(Tue 29 Jan 08)

As with the previous C-Class, Mercedes-Benz has launched a Sports Coupé version, but this time it has given it its own name.

The CLC-Class will come to the UK in June with a choice of six engines ranging in power outputs from 122bhp (for the CLC 200 CDI 2.2-litre turbo diesel) to 272bhp (for the 3.5-litre CLC 350 V6 petrol). Power and fuel economy are both generally improved compared with the old Sports Coupé; the supercharged CLC 200 Kompressor, for example, has had its power output hiked from 164bhp to 194bhp, while combined fuel economy has improved from 33.4mpg to 36.2mpg.

Six-speed manual transmission is standard on all models other than the CLC 350, which gets the seven-speed 7G-Tronic automatic. 7G-Tronic is an option on the CLC 230, while the four-cylinder models can be supplied with a five-speed automatic.

For more enthusiastic drivers there's a Sport model which gets 18" alloy wheels, sports suspension, a leather steering wheel, darked brush aluminium interior trim and a direct-steer system which combines speed-sensitive power steering with a variable rack ratio (the point of the latter being to reduce the amount of wheel turning required in tighter corners).

Mercedes-Benz Gallery
Mercedes-Benz Road Tests

Previous: Renault Twingo Extreme                           Next: Peugeot And Citroen In Russia