Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate (2014 - 2021) C 200 SE Executive 9G-Tronic Plus auto (12/16 on) 5d Owner Review

I was looking for a premium compact estate car to replace my ageing Skoda Superb and was delighted to see this car come up on DriveTheDeal brand new for £24,000, saving £10,000 on new. The car feels really well put together, with controls falling to hand. The 9 speed gearbox is very smooth and it is great to have the steering wheel paddles as a semi-automatic option. I was really impressed by the safety gear that came as standard, with a very clear reversing camera, autonomous braking and even automatic parallel and perpendicular parking. The car feels fast to drive and on a par with my wife’s BMW 120i, whilst the brakes are good. My only gripe in previous years was its ability to cope with icy roads, as all of my previous cars have been front wheel drive. Last month I changed all 4 tyres to Michelin Cross Climate+, which has made winter driving so easy in the recent sub-zero conditions. They are a great match for my 17” wheels and still protect the alloys from kerb damage. The car engine heats up quickly and defrosts the front windscreen in a couple of minutes - far better than my previous diesel engined cars. The infotainment system is good as I have Apple CarPlay, which works well with Siri via the steering wheel button and the rotary controller. This allows me to use Waze, BBC Sounds and also reads out my texts and WhatsApp messages. The sound system is fine, with a good central woofer. The information display between the rev counter and speedo is also excellent - far better than my wife’s BMW 120i. My only gripe is the 40 litre fuel tank, which was introduced as a weight saving measure as CO2 emission tests are carried out with the fuel tank at least 90% full. This would be o.k. For a 60 mpg diesel but with urban driving, the range can be as low as 250 mile. My “deal” was based upon fleet orders so there wasn’t an option to choose the 70 litre tank. Fortunately, there is no “range anxiety” as there is always a petrol station nearby and the car gives plenty of clear warnings when it needs to be refuelled. I am delighted with the beautiful blue colour of the paintwork, as pictured above. I use Autoglym HD Resin twice per year and it keeps the paintwork looking like new. Definitely the best car I have ever owned and will hopefully keep running smoothly until it is time to switch to an electric car.