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The latest Mercedes C-Class sedans have come and been launched in South Africa. Now there's the sporty two-door coupe – fans of the three-pointed star should like it.
Merc SA chose the disgracefully rubbish-strewn and pot-holed roads near Pietermaritzburg, the canefields around Tongaat and the open N3 to give the coupe – in various models – its first airing to the local media. Not the most salubrious background to show off what is, essentially, the baby of the Merc sedan/wagon/coupe family.
KZN HINTERLAND
And yes, the one you'll really want to buy will be here in the last quarter of 2011- the C63 AMG Coupe. Perhaps Merc will arrange a modest launch when they get here but meanwhile, there's the four neat and compact cars that are here…
Eckart Mayer, Mercedes-Benz SA’s vice-president for sales and marketing, said in a media presentation at an Umhlanga Mercedes dealer before a ride-’n-drive out on the N3 to the KZN hinterland and Maritzburg: "It's two weeks since the East London launch of the latest C-Class sedans.”
Now it was the coupes’ turn.
"The coupe style has long been a tradition with Mercedes, a style particularly sporty and dynamic and (Merc hopes!) good for seeking new market groups. The cars come with the latest generation of new engines and the typical coupe silhouette – long bonnet, raked windscreen, long roof and 11mm lower than the sedan.
"The boot is short but spacious.
"Much effort has gone into showing the dynamism of the cabin, which can be tailored to suit the customer."
ALL THE FEATURES
New in the cars is a piano-lacquer finish which Mercedes calls "porcelain", though there's no clay in it. The coupe has only four seats, each an individual bucket, but those in the rear are capable of accepting only little people. However they do (except in the baseline C180 model) fold individually to accommodate longer,/larger goods/luggage.
The seating arrangement might be different but the coupes have all the features of the latest C-Class sedans and estates.
Four models are available for now, powered variously by one diesel and three petrol engines, their exhausts, Mayer says, "tuned to add to the fun factor". The coupes, even the diesels, make thoroughly sporty noises at speed.
However, with fond memories of former C coupes, I was expecting more personality from the two units I drove – a C250 CDI and a C250 petrol. The diesel is delightfully agricultural – it's been some time since I've heard so much clatter from an upmarket turbodiesel. If part of your purchasing decision involves posing on Camps Bay beachfront on a Sunday morning or at Sandton’s Melrose Arch of a spring evening – look elsewhere.
Perhaps at a C250 or C350 petrol model: quiet, sophisticated and pumped full of the latest technology. The fourth model is what passes for "entry level" in such august company - the C180. Made for middling bank executives, aspiring lawyers and footballers' wives and sans some of the bling.
HANDSOME CHAP
Whatever, the C Coupe IS a handsome chap and spacious up front in the cabin but to my eyes the massive thick-barred grille – Mercedes calls it "a double louvre" – is overkill on a car that attempts to be strong but petite, sporty in a "let's go to the mall" kind of way. It looks like it was designed for a much bulkier car; a boxer's nose on a ramp model. The sedans have a three-bar design to differentiate the two models.
Mayer again: "With the new C-Class Coupe we're extending the C-Class portfolio, consciously targeting new customers. This new model is youthful, stylish and dynamic and what we are offering is an exceptionally sporty way to enter the world of the Mercedes-Benz coupes."
Pity, then, that BMW only a week or so earlier introduced the 1 Series M Coupe that is more powerful and dynamic, has much the same seat layout, and whose looks advertise those attributes. It's also a pity that the 1M is sold out already in South Africa.
Mercedes has been competitive on pricing the C-Class Coupe. There are certainly extras after which buyers might lust in such a market but the base prices are:
C180 Coupe (115kW/250Nm) – R394 000
C250 Coupe 150kW/500Nm) – R494 000
C250 CDI Coupe (150kW/310Nm) – R490 000
C350 V6 Coupe (225kW/370Nm) – R590 000
Extras include a cabin styling package (R9500), dynamic handling package (also R9500) and an Edition 1 package that assembles a selection of parts from the previous two deals along with titanium-finish alloy rims (a hefty R33 000).
To compare, the BMW 1M (if you could find one) is tagged at R546 392, makes 250kW/500Nm and has a straight-six, three-litre engine and special alloys.
Each automatic version of the C Coupe has an enhanced 7G-Tronic Plus seven-speed transmission which, thanks to (Mayer says partly because of improved bearings) is slicker and takes less power (and hence uses less fuel) from the engine. It requires an oil change only every 125 000km. A six-speed manual is the alternative.
The already frugal turbodiesel incorporates a stop/start function to cut consumption in city traffic.
