• Excellent interior
• Few physical buttons
• Very tech heavy

How is the quality and layout?

Too often you’ll hear about a car manufacturer’s smaller cars being ‘a shrunken version of the flagship model.’ Normally, that statement’s a liberal augmentation of the truth, but in the case of the C-Class, it’s verging on fact. Mercedes’s designers took heavy inspiration from the Mercedes S-Class when designing its compact executive saloon, which means the two cars look surprisingly similar inside.

The C-Class’s cabin is dominated by an enormous 11.9-inch portrait-oriented infotainment system and a 12.9-inch digital gauge cluster ahead of the driver. The whole affair looks quite intimidating at first, but is reassuringly easy to use, especially as you can operate most of the functions on the touchscreen through voice commands.

As far as quality and design go, the C-Class’s cabin is very impressive. Most controls feel solid and well-damped and the materials you regularly interact with have that reassuring density we all like in an executive car. Overall, the car’s interior is rather less staid than its main rivals. That said, it’s not perfect.

The stalks behind the steering wheel feel a little flimsy, with the one for the indicators twanging slightly when self-cancelling. We also found the hard plastics lower down the interior to look shiner and therefore cheaper than what you’d find in the BMW 3 Series.

Infotainment and tech

That huge central display is responsible for plenty besides just the sat-nav. It’s not quite as feature-rich as the S-Class, but it’s still very high quality, bright, crisp, clear and responsive to the touch. In fact, it’s perhaps the first time that touchscreen climate controls haven’t made us want to tear our hair out in frustration, perhaps because the onscreen buttons are so big and easy to hit.

Having the display in a portrait format is also wonderful when you’re using the sat-nav, as it gives a greater view of the route ahead. The setup is further improved by Mercedes’s optional ‘augmented reality’ navigation system, which displays your next turn atop a feed from the car’s front camera in either the centre screen or the instrument panel. There’s also a high-quality head-up display which has sharp graphics but contains rather an overwhelming amount of information.

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Mercedes’s touch-sensitive steering wheel controls are a little tricky to use when you first step into the car. They allow you to scroll through functions on both the infotainment screen and the digital gauge cluster, but there’s a knack to the correct gestures which takes some time to learn. You can also accidentally trigger a function when twirling the wheel. We also found that the central screen is positioned at too shallow an angle, which can make it difficult to read in sunny conditions.

If you don’t want to use Mercedes’s software, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are fitted as standard. Every version of the car also comes with a wireless smartphone charger in the centre console that keeps your phone out of sight so you’re not tempted to glance at it while on the move.

Comfort

• Seats are great
• Legroom is poor
• Quiet on the move

Mercedes has nailed the visual appearance of the C-Class. It looks great and it has a flash interior, complete with a massive touchscreen and posh ambient lighting system. This is what most of the UK public wants. However, if you’re not most people and you prioritise comfort over looks, you may well be disappointed with the C-Class.

We’ll start with the good. The seats are comfortable and offer plenty of adjustment. Road, wind and engine noise are all subdued by the C-Class’s generous amount of sound deadening, which makes it an easy car in which to cover miles.

However, space in the back is a little tighter than we would have liked and the ride can be a little choppy, especially when paired with Mercedes’s 19-inch alloy wheels. The engines also make a bit of a racket if you strain them, but that’s a very minor complaint.