Mercedes-Benz C200 Cabriolet 2016 new car review
C stands for Choice with the Mercedes-Benz C series.
C stands for Choice with the Mercedes-Benz C series. You can have a sedan, estate (station wagon), a coupe and now a cabriolet.
How a company that manages to sell 17 different model lines can have so many variants is quite mind-blowing. Is it a case of a scattergun approach, or does this new drop-top hit the mark?
Inside and out
The C200’s interior is so good that it could be out of a car costing thirty grand more. It’ll take a bit of time to get used to the buttons and the jog wheel with its magic trackpad, but every other detail really provides visual and tactile delight.
The heated leather seats and Mercedes’ AIRSCARF neck-level heating included in our test car is an extra $1,900 but would be welcome if riding with the top down in chilly weather. It’s probably worth also getting the alarm and interior surveillance system for $990, too. Keyless entry is notable by its omission.
This is the first C class convertible soft top and, unlike a great many other convertibles, it is as quiet as you would expect a sedan to be.
It takes 137 words in the C200’s brochure to describe every security and safety feature, and that’s just a list of names. There are as many airbags as there are gears, there’s a full 360-degree camera view (including front-facing camera), blind spot monitoring, every type of anti-skid device available and collision prevention.
Boot space is obviously compromised when the roof is down, but rear legroom is surprisingly good for a vehicle like this.
On the road
There’s almost zero wind noise, very minimal engine noise and a normal amount of road noise. With the roof down and the rear diffuser up, there’s very little buffeting at motorway speeds. At red lights, the engine turns off to save fuel, but you won’t hear it, you’ll just feel the car shudder slightly as it restarts when you take your foot off the brake.
It doesn’t feel like a rear-wheel-drive car. When provoked in tight corners in wet weather the traction control system is so seamless and smooth there are no whimpers from the tyres or slightly skittish sideways moments.
Steering into those corners highlights a slight vagueness and lack of feedback that makes it difficult to judge how much lock you need to put on.
There are four modes you can choose from. Eco maximises the enviro-friendliness, comfort is best for everyday motoring or you can try to pretend this is a sports car with Sport and Sport+, but don’t fool yourself as this Merc is for cruising along on silky gearshifts.
Those gearshifts have to be silken too because there are 9 gears and that means a lot of changes as it’s in number 8 by the time you’re doing 90km/h. 100km/h comes up in a fraction under 8 seconds, while fuel economy is quoted at around 6.3 litres per 100km from the two-litre, four-cylinder engine.
Overall
This is luxury motoring for ninety grand. It’s over ten thousand cheaper than the competing Audi A5, although it loses out on power and boot space. Mercedes-Benz is unlikely to sell these by the hundreds so you’re almost guaranteed a bit of exclusivity.
If you want more performance there are two models with extra sizzle, and that’s where the dollars leap skyward: the Mercedes-AMG C 43 with 270kW and the C 63 S with 375kW at $135,900 and $189,900 respectively.
Price: $89,900 + Warmth Comfort Package ($1900) for a total of $91,800.
Image gallery
Also consider
Kyle Cassidy 
Robert Barry 
Richard Edwards 