Mazda BT-50 test drive since 2006-

On solid soil

For the new Mercedes-Benz C-class chose a slogan dynamics of comfort. What did the Mercedes people want to say? That the car is comfortable and dynamic? Or that comfort is developing dynamically?
 

Or maybe the car has become more comfortable in dynamics? This will only show the confrontation, and everyone will find their own answer.
 

Three Mercedes-Benz C-classes have been brought to dealers salons: basic Classic, medium Elegance and top Avantgarde. And all three are easy to recognize thanks to the elements of the external decoration.
 

Elegance differs from Classic with chrome stripes on bumers, along the threshold line, around the side windows and fog heads. The sedan, in the most sophisticated version of Avantgarde, is distinguished by the appearance of chromium also on the skirt of the rear bumper, in the trim, as well as a new radiator grille with a large star in the center. At the same time, Awantgarde's sprocket disappeared for good.
 

Which engine drives the device into action, can also be recognized from the outside. Cars with six -cylinder engines differ from four -cylinder with two round dialing pipes of the exhaust system on machines with sixes of oval tubes.
 

But no matter how much the character of Mercedes in the direction of sports and speakers changes, the cabin will still be soft and expensive materials, a stylish business situation and technological tools that are always at hand of the driver.


There is no revolution, there is evolution: landing has become higher, in the shoulder zone and elbows more spacious than in the previous C-class. The front seats are moving back and forth, and electric drives allow you to easier to configure the pillow height and tilt of the backs.
 

At the very top of the central console, under the sliding cover, there is a color display. This decision was borrowed from the top models Mercedes-Benz. You can control the radio receiver, navigation system or phone using a special controller controller on the central armrest or direct choice buttons.
 

Prices
The new C-class costs from 30,500 euros the price for a car with a 1.8-liter compressor engine and a six-speed manual transmission. Mercedes-Benz C200K will cost 34,100, and a top C350 with a 3.5-liter 272-horsepower engine and a 7G-Tronic 7-speed transmission costs from 47,800.
 

The climate control system is still used by the Thermatic double-zone automatic air conditioner (in the basic configuration) or the three-zone Thermotronic.
 

Three sections of the devices are well read and contain all the information necessary on the way (who would doubt it!). On the left circle, the temperature of the coolant and fuel level, a tachometer on the right, and in the center, a speedometer with an integrated screen of an on -board computer.
 

In addition to the appearance, the direction of which was set by the four-door CLS in 2004, and a completely tilted interior, the C-class received a number of technical innovations. For example, the Agility Control system, which adapts to driving conditions and automatically selects the rigidity of shock absorbers.
 

And since September, versions equipped with an optional Advanced Agility package with a sports regime will appear on sale. The package allows you to switch the operating modes of the system manually and choose between comfortable and sports riding.

  

A sedan with a two-liter compressor engine came to us for a test (from September, Mercedes-Benz C180K will also appear, but so far we have the weakest gasoline engine). No, it is better to let it be the most economical: you can’t call this motor for a weakmill especially after the improvements that were brought into it in Stuttgart.

Two dozen horsepower and 10 Nm added to the compressor unit the altered geometry of the piston and new software. And according to factory data, the new motor became even more economical than its predecessor, spending half a liter of fuel (100 km of path) less in a mixed cycle.
            

The monumental, officially business interior of the C-class brings up a sense of self-significance in the driver: the command can be given in voice or fingers without stretching hands. But it's still ahead of this is just a middle -class car
 

But I don't care! I am ready to pour in and pour gasoline into a two -hundred tank, if only not to turn off the sport mode in the transmission and not to raise the flooring of the accelerator in its non -working position.
 

Tsesha behaves well in the hands of a driver who is implicitly observing traffic rules. Comfortable, measured. But not like classic Mercedes-Benz. One has only to touch the pedal, as the motor begins to come to life. Compared to the previous 200k, torque on the bottom has become noticeably higher, and its maximum lasts from 3,000 to 4,000, but rather from 3,000 to 5,000 rpm. The weight of the motor allows you to quickly and effectively accelerate in absolutely any gear, and the dynamics should take a breath.
 

It must ... but does not capture. Maybe this means the dynamics of comfort? Even if you drive the passengers, turn on the Sport mode in the box, take up the wheel stronger and do not let the gas pedal fall, does not reduce the cheekbones from the rapid set of speed. The driver feels the same way as before, rolling in a calm urban rhythm. And managing the C-class is damn nice, and at any speed and not only on direct segments. The steering is sample of severity and accuracy. The chassis instantly responds to the deviation of the steering wheel.

 

Not surprising, right? After all, the suspension scheme has not changed for a decade. McPherson and multi-leafing are still on Mercedes-Benz, but there are even less noise from them: road irregularities fly almost without a trace and do not disturb the passengers with either vibrations or noise. The world was built on contradictions. And the world of cars including. Everyone knows that if the car becomes more comfortable, it has a number of control problems. If you do more sports, then it means tougher, and more dynamic means more dangerous.
 

Previously, finding a balance between two opposites meant to sacrifice one, but to achieve in another. Mercedes-Benz says that now this is not so. Is the era of compromises over? ..
 

The car is provided by Olympus, the official dealer Daimlerchrysler.


Text: Alexander Korobchenko
Photo: Roman Ostanin and Mercedes
 
 
 
 
 
 

A source: Wheel magazine [No. 116/2007]