C-Change

Mercedes-benz Updates Its Best-selling Compact Premium Saloon for 2019. Are the Changes Enough to Make It an Even More Enticing Proposition? We Drive It in Germany to Find Out. 
 

- Gautam Sharma

Mercedes-Benz probably had only the slightest inkling of what they were kicking off when they launched theW201 190E back in 1982. Slotting in below the larger W123 four-door, it was Merc’s first compact executive saloon — yet it wasn’t a low-cost, barebones special. On the contrary, it debuted a new five-link suspension setup with anti-dive/anti-squat geometry, and it was even offered with airbags and ABS (anti-lock brakes) — virtually space-age tech back then.

The fact it was a genuine prestige saloon — rather than a tarted-up offering spun off an el-cheapo generic platform — cemented its place in the Benz line-up, and theW202 C-Class that replaced it (as part of Merc’s new naming nomenclature introduced in the Nineties) paved the way for further success. The C-Class has been Mercedes-Benz’s best-selling model for the past 10 years, even though the smaller and cheaper A-Class and B-Class now sit below it. To put it another way, every fifth Mercedes sold globally last year was a C-Class.

The C-Class’s popularity is no surprise given that the current W205 generation that debuted in 2014 is a polished, dynamically sharp package. That said, Audi has recently launched a new-gen A4, while BMW also has an all-new 3 Series waiting in the wings (expect an October reveal at the Paris motor show). No time for the Merc boffins to sit on their hands, then, and hence we have the facelifted/ upgraded 2019 C-Class, which will carry the baton until a brand-new replacement arrives in the next two years.