Vehicle: 2012 Mercedes C250 Coupe with Bi-Xenon headlight Pkg, Sport Pkg and Premium Pkg
Price as tested: CDN$44100

Performance: If you were one of those who bought your original C-Coupe due to low lease rates, you are right because that was the only reason to purchase that craptacular hatchback. For 2012, Mercedes has tried it again.

The 2nd iteration of C-Coupe has 3 different type of engine configurations. Right from 451hp C63 AMG to the highlight of our tester. With the introduction of CGI BlueEfficiency technologies into Mercedes powertrains, it finally brings direct fuel injection + turbocharged into Stuggart’s bonnets. That’s despite the fact that Stuggart has been 6 years later than Ingolsdadter, who has pioneered this nifty tricks of putting high performance and efficiency all at one compelling package.

The subject of our tester comes in the form of a 1.8 liter DOHC 16-valve, with the above mentioned technologies along with driven-by-wire. Don’t be afraid cause we have seen the similar configuration from its neighbor. Our C-Coupe has 201 ponies, while more importantly, 229 lb/ft of torque, moving 1550kg of Mercedes sports coupe. The result is an engine which is far improved over any of Mercedes’s noisy 4-cylinder rackets in the past, both normally aspirated or supercharged variants combined. Its smooth-revving while refined enough to carry Mercedes nameplate on the bonnet, even the NVH control has done exceptionally well. Mesh the typical heavy Mercedes throttle, C-Coupe takes off with ease without any hestiation. If you find C63′s V8 is overkill, there is always a 3.5 liter V6 with 302hp and 273 lb/ft of torque. Mated with this turbo’ed Mercedes is its willing 7-Gronic manumatic with paddle shifters. One of the main reasons to opt for sports package is the paddle shifters on the steering wheel. It allows driver to better manage gears before entering a corner, or just drop a cone during highway passing. On another note, this 7-speed gearbox has provide decent enough ratios in order to eliminate turbo lag on the bottom 4 gears. While leaving the top 3 gears for comfortable Autobahn-like cruising.

Handling: Don’t be mistaken that C-Coupe is based on C-Class architecture while E-Coupe is on E-Class architecture. That’s because both the C and E-Coupes are based on C-Class architecture, for cost saving measure.

That pretty much has explained how good the fundamental on which W204 C-Class architecture has been over the years. We have been praised C-Class sedan for its nice bland of sporty handling and sublime ride over the years. That holds a good foundation for C-Coupe to begin with. However, C-Coupe’s dynamic equation is something of a mix blessings. While C-Coupe’s sports suspension is comfortable compliant enough to absorb all the bumps and roughness of what we can poorly paved Canadian roads, its also supple enough to provide somewhat sporty driving experience. Its overall sharpness and reflexes just don’t feel anything special for a sports coupe. That’s even after we press the “sport” button which, supposedly, sharpen things up significantly, when it comes to suspension and steering input. Yes, it rides on a world-renowed architecture while suspension is nicely damped for providing a decent bland of Mercedes-esque ride quality and sporty dynamics. It just doesn’t provide the amout of driving fun we have exhibited in any of its peers. While the steering has provide nice feel and feedback, without losing Mercedes’s traits of numb off-center responsiveness. The body rolls have been well-controlled and able to manage to set itself up nicely after pushed. ESP, on the other hand, continues Mercedes’s tradition of a rather instrusive type. Dynamically speaking, its leaps and abound ahead of its predecessor. But then again, how many cars aren’t. But it doesn’t provide enough sharp reflexes and driving fun one associate with driving such a vehicle, especially considering how high the bar has set by its stiff rivals.

In most occassions, we prefer coupe over sedan when it comes to dynamic capabilities. Funny thing is, we were very impressed with C-Class sedan’s abilities but got underwhelmed by coupe silibings. What a surprise.

Brakes: On the other hand, C-Coupe’s brakes continue Mercedes tradition on providing sure-footness feel and feedback. It doesn’t exhibit any sorts of brake fades after a couple of harsh stops, while pedal always feels crisp and easily modulated. The stopping distance is short while ABS doesn’t step in unnecessarily.

Interior: The backseat is rather cramped given C-Coupe’s physical dimensions. Thanks to its sloppy C-pillars, it doesn’t have much headroom neither.

As for the luggage space, its surprisingly spacious thanks to low liftover and minimal side sills. Its enough for 2 persons going on a weekend trip without worrying too much about what should or shouldn’t bring.

Along comes the C-Coupe, Mercedes has addressed the materials in C-Class cabin overall. That means better use of quality materials while the center stark, which feature a multimedia interface screen, look much more pleasing to the eyes. The tasteful use of aluminum trim has added sportiness to a somewhat bland interior, especially for a sports coupe.

Conclusion: Although I have been pretty much underwhelmed with Mercedes’s latest effort of resurging C-Coupe, its already leaps and abound ahead of their original attempt a decade ago. While styling is subjective, I have felt too much Accord Coupe’s styling clues in C-Coupe’s overall blandness especially comes to the back end. The interior appointment isn’t as special as its rivals or its platform silibing, E-Coupe.

Will I recommend a C-Coupe to anyone else? Sure, I will especially in C250 guise. That’s primarily because its a superbly engineered directly injected powerplant without having front-heaviness of its V6 silibing. Its handling and ride balance will appeal to those who are shopping for an entry-level Mercedes sports coupe.

Competitions:
Audi A5 Coupe
BMW 3-Series Coupe
Cadillac CTS Coupe
Mercedes E-Class Coupe
Infiniti G37 Coupe

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2012 Mercedes C250 Coupe
=====================================
Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 3/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 3/5
Value-for-money: 3/5

Overall rating: 3.5/5