This 2013 Mercedes-Benz C250 sedan offers a great little combination with this four-cylinder turbo engine and stiff chassis. Makes for a zippy (sorry, I hate that word, but there you go) car around town and one that cruises silently and smoothly on the freeway. Low-end poke with the turbo is right on.
This car is well-built and feels solid as a tank, is fast enough once the turbo gets cranking, and is a nice smallish car overall. In fact, it’s my favorite small German sedan. Not the BMW 3-series, you ask? Not until BMW ditches those dreadful, ride-ruining runflat tires.
The Benz feels nimble, more so than the AWD versions, though I bet during a Michigan winter I’d want the AWD. It really shines out on the freeway where it charges along smooth, steady and surefooted (for a small car). It’s the solidity and smoothness; it drives like a much bigger car. My only beef is that backseat room is a little tight. With 5-foot-8-inch me in the driver’s seat and a teenager behind me, legroom is tight back there. For short trips it is fine, but for longer ones I’d probably hear some whining.
The interior is classy and comfortable and more E-class than any C-class I recall. That’s to say build quality/fit and finish seem way up to me.
Overall, this C250 sedan is a class act, and a terrific option for those looking for a sporty small sedan. I’d like to drive one back-to-back with the turbo four-equipped Cadillac ATS. I bet that’d be a tough choice.
However, getting the car into sport mode is important, as comfort tends to short shift the gearbox quickly in the name of fuel economy, which is kind of annoying. Sport will hang onto gears longer and whip off downshifts in a quicker fashion.
And it is a tight little handler with snappy steering response and surefooted handling. I’m sure the upgraded suspension and 18-inch rubber play a part in bumping up this C250’s reflexes that are part of the optional dynamic sport package. It tracks around corners confidently while keeping body motions in check. The cherry on top is that the lower-profile tires and firmer suspension don’t trash ride quality to still be compliant and comfortable even on the poor condition roadways we have in Michigan.
I have to also copy Wes’ observation of the nice build quality of the car overall, which shouldn’t be a surprise as they’ve had a good amount of time to perfect this car and get things down pat. The interior layout isn’t fresh, nor is it too dated looking to my eye. Working through infotainment features remains intuitive with the center console control knob. Front seats offer decent side bolstering, and it’s quite easy to find a comfortable seating position in this car.
With the new C-class on the way for the 2015 model year, you can bet your local Benz dealer will be open to negotiating a little more on the current car. And that wouldn’t be a bad thing, because it’s still a solid and competitive car with the likes of the BMW 3-series and Audi A4.
