Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate (2014 – 2021) Review

If you're looking for the newer version, you need our Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate review. 

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate is one of the three big premium compact wagon contenders, alongside the BMW 3 Series Touring and Audi’s A4 Avant, with cars like Volvo’s V60 and Volkswagen’s Golf Estate also trying to muscle in on this territory. It’s fiercely competitive as rivals aim to offer a mix of luxury and comfort alongside the more obvious estate-car qualities of space and practicality.

Despite the proliferation of SUV-based niche cars designed to appeal to young buyers with a ‘lifestyle’, Mercedes-Benz has no good reason to veer away from tradition with the C-Class Estate. It’s still a very popular bodystyle, and to do without one in this premium segment would be commercially ruinous, even for rivals like BMW who are filling their range with SUVs like they’re about to be outlawed…

First introduced in 2014 and then substantially revised in 2018, the C-Class Estate aims to offer practicality and space, a luxurious cabin and a mix of good comfort and an enjoyable driving experience. As with the majority of Mercedes-Benz models there is also an emphasis on technology and safety too.

The result is a beautiful blend of traditional indulgence, iPad-generation modernity and space. And it really is that simple. Mercedes-Benz has made a two-box car, filled it with leather, fitted a tablet PC to the dash, and garnished the whole thing with brushed steel, gloss black and wood veneer. It’s a John Lewis living room display on wheels.

If that sounds disparaging, that’s not the intention – the overarching ambience of this car is that of a ‘proper’ Mercedes-Benz estate. For various reasons the last couple of C-Class models didn’t really nail that ambience, but it’s very clear, very quickly, that this C-Class takes much of its inspiration from the S-Class, which is high praise indeed.

This new C-Class Estate is defined by its refinement, its cabin flair, the depth of quality of the surfaces, and the apparent thought that’s gone into the design.

Mercedes-Benz hasn’t tried to make it a BMW either, so while it’s perfectly good at the more dynamic stuff (rear-wheel drive, weighty steering and a brilliantly unobtrusive seven-speed automatic gearbox), it’s actually a lot better when its gently going about its business – when it’s ‘wafting along’, to coin a cliché that Mercedes-Benz owners the world over used to use.

It’s not perfect, of course – there’s quite a bit of road and tyre noise at motorway speeds, and the extra 10 litres of maximum boot space is probably not as much as you might expect given the increase in dimensions.

It also costs considerably more than its key rivals, but you might see this as something to boast about rather than to avoid altogether. But really, these are footnotes in a story that’s largely excellent. Is it better than the 3 Series Touring?

That depends what you want, but the important thing is, it no longer sails so close to its German nemesis. Instead, it treads its own path, gently. Like a Mercedes-Benz should.

In normal driving the C-Class Estate has an easy-going nature, with steering that is light and responsive and a controlled ride that is comfortable on most surfaces.

What does become apparent however is that the steering lacks much in the way of feel, so that the driver is not fully kept in the loop about what the front wheels are up to.

The C-Class Estate is available with adaptive air suspension as an £895 option. It's a first in this class and there's plenty of distinction between its Eco, Comfort, Sport and Sport+ modes.

It doesn’t entirely define the driving experience though, the C-Class seems more suited to Comfort mode, with its more supple damper settings, lighter steering and shorter gear changes. But even in Sport, it’s the fuss-free cabin ambience, quiet engine note and well-judged seating position that really combine to make this car feel special.

The basic C200 petrol has a 1.5-litre unit boosted by a mild hybrid system, so it offers a useful 184PS, decent performance and reasonable fuel consumption for a petrol engine.

It’s also refined and works well with the nine-speed automatic transmission, so it makes a sound choice even though it is the least expensive option. The same logic applies for the basic diesel version in the C220d; with 194PS it is quick enough for most people and is impressively economical too.

The C300 and C300d options offer more performance and a more relaxed driving experience, particularly on motorways and when carrying heavy loads, but the penalty is fuel consumption; if you can afford it then they are desirable, but if costs are paramount the C220d is no bad choice.

The same logic can be applied to the hybrid models, which are clever, quiet, fast and can operate in pure electric mode. You pay for the privilege though...

Euro NCAP tested the C-Class in 2014 and gave it the full five star rating, with a score of 94 per cent for adult protection and 84 per cent for child protection. Pedestrian mitigation was also strong with a score of 77 per cent, and 70 per cent for safety assist, giving a consistently high score in all categories.

The C-Class is also fitted with a good range of driver assistance systems as standard, with all models getting ESC and automatic emergency braking as standard.

An additional package called Driving Assistance adds a further suite of systems including Active Blind Spot Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, BAS Plus with Cross-traffic Assist, Active Distronic Plus with Active Steering Assist and Stop&Go Pilot, Pre-Safe Brake with pedestrian detection and Pre-Safe Plus - at £1,695 it’s not exactly cheap, but considering the amount of additional functionality it adds it is worth careful consideration.

Unusually, the towing capacity of the C-Class Estate is the same whichever engine option you choose. With no four-wheel-drive option either, towing capacity is decent but not exceptional; all versions offer 750kg unbraked and 1800kg braked, although it will obviously be easier with one of the more powerful engine options.

