Mercedes-Benz C 250 Estate 2015: Long-Term Test Update 1

It's the sort of flawed logic that an SUV seems to somehow etch into your consciousness – like when someone hums a few bars of an annoying pop song that becomes stuck in your head for the rest of the day – but it is, of course, utter rubbish.

Estate cars (we call them wagons) like 'our' long-term C-Class offer a considerable amount of cargo volume that in many cases is actually easier to utilise.

As seven-seat SUVs continue to grow, the height of the cargo floor makes the load area less than ideal for those suffering duck's disease (you know, when your ass is too close to the ground), meaning you generally find yourself clambering into the cargo area to properly position and tie-down larger objects; or doing the hummingbird between the rear of the car and the back seat (go to IKEA or Bunnings on the weekend and you'll see what I mean).

It's in these scenarios that the C 250 wagon proves advantageous. The load height is just right for the placement of bulky items. Let the electric tailgate open for you, place the object on the cargo floor – without reaching up or bending down – strap it down, hit the button, get in and drive off.

It might sound like a rather simplistic observation, but as an exercise I've repeated ad nauseam during home renovations it's a whole lot easier in a wagon than it is in our seven-seat SUV.

The C-Class wagon provides 490 litres of space to window height with the seats in place, which is pretty good by any mid-sizer's standards. The removable cargo cover lifts in unison with the tailgate and the rear seats, which are split 40:20:40, can be flipped from the rear of the cargo bay via a simple pull-lever.

The robust cargo floor with its sturdy tie-down points can support up to 575kg of cargo (that's more than some sedan-based utes we could mention), and with all the seats flipped flat, offers up to 1510 litres of space.

It's a cargo area that's longer than it is wide, which as Bruce Newton noted in our long-term introduction, may prove tricky for outdoorsy types with bicycles and such. But as a hauler of goods the C 250 proved a useful weekend companion – and one made all the better by its on-road manners.

Now I'll spare you the duplication of another thorough C-Class review, because for the most part I agree with just about everything Bruce said in his introduction. But there are a few things I noticed in a weekend of mixed weather that I feel are worth pointing out.

For starters, the wipers are irritatingly noisy. The plastic clip-clop as the blades change direction is thoroughly frustrating and gets worse the drier the screen is. Drive in light misty rain in dull light, when the sensor is tricked into thinking that it's raining more than it really is, and the dry slapping back and forth will have you reverting to manual wiper mode in an instant. First-world problems, I know, but worth pointing out.

It's also interesting that the level of wind noise changes dramatically with the direction of the prevailing wind. When there's no wind about, or if it's only coming from ahead or behind you, the C-Class is serenely quiet inside, where the only interruption is a slight whisper from the low-profile tyres. But drive through a crosswind or blustery swirling weather and wind noise gets persistently vocal, like the vehicle has suddenly sprouted a set of towing mirrors.

Yep, you guessed it. It's pretty difficult to find fault with our (2014) car of the year. And in just about every other respect the C-Class is a vehicle that oozes quality and makes you feel both relaxed and engaged at the wheel.

A confident turn of performance, decent economy (I managed 9.4L/100km in mostly around-town conditions), seamless technology and a cosseting interior with a level of attention to detail that pleases even the most pernickety road tester (i.e.: me) encourages our recommendation all the more.

Related reading:
>> Mercedes-Benz C 250 Estate long-term introduction