Mercedes-Benz C-Class C200 2018 review

Exceedingly pleasant inside, although conspicuous in its absence is the smart dual-screen digital slab found in the E-Class, S-Class and now even the A-Class hatch.

To compensate, the instrument binnacle dead ahead of the driver is now fully digital (optional, alas, requiring you to part with £2795 for the Premium Package) and the screen for the Comand infotainment system has grown to 10.25in.

There’s also ambience lighting and new finishes including walnut and oak, although the basic architecture remains. As such, anybody coming from a 3 Series will find this a characterful, opulent environment, while those accustomed to a reasonably well equipped A4 might call it fussy and a little disappointing to the touch.

Driven here is the C200. While it won’t constitute the bulk of C-Class sales (that’ll be the 220d), it is arguably the most interesting car in the line-up, not least because under the bonnet is a downsized 1.5-litre in-line four internally known as ‘M264’.

This engine features twin-scroll turbocharging for greater torque at modest crank speeds, while the cylinder bores have been pared back at their bases to reduce friction while preserving a tight seal. It’s an old-school efficiency gain — and a clever one at that. Meanwhile, the belt-driven starter-generator running off a 48V electrical system is the latest application of Mercedes' EQ Boost mild hybrid technology and supposedly yields the performance of the old 2.0 engine but with much less of a real-world thirst.

It’s a decent engine in practice, too, even if its thrummy tone is a bit present for the three-pointed star. The electric element is succinctly integrated, and in Eco mode you’ll find the engine shutting down completely and seamlessly while you coast. If it could do so just a fraction sooner after throttle closes it’d be more effective — and that is something Mercedes will surely refine as time goes by. As it is, on motorway and dual carriageways, you’ll spend a decent proportion of time burning no fuel at all, although this driveline doesn’t have the ability to sustain momentum with bursts of purely electric power.

If you were considering a C-Class of some description before, the case the car now makes for itself is much stronger. Whether that is still the case when refreshed rivals from BMW and Audi arrive in the coming months is another matter.

As far as the C200 driven here is concerned, there are reasons besides tax rates (particularly applicable to countries in which engine size is the determining factor) for buying one, although they may not be of primary concern to Autocar readers. This powertrain is at its inconspicuous best when you allow it to sit back and deliver dignified, undemanding progress, and free from exertion it can be refined with impressive economy figures.

Those figures still fall short of what you’ll achieve in one of this car’s massively improved diesel-powered siblings. And that’s the hitch. While still no match for BMW’s oil-burning efforts, Mercedes’ new diesel engines for the C-Class are creditably sonorous, refined and more flexible than before. Meanwhile, if you must have petrol, the C300 is a more convincing effort. In the UK, it leaves this mild hybrid as a clever curiosity, but little more.