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 is quite a polluting model. With an average of 202 g/km CO2 across the model line-up, its emissions are a touch high for a medium-sized saloon. 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 particularly economical, averaging 35 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.