Upper class move for Mercedes

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Heart of the whole Mercedes-Benz range, the new C-class saloon went on sale this week, benefiting from price adjustments.

In some cases the actual price is down, in others it stays the same although the new models have uprated equipment levels, and there's a third category in which the prices may be hundreds of pounds higher but the ''enhanced value'' of the car has been raised by thousands.

What it amounts to is that the entry level C180, available next month with a 129bhp engine, has a start price of #20,740 against the previous model's #20,440. The C200K with the 163bhp supercharged four-cylinder engine is in the catalogue at the same #22,240 as its predecessor. Price of the C240 with a new 170bhp 2.6-litre V6 engine is #24,140 compared with #25,740, and the C320 Elegance costs #30,250 against #31,740 for the superseded C280.

For the moment, the only turbo diesel in the new range is the improved C220 CDI at #23,250. But early next year Mercedes will bring in the more powerful C270 CDI, to give the C-class range a strong diesel element indeed.

One significant feature of the C220 CDI is that it is not only more powerful and more economical, but also comes with meagre enough emission levels to be in the lowest band in the company car tax system.

In all these cars, the specification levels have been raised. In particular, Mercedes has brought in an impressive range of new engines. There are six of them altogether, every one with increased power and improved torque, better economy and improved emissions performance.

There's also a new approach to transmissions. All the manual gearboxes are now six-speed, with better placed ratios for mid-range acceleration as well as lower-revving motorway performance. Many Mercedes owners prefer automatic transmission, and that's standard on the C240 and C320, and an extra cost option on other models.

As in so many makes these days, the Mercedes automatic transmission can be used either without driver input, or with a ''tip'' movement to make manual changes. The Stuttgart Tipshift system is far superior to many of its rivals. You don't have to punch the selector forward or pull it back. Little sideways nudges do the trick.

Of course, Mercedes didn't spend #820m over four years just on engines and putting an extra cog in the manual gearbox. The all-new body with its lorgnette-style twin headlamps is sleeker and far more rigid, overall and in individual components like the side members and transmission tunnel.

It is designed to be stronger in a crash and easier to repair afterwards. More attention has been paid to having steel panels of an appropriate weight and thickness throughout the car, yet there's a remarkable increase in the number of minor parts made from recycled or natural material.

Mercedes is one of the industry leaders in this approach. You'd expect a car such as the C-class to have a number of smaller components made from plastic, and it has, but there are also some in wood, cotton and even coconut fibres. Parent company DaimlerChrysler has set up a supply system in South Africa, where it buys raw materials from sisal growers.

Mercedes is confident about its bodywork, which is included in a

long-term warranty scheme. One of the features of the ''mobilo-life'' package is that, if one of its cars has been serviced and maintained at the correct intervals by a Mercedes workshop, the body and underbody are covered by a

30-year warranty against rust perforation. No other manufacturer goes to those limits.

The new C-class has the best drag coefficient in its class, and the project team spent a lot of time reducing front and rear-end aerodynamic lift. Add that to the latest platform and suspension layout, and the fact that some of the compliance which used to be built into the suspension to allow for the previously less rigid bodyshell is no longer needed, and you get a car with the capability of being more sportingly driven.

Certainly, on a test route which included a fair mileage on hill and moorland roads, each C-class I tried felt poised and balanced, and able to cope better not only with bumps and hollows, but also with unexpectedly tightening bends. There's been no damage to the ride quality, as an attack on some rumpled stretches of road demonstrated.

All round, the new car is a better driving machine.There are firmly upholstered seats in the German style. They seem pretty solid and unyielding to begin with, but as the miles go by you realise that's a bonus. On a long journey, you get out of a Mercedes feeling more comfortable than in some other executive class saloons with much softer seating.

Although the new C-class has twin windscreen wipers instead of the single-sweep type favoured before, no amount of pleading will get Mercedes away from the foot-pedal parking brake with its abrupt fascia release. Brake assist, which applies maximum pressure via the ABS system in an emergency, is standard on all models, along with headlamps which go on automatically as darkness falls,

two-stage deployment of the airbags, and a multi-function steering wheel with controls for the radio, car phone and navigation system if fitted.

Voice control of the radio, CD player and phone is optional. So are a sunroof, rain-sensing wipers and, in the lower-level models which don't have it as standard, a Thermotronic climate control system which adapts to outside air conditions and the position of the sun.

Many features like this have come down to the C-class from the S-class saloon. Their appearance is proof that, while fancy equipment makes its first appearance in expensive cars which can stand the high unit cost, as time goes by it trickles down to the lower priced ranges.

Mercedes is having a record year in the UK market, and the recent price realignments ought to ensure that more cars come in through regular import channels. It is keeping up its high engineering standards with a range which, unusually, includes everything from supercharged petrol engines to high class common rail turbo diesels.

Dealers have already taken thousands of orders for the C-class. And the favourite paint finish will, as usual, be silver.