Mercedes Benz C-Class W203 review by honest john

What's Good

Complete new range launched September 2000 starting with 4-door saloon and later including 3-door Sport Coupe hatchback and 5-door estate. Pretty 4-door saloon looks like a small S-Class. Galvanised body with 30-year conditional Mobilo warranty. Engines are 129 bhp 2.0 litre four; 163 bhp 2.0 litre supercharged four; 170 bhp 2.6 V6; 218 bhp 3.2 V6; 143 bhp 2.2 CDI four-cylinder; and 170 bhp 2.7 CDI five-cylinder. Gearboxes either a six-speed manual, five-speed fully automatic or five speed Sequentronic semi-automatic. 220CDI offers 45 mpg potential.

Three lap/diagonal rear belts, a/c, driver and passenger airbags plus side bags and window bags and cruise control with 'Speedtronic' speed limiter standard throughout the range. Now has rack and pinion steering and polycarbonate headlight lenses. Decent sized boot. Electric folding door mirrors incorporate indicator repeaters. Optional 'Command' voice-activated telephone, navigation system and sound system.

354bhp Supercharged V6 C32 AMG launched at Detroit Show in January 2001. Estate version and coupe from Summer 2001. Estate with punchy 170bhp 2.7 litre CDI and Sequentronic box is almost as quick as 3.2 V6 fully automatic.

Excellent score of 31 points in 2001 Euro NCAP crash safety tests.

Price cuts in June 2002 brought lead-in prices down to £18,795 for the 180 Classic Sport Coupe, £19,995 for the 180 Classic saloon and £20,945 for the 180 Classic estate. Classic SE spec upgrades also announced at £1,645 more and you need this to get air-conditioning. You still get ABS (anti-lock brakes) with BAS (Brake Assist); alarm and immobiliser; electric heated mirrors; ESP (Electronic Stability Program) with ASR traction control; six airbags (two front, two side and window-bags); four electric windows; four seat belt pre-tensioners; multi-function steering wheel; partial electric seats and remote central locking all still feature as standard on every car. A single CD player in place of cassette remains a no cost option.

To get Automatic Climate Control on the Classic Saloon and Estate you have to move up to the Classic SE at an extra £1,645, starting at £21,640 for the 180 saloon and £22,590 for the 180 estate. You also get alloy wheels; CD player; five-speed automatic transmission (with Speedtronic cruise control and speed limiter); and leather-trimmed steering wheel and gear shift. SE pack also available on five and six cylinder C Class models, with Sequentronic transmissions a no cost option on all Classic SE models, where available. For the first time, a C 320 Classic SE became available, costing £29,200 (Saloon) and £30,150 (Estate). Top model is £43,740 C32AMG with 349bhp and 332lb ft torque.

Revisions lead to excellent five star Euro NCAP award for C Class range in 2002 tests.

New 1,796cc supercharged balancer shaft engines in Sports Coupe and Estates from July 2002 and in saloons from November 2002. '180K' engine develops 143bhp, emits 175g/km and gets the car to 139mph; '200K' engine develops 163bhp; 230K engine develops 192bhp, but this is for Sports Coupe only. Saloon and estate retain 2.4 V6. No price change for the new engines (from £19,995 for non a/c C180 Classic saloon).

Joint second top of 2002 Which reliability survey; came out 99% fault free; 107 cars surveyed. 214bhp 3.2 engine available in Sport Coupe from March 2003. Offers 0-60 in 7.7 seconds, top speed 154mph for from £24,990. C200CDI announced June 2003 with de-tuned 2,148cc CDI down to 122bhp and 270Nm torque, but offering 47,9mpg combined and 159g/km CO2, so in the 18% BIK bracket. Prices from £21,555 for C200 CDI Classic and £22,505 for Classic estate. Classic SE comes with climate control, alloy wheels and CD player for £500 more. 367bhp unsupercharged C55 V8 saloon and estate replaced supercharged C32AMG. Does 0-60 in around 4.8 seconds, price £48k.

All C Class got minor Summer 2003 facelift.