Sunday Drive: Mercedes-Benz C 200 and AMG C 43

Tuesday, 23 April 2019

**MERCEDES-BENZ C 200 and MERCEDES-AMG C 43

Prices:** C 200 sedan $73,900; C 43 AMG cabriolet $140,600.

Powertrains and performance: C 200 1497cc four-cylinder mild hybrid 135kW/280Nm; C 43 2996cc twin turbocharged six-cylinder 287kW/520Nm, 9-speed automatic transmission, RWD/AWD, Combined economies 6.4/9.5L/100km, 0-100kmh 7.7/4.7 seconds.

The Mercedes-Benz C-class is still a fine looking car and a recent revamp has seen 6500 new or updated components.

Vital statistics: 4686mm long, 1405mm high, 2840mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 400 litres, 19-inch alloy wheels.

We like: C43 less of an AMG half-blood now. C 200's breakthrough drivetrain.

You wouldn't know that the C 200 is now really a C 150, thanks to the clever 48-volt mild hybrid system.

We don't like: Lacks MBUX tech. Gear selector wand.

Right at the beginning and for considerable time beyond, it was a BMW.

The C 200 has an interior far above what you would expect from an entry level offering.

The baton then shifted, for a short time, to Audi. Lexus fumbled. Now it's with Mercedes. If you had to pick a car that exemplifies all that is a premium compact car, it's the C-class. A recent refit has delivered 6500 new or updated components, including a fair bit of trickle-down technology from the E- and S-classes.

Apart from the expected styling revisions – LED headlamps across the whole line, bumper and grille refreshes, redesigned alloy wheels - that provide easy distinction from the outgoing models that came out in 2014, the update delivers a cabin redesign that brings the model back to full modernity.

Top down cruising and an AMG attitude - the C 43 does that. You also get to hear the angry exhaust better with the top down.

Driving the C 200 sedan and then the cabriolet edition of the C 43 represents exposure to the range bookends. These editions also deliver extra-strength desirability in their updated drivetrain tech.

**READ MORE:

* Think AMG is all about big V8s? Think again.

* Mercedes-AMG C 43 is cool but confusing

More luxury additions inside the C 43, but it is still a generation behind technology-wise.

* Mercedes-AMG unveils C43 Coupe**

With the C 200 a quite conventional 2.0-litre turbocharged engine is replaced by a powertrain that combines turbocharged 1.5-litre unit and 48-volt electric motor.

This EQ Boost mild hybrid set-up is something a lot of cars might well be expected to have in the future; for the entry-level C-class to debut it is really quite special and certainly is a factor owners can rightly gloat about. It definitely delivers more than you'd expect, not just in respect to performance but also pedigree. Anyone who didn't know better would swear the larger engine still resides under the bonnet.

The C 43 in its previous, first time around evocation, was an interesting concept. At the time it had the unenviable task of setting out to prove buy-in to the kind of tyre-punishing frenzy AMG could guarantee from its historically famous V8 and V12 powerplants could still occur with a more modest cylinder count. However, even though the thrust was there, the full emotional impact didn't hit: the car was just too quiet, in every sense.

Second time around, it has very much emboldened. For sure, this level of AMG execution delivers a different kind of earthquake than the eight-cylinder C 63 presents. Yet now you can actually enjoy a snappy exhaust note and feel more stomp even before switching in Sport and Sport plus, the modes in which the that AMG magic reaches full vocal and performance character.

All in all, when it shakes the tree, you feel far more stirred. At the same token, and quite unlike the brutal C 63, there's real duality to the V6. When left in the default Comfort setting, it is genuinely relaxed and tabby cat friendly.

Whatever the level of execution, a cabin that is roomy by class expectations also sets the category standard for luxury ambience. While the AMG cars have more expensive fittings, the base model hardly expresses as a dollar-saver.

On the technology front, C-class doesn't do quite as well; seems like we will have to await the next generation model before achieving the double-width display and MBUX infotainment system of the latest A-class.

Beyond that, though, both cars schmoozed with pushbutton start, customisable interior ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, artificial (C 200) and actual (C 43) leather trim, electric front seat adjustments and a fully digital instrument panel that has several display settings, one that apes the classic yellow-on-black instruments of the 1980s.

The safety muster is also comprehensive, with automated emergency braking, attention assist, blind spot monitoring, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, and nine airbags.

Dynamics-wise, there's not a huge difference over the pre-facelift editions, but there didn't need to be. With their sports suspension choices, lower ride height, larger tyres and brakes do allow the AMG to express quite a bit more dynamic edge, while the settings that adjust the dampers, the steering, throttle response and gearbox reactions are more pronounced.

The C 200 is hardly left eating dust. Though it is less circuit-ready in sports mode, for everyday driving the mainstreamer is emphatically more relaxed and comfortable. It's a nicely composed car more acceptable for easy-going open road travelling.

The 'baby' engine is something of a giant killer. The mild hybrid system has equivalent power to the outgoing mill same power and, while torque drops 20Nm yet, by using the electric motor's 10kW and 160Nm, EQ Boost is good at masking this.

Bottom end oomph is delivered in linear, refined fashion. The interaction with the nine-speed automatic is also seamless, so not only are you unaware of the points when electric and engine swap roles but also generally cannot perceive when gears are changed.

For sure, in terms of pure thrust, you find that the fact that Mercedes uses a same-capacity set-up for Formula One is happenstance. With a cited time of 7.7 seconds, it takes as much time to hit 100km/h from rest as Valteri Bottas needed to achieve at least double that pace at Melbourne's season-opener and is 3.4s shy of the C 43.

Still, it feels perky and the maximum speed of 236km/h is pretty good. In any event, it recompenses by being really thrifty. Okay, so the cited combined fuel consumption wasn't matched on this occasion, yet a mid-sixes return from a week away seemed fair, and certainly put the C 43's to shame, given they stuck in the double figures (well, Sports Plus is s-o-o-o-o addictive).

As a mechanical undertaking, the C 200 is especially impressive. It's providing a peek at a whole new world.