HUGE HARD-DRIVE STORAGE
Mercedes has also shown (also on the sedans) its corporate awareness of the social media phenomenon by introducing (except on the diesel) free (except for data charges on your cellphone, which plays modem for the unit) internet. Unfortunately, there is no split-pixel display on the colour info screen to allow the front passenger to surf the net on the move while the driver watches, say, the 3D satnav – you can only go online when stationary.
Which kind of spoils the effect. Mayer told me that might change – but made no promises when. Whatever, the system has huge hard-drive storage for your photographs and music.
Each of the engines offered in the C-Class coupe range carries the brand's BlueEfficiency designation to indicate that it is particularly fuel-efficient – particularly the V6 C350 that claims seven litres/100km – the same as the smaller-bored C250. The diesel model claims 5.3/100km and the C180 6.8/100. CO2 emissions range from 139 to 164g/100 for the V6 – the star of the show, even though the 164 is alongside it on the performance table, given its size and power.
Passenger protection is big on the coupe: nine air bags are standard, along with belt tensioners and belt-force limiters, covering all four seats. The air bags include cushioning for knees, pelvis and all side windows.
DRIVING ASSISTANCE
However, to help prevent a collision, standard equipment includes Mercedes 'agility control' suspension boosted by a "a sporty configuration" based on an amplitude-dependent shock-absorbers. Here's how it works: When driving normally with low shock-absorber impulses the damping effect is automatically reduced to reduce road noise and tyre vibration, Merc says, without compromising handling cpontrol.
When shock impulses increase, perhaps when cornering at speed or making an emergency direction change, maximum damping forces are invoked instantly and the car stabilised. The whole system, Merc adds, is complemented by rack-and-pinion steering and speed-sensitive steering.
The front axle has a three-link construction with MacPherson spring struts, the rear multi-link independent rear suspension – and most of the components are made of aluminium.
Each coupe is lower than the sedans with harder and shorter springs and stronger torsion bars and has a number of assistance systems for the driver ranging from the standard "attentinon assist" which monitors the drivers alertness to 'Distronic Plus", a radar-based function attached to the cruise control and brakes to maintain a following distance.
As with all Mercedes-Benz cars, the new C-Class Coupé comes standard with a MobiloDrive six-year or 120 000km maintenance contract and a two-year unlimited distance warranty.
*Thanks to those of you who pointed out the original article's errors of (my) memory on the engine size and configuration, which I acknowledge, which should have been been double-checked and which have nowbeen corrected. The comparison with the BMW was deliberate in the face of the (reasonably) similar prices. As for the allegations of bias, sorry guys, but it really doesn't work that way.
Merc SA chose the disgracefully rubbish-strewn and pot-holed roads near Pietermaritzburg, the canefields around Tongaat and the open N3 to give the coupe – in various models – its first airing to the local media. Not the most salubrious background to show off what is, essentially, the baby of the Merc sedan/wagon/coupe family.
KZN HINTERLAND
And yes, the one you'll really want to buy will be here in the last quarter of 2011- the C63 AMG Coupe. Perhaps Merc will arrange a modest launch when they get here but meanwhile, there's the four neat and compact cars that are here…
Eckart Mayer, Mercedes-Benz SA’s vice-president for sales and marketing, said in a media presentation at an Umhlanga Mercedes dealer before a ride-’n-drive out on the N3 to the KZN hinterland and Maritzburg: "It's two weeks since the East London launch of the latest C-Class sedans.”
Now it was the coupes’ turn.
"The coupe style has long been a tradition with Mercedes, a style particularly sporty and dynamic and (Merc hopes!) good for seeking new market groups. The cars come with the latest generation of new engines and the typical coupe silhouette – long bonnet, raked windscreen, long roof and 11mm lower than the sedan.
"The boot is short but spacious.
"Much effort has gone into showing the dynamism of the cabin, which can be tailored to suit the customer."
ALL THE FEATURES
New in the cars is a piano-lacquer finish which Mercedes calls "porcelain", though there's no clay in it. The coupe has only four seats, each an individual bucket, but those in the rear are capable of accepting only little people. However they do (except in the baseline C180 model) fold individually to accommodate longer,/larger goods/luggage.
FOUR BUCKETS: The new Mercedes C-Class coupes come with four individual bucket seats but those in the rear are for little people.
Four models are available for now, powered variously by one diesel and three petrol engines, their exhausts, Mayer says, "tuned to add to the fun factor". The coupes, even the diesels, make thoroughly sporty noises at speed.
However, with fond memories of former C coupes, I was expecting more personality from the two units I drove – a C250 CDI and a C250 petrol. The diesel is delightfully agricultural – it's been some time since I've heard so much clatter from an upmarket turbodiesel. If part of your purchasing decision involves posing on Camps Bay beachfront on a Sunday morning or at Sandton’s Melrose Arch of a spring evening – look elsewhere.
