Expensive to buy new but depreciates slowly. Servicing at official dealers is very expensive. Diesel engines are frugal as well as supercharged 1.8-litre petrol engines.

C-Class performs fairly badly on the eco front. With an average of 210 g/km CO2 across the line-up, its emissions are a touch high for a medium-sized estate. However, it’s worth noting that the line up has a high number of diesel models, bringing the average down and giving buyers more choices of low-emission versions. Diesels typically produce less CO2 than petrol engines with similar power outputs.

The range is not very frugal, averaging 34 mpg.

The C-Class arrived at a time when some Mercedes-Benz models had suffered below average reliability. However, the majority of C-Class models have not suffered any major problems.