for the reason I don’t know why, is called as Kompressor in Merc’s world; Blue Efficiency represents that the car is the version designed to please environmentalists and therefore boasts some features to make it environmental friendly; T-model means that the car has an estate-shaped body; Lastly, avantgarde represents the highest trim in C-class family.

Firstly, I would like to point out that Merc’s car design is one of my least favorite things in the world and that is exactly what happened with C-class. Whereas the front part looks generally well and actually very good in optional AMG styling-packet, the rear section doesn’t speak Merc’s design language at all, it is as cold and passionless as its designer who is a German. Truth be told, the tail of saloon version looks a trifle less annoying, whereas I nearly burst into tears when I saw the estate’s bottom, it is goppingly awful.

Thankfully and unlike its exterior, the interior design of C-class suits my taste rather well, although it couldn’t be categorized as stylist. However, the interior presumably promises a feel of quality and clearly shows the effort of its interior designer trying to make the interior as comfortable as possible. Every button and instrumentation panel is placed within the driver’s reach, driving position is good and especially the center arm rest which provides an excellent arm support. Speaking of standard equipment, C-class is shipped to the customers with a total of six airbags, COMMAND system which includes a 4.5 inch color monitor in the dashboard, dual zone climate control, multifunction steering wheel and cruise control. However, the Avantgarde trim in the car here was equipped with several optional extras, such as leather seats, Bluetooth phone connectivity, navigation system, sunroof, advanced multifunction steering wheel with audio control switches, front and rear parking sensor, 17 inch alloy wheel and some metal insertion in the interior to accentuate the sportiness feel of the car.

The fact that interests me was, this car is the Blue Efficiency version which is designed to save fuel, so it boasts several features which can be seen in the picture. The engineers simply had gone mad just trying to make the car as green blue as possible, for instance they changed the tires with the ones which were claimed to have 17% less resistance than normal tire; The wing mirror was redesigned to gain slicker aerodynamic; They even applied the same technique as used in Maybach production to shed 1.2kg from the windscreen glass s. However, the worrying news of all sadly came from the engine bay, it has a turned down engine capacity from 1.8L in the standard C-class down to 1.6L, yet Merc claimed that it still packs the same power as its predecessor with an acceptable 156bhp. On the paper, this 1.2 ton little three pointed star will do 0-100kph in 9.5 seconds and keep going onto a top speed of 223kph. The fact is though, this car’s performance was not that amusing, but it genuinely came as a surprise to know how it could burn fuel efficiently. Thanks to a smaller final drive ratio, this car will do 160kph in just 3500 rpm, a very low engine rev for a car its class! That also said in highway, the engine noise can be eliminated thanks to a low revving engine. Meanwhile, on a straight and unlimited Autobahn, it really can reach its top speed at around 5000 rpm. So, the final question will be related to fuel efficiency: can it really achieve 6.5L/100km as Mercedes claimed on the brochure? Well the simple answer is no actually, it couldn’t achieve that figure because according to the on-board computer, I only managed to average 9.9L/100km. Obviously, that figure cannot be categorized as economical considering the car only has a 1.6L engine, it should have been able to be more economical. However, please consider these points: Firstly, the car went through various traffic conditions, from stop-and-go traffic jams in the city center to 220kph blast on the Autobahn. Secondly, shedding weight was not a theme during the drive since it had five adults on board and a serious amount of luggage which stuffed the trunk. Thirdly, it was driven by a lunatic. As the driver, I have never been in an economical drive mode and there was no attempt at all to save the fuel, because I fired up all electrical equipments in the car, such as air conditioning, radio, Bluetooth connectivity and satellite navigation system.

After more than 700km of driving, C-class managed to suppress driver’s tiredness and therefore suitable for a long distance journey. Overall, it can be concluded that the style of this car does not float my boat, however the build quality is superb and it is well-engineered. The engine might be small, but it packed enough power for daily needs and also quite economical, although European customers might go for the diesel version which boasts better fuel efficiency and cheaper running cost. The steering provides a noticeable feedback with only slight body roll which gives confidence while cornering and that makes it good in handling sector. It is relatively quiet and comfortable as well, although the ride is surprisingly not as smooth as I was hoping it would be. At the end of the day, it is still a serious and soulless Mercedes Benz, however I reckon that this is one of the least Mercedes that I would actually like.

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