Perhaps at a C250 or C350 petrol model: quiet, sophisticated and pumped full of the latest technology. The fourth model is what passes for "entry level" in such august company - the C180. Made for middling bank executives, aspiring lawyers and footballers' wives and sans some of the bling.
HANDSOME CHAP
Whatever, the C Coupe IS a handsome chap and spacious up front in the cabin but to my eyes the massive thick-barred grille – Mercedes calls it "a double louvre" – is overkill on a car that attempts to be strong but petite, sporty in a "let's go to the mall" kind of way. It looks like it was designed for a much bulkier car; a boxer's nose on a ramp model. The sedans have a three-bar design to differentiate the two models.
Mayer again: "With the new C-Class Coupe we're extending the C-Class portfolio, consciously targeting new customers. This new model is youthful, stylish and dynamic and what we are offering is an exceptionally sporty way to enter the world of the Mercedes-Benz coupes."
TUNED TO PERFRECTION: The twin exhausts on the C-Class Coupe - this is the C350 model - have been tweaked for maximum audio quality. The cars are also lower than their sedan sisters.
Mercedes has been competitive on pricing the C-Class Coupe. There are certainly extras after which buyers might lust in such a market but the base prices are:
C180 Coupe (115kW/250Nm) – R394 000
C250 Coupe 150kW/500Nm) – R494 000
C250 CDI Coupe (150kW/310Nm) – R490 000
C350 V6 Coupe (225kW/370Nm) – R590 000
Extras include a cabin styling package (R9500), dynamic handling package (also R9500) and an Edition 1 package that assembles a selection of parts from the previous two deals along with titanium-finish alloy rims (a hefty R33 000).
To compare, the BMW 1M (if you could find one) is tagged at R546 392, makes 250kW/500Nm and has a straight-six, three-litre engine and special alloys.
Each automatic version of the C Coupe has an enhanced 7G-Tronic Plus seven-speed transmission which, thanks to (Mayer says partly because of improved bearings) is slicker and takes less power (and hence uses less fuel) from the engine. It requires an oil change only every 125 000km. A six-speed manual is the alternative.
The already frugal turbodiesel incorporates a stop/start function to cut consumption in city traffic.
HUGE HARD-DRIVE STORAGE
Mercedes has also shown (also on the sedans) its corporate awareness of the social media phenomenon by introducing (except on the diesel) free (except for data charges on your cellphone, which plays modem for the unit) internet. Unfortunately, there is no split-pixel display on the colour info screen to allow the front passenger to surf the net on the move while the driver watches, say, the 3D satnav – you can only go online when stationary.
Which kind of spoils the effect. Mayer told me that might change – but made no promises when. Whatever, the system has huge hard-drive storage for your photographs and music.
Each of the engines offered in the C-Class coupe range carries the brand's BlueEfficiency designation to indicate that it is particularly fuel-efficient – particularly the V6 C350 that claims seven litres/100km – the same as the smaller-bored C250. The diesel model claims 5.3/100km and the C180 6.8/100. CO2 emissions range from 139 to 164g/100 for the V6 – the star of the show, even though the 164 is alongside it on the performance table, given its size and power.
Passenger protection is big on the coupe: nine air bags are standard, along with belt tensioners and belt-force limiters, covering all four seats. The air bags include cushioning for knees, pelvis and all side windows.
DRIVING ASSISTANCE
However, to help prevent a collision, standard equipment includes Mercedes 'agility control' suspension boosted by a "a sporty configuration" based on an amplitude-dependent shock-absorbers. Here's how it works: When driving normally with low shock-absorber impulses the damping effect is automatically reduced to reduce road noise and tyre vibration, Merc says, without compromising handling cpontrol.
When shock impulses increase, perhaps when cornering at speed or making an emergency direction change, maximum damping forces are invoked instantly and the car stabilised. The whole system, Merc adds, is complemented by rack-and-pinion steering and speed-sensitive steering.
The front axle has a three-link construction with MacPherson spring struts, the rear multi-link independent rear suspension – and most of the components are made of aluminium.
Each coupe is lower than the sedans with harder and shorter springs and stronger torsion bars and has a number of assistance systems for the driver ranging from the standard "attentinon assist" which monitors the drivers alertness to 'Distronic Plus", a radar-based function attached to the cruise control and brakes to maintain a following distance.
As with all Mercedes-Benz cars, the new C-Class Coupé comes standard with a MobiloDrive six-year or 120 000km maintenance contract and a two-year unlimited distance warranty.
*Thanks to those of you who pointed out the original article's errors of (my) memory on the engine size and configuration, which I acknowledge, which should have been been double-checked and which have nowbeen corrected. The comparison with the BMW was deliberate in the face of the (reasonably) similar prices. As for the allegations of bias, sorry guys, but it really doesn't work that way.
