Mercedes-Benz CLC 200 Evo Edition 2010 Review

Mercedes-Benz CLC 200 Evo Edition

Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $57,750
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Nil
Crash rating: TBA
Fuel: 95 RON ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 8.2
CO2 emissions (g/km): 196
Also consider: BMW 125i, Volvo C30 T5

Overall rating: 2.5/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.0/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 2.5/5.0
Safety: 2.5/5.0
Behind the wheel: 2.5/5.0
X-factor: 2.5/5.0

There are some people for whom the A and B-Class Mercedes-Benz models are all about the substance of practicality -- without the compensating ephemera of style. For those people Benz has the CLC.

The Carsales Network recently tested a CLC 200 Evo Edition over the course of a week. This car remains underpinned by the old W203 Series C-Class platform, which can trace its lineage back to the late 1990s. In recent times the CLC has been given a W204 generation facelift, but retains the older car's smaller footprint and some of the design and engineering shortcomings Benz resolved in the latest generation of C-Class.

Packaging is one area where the car's older design is manifest, as well as being constrained by the nature of the car and the type of buyer drawn to it. Rear-seat headroom, for example, is borderline for adults, but when you consider you're sharing headspace with the panoramic sunroof mounted in the headlining, it's not too shabby.

Kneeroom in the rear is comparatively better than the headroom, although you still won't be able to stretch out too much. At least entering and leaving the rear of the Mercedes is relatively easy, helped in no small part by the pantograph action of the front seats as they fold forward. The whole seat base lifts up and moves through an arc to provide optimum room for feet to negotiate the climb into the car.

For its size, the CLC has a generous boot in which you can pack a fair amount of luggage. Part of the reason is that the tailgate is shallow and the parcel shelf -- for such we will call it -- is mounted high. So there's a deep, boxy compartment that is even more accommodating with the rear seats folded flat.

The CLC is thus a useful, well packaged vehicle for those who might carry around more goods, fewer passengers.

There is a downside to the large boot and that is -- with the very thick C pillars and shallow rear window -- the CLC is a mongrel of a thing to reverse. Especially so for such a small car. Furthermore, typical Aussie drivers who insist on sitting three feet off your tail (even though there's traffic ahead of you and to the sides), may not be visible at night, whether their car's headlights are operating or not!

Similarly, it's been a while since we've driven any car other than a ute or a convertible that provides the sort of Minties moments when changing lanes.

In the front the seats were impressive for being flat in the cushion, yet comfortable and properly bolstered to hold occupants in place. There's some added give in the cushioning that you frankly wouldn't expect from seats shaped this way. They work pretty well.

If we had one gripe about the seats, they seemed just a bit spartan in their presentation, featuring light grey inserts and black side bolsters of 'Artico' pseudo-leather trim.

No such grievance with the rest of the interior however, which presents quite well, although the seatbelts could be better. The coupe/hatch almost warrants a feeder system to hand you the seatbelt after you're seated. It takes an educated arm to reach back and find the belt. And whether it was a manufacturing issue or a design fault we're not sure, but the belt rasped unpleasantly as it retracted from its spool.

Once the belt is buckled up, it's time to turn one's attention to the CLC's instruments and controls. A highlight of the car's ergonomic design, Benz’s simple cruise control stalk is still the handiest of any such system on the market. Controls for trip computer and audio are not quite so intuitive and if you're unfamiliar with how they work, you may find yourself leaning forward in your seat to reach the main controls in the centre fascia, just to change radio stations or switch to the Bluetooth phone functions.

This and the challenge of adjusting the backrest of the seat to suit the driver are signs that perhaps the CLC's ergonomics have not kept up with the pace of change in other Benz models. But the aging platform isn't the handicap one might expect when it comes to driving.

The supercharged 1.8-litre four provides a fair amount of poke for its displacement -- driving through a smooth-shifting five-speed automatic. Unless the driver selects Sport or Manual mode for the five-speed transmission, the CLC at launch feels a little lethargic, largely due to the car moving off the line in second gear when Comfort mode is selected.

On the move -- and with the engine put to the test -- the gearchanges are infrequent and the CLC will keep ahead of larger-engined cars. It does so with a raspy engine note blended with a subdued supercharger whine, both of which are quite addictive.

The engine will also rev hard and pull in a linear way once it's over that initial languor at the lights. A little unusually for a Benz, the engine can be heard working, even when cruising along a freeway.

We didn't initially reset the trip computer -- and wished we had, in fact, because despite extensive freeway touring over the week the CLC was in our possession, the lowest fuel consumption posted by the trip computer was 10.9L/100km. After a reset and taking the CLC on a longer run (just under 200km), but including a diabolically bad run through Melbourne peak-hour traffic on the morning the city's rail network imploded, the CLC returned a figure of 8.2L/100km, which is much more like it.

In corners, the CLC turned in nicely and provided strong feedback through the wheel. There was virtually no sign of tyre slip at the front in any circumstance. Ride quality was good, although we've driven at least one 3 Series BMW that rode better -- without any detriment to that car's cornering.

On balance the CLC proved an interesting car to review. Despite being quite stylish, for example, it's not conspicuous in how it goes about its business. A fairly comfortable car -- for front-seat occupants at least -- the CLC is also a practical run-about for the inner suburbs and provides a good balance of performance and fuel efficiency.

It may not be the sort of car to stir great passion in the breast of enthusiasts, but that's not necessarily its intended role.

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