Mercedes-Benz C300 2024 Review

At $96,900, the C300 Mercedes-Benz sedan is a universe away from the flagship C63 AMG model, which is priced at $190,900 before the on-road costs (and is quoted with a blistering zero to 100km/h time of 3.4 seconds).

The C300 is the priciest in the non-AMG C-Class group, comprising the regular C200, tagged at $91,400 pre-ORCs, and the newly-launched $86,900 base-model C200 Night Edition.

Realistic competitors for the Benz C300 include BMW’s $89,990 330i M Sport and the $80,170 Lexus ES300h Sports Luxury F Sport hybrid. The phenomenally-fast Tesla Model 3 Performance is also a competitor, and brings new meaning to bang-for-bucks with a claimed zero to 100km/h sprint time of 3.1 seconds – for a pre-ORCs price of $80,900.

The W206-generation C300 Mercedes uses the basic 2.0-litre mild-hybrid turbo four-cylinder engine producing a solid 190kW/400Nm and driving through a 9G-TRONIC nine-speed auto transmission.

The C300’s cabin showcases a big, Tesla-style LCD dash display with inbuilt satellite navigation, a multi-accessible second-gen MBUX infotainment system, an extended sunroof, and digital payment-enabling fingerprint scanning. There’s a head-up display as well, along with leather-look interior trim, two-zone climate control and power adjusted front seats with memory settings and heating for both sides.

Options for the C300 ,other than paint colours, include the $6300 Plus Package that brings items such as a premium 15-speaker Burmester sound system (the regular system has five speakers), front cross-traffic alert, emergency steering assist, road sign recognition and active-shadowing LED headlights. Our review car had none of these.

The C300 is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with five years of roadside assist.

Servicing is scheduled at 12-month, 25,000km intervals, whichever comes first, and there are three capped-price plans available; three years ($3185), four years ($4185) and five years ($6015).

Packed with safety features, the C300 Benz comes with high and low-speed autonomous emergency braking, lane tracking, DISTRONIC Active Distance Assist (adaptive cruise control), 10 airbags (including a front-centre bag), pedestrian avoidance, lane-departure and lane-keeping systems, blind-spot and driver-attention monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, road-sign detection and a brace of parking cameras helping with the C300’s auto-parking capabilities.

The C300 scored a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022.

As well as the over-size dash display incorporating integrated satellite navigation and the second-gen MBUX system that can advise other vehicles of upcoming traffic hazards, the C300’s standard equipment includes wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto with a charging pad and two USB-C sockets inside the double-lidded cubby between the front seats.

With the help of a 15kW/200Nm electric motor fed by a 48-volt lithium-ion battery that’s charged by regenerative braking, the C300’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine produces a solid 190kW/400Nm (The also mild-hybrid C200 employs essentially the same petrol-electric system but underpinned by a smaller 1.5-litre 150kW/300Nm turbo engine).

Further optimising economy, the system includes fuel-saving technologies such as energy recovery, stop-start and a “gliding” function which, when possible, allows the car to coast with the engine turned off.

The C 300’s nine-speed transmission features a torque converter, rather than a clutch and the integrated generator-fed startup is so unobtrusive you would hardly know the engine has been fired up at all.

The mild-hybrid driveline undoubtedly helps performance and fuel consumption, but not hugely. Zero to 100km/h acceleration, at an even six seconds, is pretty brisk but the fuel consumption, at a quoted 7.3/100km on 95 RON fuel , is not as good as its BMW 330i (6,5L/100km)and hybrid Lexus ES 300h (4.8L/100km) competitors. We saw a slightly better-than-official average figure of 6.7L/100km on test, but that was largely based on freeway use.

The C300 tends to hide its light under a bushel. The power/weight ratio is nothing spectacular, and the engine lacks the popular, so-easily-achieved exhaust-note enhancement. But, when asked, it responds with a pleasing vitality that confirms the quoted six-second zero to 100km/h acceleration. It’s noticeably livelier than the 1.5-litre C200, and the 10-speed auto transmission does a great job of parcelling out the power when it’s asked.

Riding on staggered 225/40R19 and 255/35R19 tyres, the C300 points with an accurate sure-footedness through the quick steering but there’s some road noise, and a sensitivity to sharp bumps that can be largely blamed on the low-profile tyres. Otherwise, the road behaviour is super composed, and the interior quiet and Benz-comfortable.

The C300’s cabin is a high point. Underpinned by its Benz S-Class-derived MRA2 platform, the C300 offers plentiful space in just about every direction, contributing to added lounge-ability for passengers and quieter, smoother progress on the road.

Soft-touch surfacing, strangely, verges on adequate rather than plush, and the fixed, two-piece sunroof is unlikely to be as welcome in summer as it is in winter. And the controls for seat adjustment which are located on the doors and replicate the physicality of the seats for easy understanding, are let down by the over-sensitivity to touch contact. This also applies also to the phone, cruise and voice-control functions.

But the stalk on the right of the steering wheel that’s used for selecting forward or reverse is convenient and, once familiar, intuitive to use.

As mentioned, space for passengers in front and rear takes a general step up from earlier C-Class models, the only caveat being the discovery that rear-seat passengers don’t gain an awful lot of extra legroom, and the foot room is not a standard-setter in the mid-size prestige class.

The C300’s boot, which can be opened and closed remotely, is about average for size in its class, with a capacity of 455 litres. A split-fold rear backrest, at the expense of rear-seat space, expands the load capacity.

The C300 Mercedes-Benz is an especially well-crafted mid-size executive sedan which continues to be a standard-setter in many ways.

It might not feel quite like the S-Class to which it owes a lot of its technology, but the well-presented and generally spacious cabin, the restrained but universally appealing style, the effective mild-hybrid drivetrain and the overall sense of dynamic balance are alluring.

But, even at the lower end of the range, the mid-size Mercedes-Benz C-Class is expensive.

2024 Mercedes-Benz C300 at a glance:
Price: $96,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol-electric
Output: 190kW/400Nm (electric motor: 15kW/200Nm)
Combined output: N/A
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.3L/100km
CO2: 164g/km
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP Year 2022)