Comes Of Age
by David Morgan (16 Dec 05)

A long overdue air of quality has returned to Mercedes-Benz's bread-and-butter C-Class range. Recent years has seen a dreadful decline in trim and finish with question marks hovering over some electronic issues within the once-unimpeachable Stuttgart marque. But no more.

The latest addition to the C-Class family, the three-litre V6 C 320 CDI turbodiesel, is a stunning executive saloon. It comes in three trim levels - Elegance and Avantgarde at £31,020 then Sport at £32,850 - with the rare Sport Edition I'm testing here sitting as a premium model at £34,150. All share the same impeccable quality, fine dynamics and performance to match some of the quickest petrol executive cars on the market.

Dropping the new three-litre V6 CDI into the small C-Class body has transformed the car. It's a smooth and refined oil burner with 224bhp and maximum torque of 376lb/ft - that's more grunt and pulling power than BMW's X5 3.0d.

The car's performance is electrifying. Anyone who can remember the heady days of the Mercedes 190E Cosworth will have a taste of the C 320 CDI's performance ability. It's fast, agile and satisfying, and can deliver much more than the rumbustious Cossie. Unlike the Cosworth, the C-Class turbo diesel is refined, comfortable, well-appointed, relaxed and much more affordable.

The Sport Edition comes with goodies like full leather, slick-changing 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission, AMG bodystyling, 17" six-spoke alloys (which seem a mite too small for the car), special Sport Edition detailing, metallic paint, a subtle boot spoiler and a lowered suspension which makes the car feel taut without spoiling the C's legendary ride quality.

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