Mercedes C 250 CDI long term final report

We are going to miss the C-Class Teutonic feel and old-school charm.

Published on Jun 25, 2014 04:31:00 PM

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Mercedes C 250 CDI long term final report

Mercedes-Benz C 250 CDI

Hydraulic power steering is full of feel.

It scrapes even over medium-sized speedbreakers.

In retrospect, our car’s ride was also one of its highlights. Its steel springs and well-tuned dampers – they are purely mechanical in their working – are able to react to sudden intrusions (of which there are plenty on our roads) a lot more effectively than modern air springs and trick dampers. In fact, this C-class’s ride is better than even my bigger E-class, and that’s really saying something.

All of this adds up to make for a car that has a very mechanical, connected feel to it and that’s something that’s missing in most luxury cars today. In the city, its compact dimensions, ride quality and sporty black interiors give a sense of well being like no other long termer in the fleet. And the little things, like the depth and detail of the audio system and the way the Bluetooth system pairs up with your phone instantly, make you feel all the more like the car is welcoming you in.

It’s also been to Mahabaleshwar many times and it was the car’s rock-solid stability, punchy motor and hunkered-down stance, topped off by that beautifully telepathic steering, that made the C-class the weekend run favourite. Its Autobahn-stormer roots showed through clearly in these conditions and the diesel proved to be quite fuel efficient – over the 5,500km we had it, the overall figure steadily hovered around the 13kpl mark.