The standard 40/20/40 split rear bench is a skier’s delight, the massive glove box is more of a glove wholesaler’s unit and the boot floor not only sits flush with the loading lip, but conceals a rather large space underneath. And if you’re willing to pay for the privilege, you can blip the flat-folding rear bench down remotely using your keys.

It seems that most of the effort has gone into additional cabin room and although from the front the car does have an ever-so-slightly compact feel (the roofline is quite low, especially with the sunroof option), there’s an appreciable improvement in rear leg room - 40mm more.

The maximum 1510-litre boot capacity is only 10 litres more than the outgoing car offered. And, as it happens, it’s exactly the same as the space in the back of a BMW 3 Series Touring. 

All cars come with leather upholstery as standard, so it’s the material choices further up the eye line that distinguish pricier C-Class models from the cheaper ones.

In lesser models, wood veneers adorn the door cards and house the infotainment buttons, though those worried about the harrowing sight of incongruous brown strips needn’t – unlike the Japanese Mercedes, the actual Mercedes-Benz knows how to integrate wood nicely into a car.

Admittedly better looking, however, is the brushed steel-effect and gloss black trim of AMG Line models, which get a stitched leather dash top too. The trim structure matches that of the C-Class saloon, unsurprisingly, which means SE, Sport and AMG Line specifications.

As standard, all C-Class Estate models come with DAB, satellite navigation, twin USB inputs and Bluetooth for phone connectivity and audio streaming. This can be upgraded with the Command Online functionality and a more advance Burmester audio system too.

All cars get an iPad-like infotainment screen on the dash top and there’s a symmetrical coherence to the design that makes sitting in the C-Class a real joy.

It can take a little while to get used to the media interface, with its unconventional flourishes like a volume roller switch embedded into the centre console, but it’s a price worth paying, probably, for such relative minimalism.

The entry-point to the C-Class Estate is the Sport model in C200 form which at £37,520 is quite expensive. In comparison, the cheapest Audi A4 Avant is £32,835 while the least expensive BMW 3 Series Touring is £32,935.

There’s no SE trim available in the estate bodystyle, so it jumps straight to AMG Line Edition which starts at £39,015 for the C200 version, £41,200 for the C200d model and goes all the way up to £45,710 for the C300de EQ Power diesel hybrid version.

Above that there are two versions of the AMG Line Night Edition; Premium and Premium Plus, which are available with the widest choice of engine options. Premium models start at £41,845 for the C200, with the equivalent Premium Plus costing £44,345 - you pay an additional £2500 to move from Premium to Premium Plus whatever the powertrain.

As for used examples, the C-Class is one of the most popular Mercedes-Benz models, and as it is still on sale as a new vehicle there is the potential for both good deals on nearly-new cars as well as lower-priced older examples.

We had a search in the classified ads and turned up a ton of examples. We found a 2019 registered C200 AMG Line with delivery mileage for less than £30,000, and a C300d AMG Line with the Premium package with 1000 miles on the clock for £35,000. Particularly with newer models it is important to check the specification carefully to ensure it has the features you want, as there are many permutations and options to choose from.

As for older examples, 2014 cars are now close to the £10,000 mark, making them something of a bargain. We found a C220 CDI in Executive SE spec with 50,000 miles for £11,000.

The basic C200 model with the petrol engine has a claimed official figure of 39.3mpg combined, so you should see mid-30s in the real world with relative ease.

The C220d diesel model is better still of course, with an official figure of 54.4mpg that should result in real-world consumption into the 40mpg+ bracket.

The hybrid models are even better of course, and the C300de grabs the attention with an official combined figure of 217.2 - it will be impossible to meet this in the real world, but if your journey includes low speed and city driving you may achieve fuel consumption close to three figures.

The downside of that shint three-pointed star is higher insurance prices, particularly as the sticker prices are on the high side too.

A C200 in Sport trim comes in at group 33/34, and it only gets worse from there. The C300 petrol is group 37 or 38, while the petrol and diesel hybrids are the most expensive to insure, with the diesel up in group 43 - a combination of their list price, performance and higher repair costs. It’s important to factor this in to your purchasing decisions before taking the plunge.

SE cars get 16-inch alloy wheels, leather upholstery, a full colour multimedia system with touchpad interface (and very clear the screen is, too), DAB digital radio, agility control, comfort suspension, reversing camera, rain sensitive wipers, collision prevention assist plus, cruise control with hold function and tyre pressure monitoring.

Sport models get 17-inch alloys, exterior chrome trim, leather seats, DAB radio, a reversing camer, aluminium interior trim with contrasting stitching, heated front sports seats, LED high-performance headlights, 15mm lowered comfort suspension, Active Park Assist, and satellite navigation 

AMG Line trim gets 18-inch wheels, an AMG body styling kit, AMG floor mats, AMG sports pedals, AMG leather sports seats, AMG sports steering wheel, black roof lining, a speed-sensitive adaptable steering system, lowered sports suspension (by 15mm) and gearshift paddles with automatic gearbox models.

AMG Line Night Edition Premium adds 19-inch alloy wheels, black exterior detailing, a memory package for the electric front seats, COMAND Online, man-made leather, Midline 225W sound system and wireless charging

AMG Line Night Edition Premium Plus adds Keyless Go Comfort package, 360 degree camera, a panoramic electric sunroof and a Burmester sound system.