Mercedes-Benz C 250 Estate 2015: Long-Term Test Introduction

From time to time we also take the opportunity to spend more time in a vehicle. These longer-term tests can be as short as a couple of weeks, but more recently we've settled on a six-month period as indicative of 'normal' ownership.

Long-term tests give our staff writers and contributors a chance to get to know a car as an owner would. While the car is with us, we pay for fuel, pay for the servicing and generally use and live with the car as a new owner would.

We believe long-term tests give car buyers an added insight into the vehicle on test, but also the qualities behind the brand and nameplate. The extended period also allows us to touch base with the dealer networks in question.

It comes as no surprise that manufacturers tend to have a love-hate relationship with long-term tests. Six months is plenty long enough to fall out of love with the latest and greatest, and start to nitpick – just like real owners do.

You wanted a Benz with a tailgate then this was the obvious choice – unless you had a medical practice, then it was an E-Class.

Now you want to talk Benz’s with tailgates? It’s an alphabet soup!

There’s the A, B, C,CLS Shooting Brake, E, G, GL, GLA, ML (or whatever it is now called), and the forthcoming GLK (or whatever that is going to be called) and CLA shooting brake. Oh yeah, there’s the Valente and Viano vans too.

So the latest W205-series C-Class Estate (wagon) arrives in the midst of that lot, looking to carve its bit of a territory in a range gone tailgate mad.

Over the next six months we’ll have the chance to figure out just what that territory might shape up like, with our C 250 long-termer.

But first impressions are good; as they should be, considering the W205 is the reigning carsales.com.au car of the year.

It’s a mighty good choice for the prize, considering how much effort Benz chucked at the W205, starting with an all-new stiffer and lighter rear-wheel drive architecture, fundamentally revised suspension, new petrol engines, a generous equipment list that includes cutting-edge safety assist technology and an exterior and interior that moves the C-Class on to a whole new level of styling sophistication.

The model we have on test is the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder that is expected to be the biggest seller. Just in case you didn’t know, the old C 250 came with a 1.8-litre turbo four. Priced at $71,400 (plus ORCs), it’s gone up $2000 compared to its predecessor and is $2500 more expensive than the equivalent W205 sedan.

There is also a turbo-diesel 2.1-litre C 250 BlueTEC that adds a $1500 premium. The cheaper alternatives are the C 200 turbo-petrol and BlueTEC at $63,400 and $64,900.

Mated to Benz’s latest iteration of the 7G-Tronic Plus seven-speed automatic transmission, the C 250 provides zesty and enjoyable performance. There’s a real spring in its step, even when loaded up with a bunch of adults and teenagers.

The flipside is fuel economy; rated officially at 6.2L/100km, it came in after a week’s varied running at 8.2L/100km. We’ve had a lot of experience now with the new C-Class and know that achieving the incredibly impressive official fuel consumption average is rare. You’ll just have to make do with really good consumption instead.

Via the standard Agility Control button you can rotate the drivetrain response from sluggish Eco all the way through to aggressive Sport+. I found Comfort or Sport worked just fine virtually all the time.

Agility Control also has the ability to adjust the Airmatic air springs if you tick that option box. But our car came with passive steel springs lowered 15mm as part of the AMG Line options pack. Combined with standard 19-inch run flat tyres this made the ride somewhat grumpy on typical Aussie scarred bitumen.

A better set-up would be opting for air springs and eschewing the AMG sports suspension. That improves the comfort significantly without affecting the car’s neat and enjoyable handling and steering balance.

By the way, through all this, the C 250 is a very quiet car, well shielded from coarse bitumen, wind or drivetrain noise.

Thanks to the standard fitment of what Benz dubs the Driver Assistance Package Plus, there is plenty of automated help to drive the car. There is just a hint of the autonomous future here, with the car capable of following the road and pulling up by itself, spotting errant pedestrians and braking to avoid them… and so on.

It was pretty weird to set the cruise, take my hands off the steering wheel and have the car just drive down the road for a few seconds (then it would buzz and tell me to put my hands back on the wheel).

I ended up disabling some of the assistants, mainly because I got tired of having the car react so strongly if I ventured on to a white line.

A lot of the comments so far could be ascribed as easily to the sedan as the wagon, so let’s head to the back and see what’s different.

For a start, the tailgate is power-operated – it can even open if you wave your foot under the rear of the car. There’s a low loading height, four heavy-duty hooks, two seat-top tethers, a storage bin and a two-way cover that can stretch forward and back and change height.

Standard load space behind the seats is 490 litres, which is only five litres up on the old car despite a substantial increase in wheelbase and overall length. The sloping tailgate undoes some of that good work and Benz has also clearly decided to grant more room to rear-seat passengers this time round. Six-footer behind six-footer is doable.

The luggage space can expand to as much as 1510 litres by collapsing the 40:20:40 split-fold rear seat. That can be done via switches on the D-pillar or the seats and it is a one finger operation.

It’s a long but slightly narrow luggage space, so you’ll probably end up having to take the front wheel off your mountain bike to fit it in. Removing the luggage cover is a bit of a clunky process because it is so heavy.

Up-front the C 250 is a great place to be. Our car comes with a bunch of options – the Seat Comfort pack, the Comand pack, the aforementioned AMG Line, the Vision pack. All up (along with metallic paint) it drives the cost of the car up to $84,458 (plus ORCs).

There is no doubt all this stuff adds lustre to the interior, but we know – again from prior experience – that the standard C 250 does not feel like a pauper pack. The tablet-style screen on the centre stack is a bit smaller, but much remains the same. For instance, the look and feel of buttons and rollers and even the way the circular air-con vents operate evokes quality.

And fundamentals of the interior ergonomics are the same too, like mounting the gearshift lever on the right side of the steering column and having an electric park brake rather than the old foot-mounted anachronism.

An important advantage of moving the gearshift to the steering column is the creation of storage space in the centre stack and console. There is a huge lidded bin and cupholders, as well as substantial door bins.

And while you can get a bit confused between your gear shifter and the indicators/wipers/high-beam and cruise control stalks, it does come to you pretty quickly. Especially when you select neutral rather than indicate when turning (left)!

Mostly though, driving the C 250 Estate is a pleasure. Yes, there is all sorts of competition now ranged against it – and that just in the Benz showroom! And yes there are better load luggers in terms of carrying capacity.

But I reckon the C-class has a combination of style, functionality and driving enjoyment few can match – especially if you tick the right options and fine-tune the suspension. Alphabetically speaking then, I give the C an A.