Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe (2011 – 2016) Review

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe (2011 – 2016) At A Glance

Well built and attractively styled. Available with low emission diesel engines. Entry-level C180 petrol is surprisingly good.

It's not as sporty to drive as you might think. Looks very similar to the saloon.

Reviews for Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe (2011 – 2016)'s top 3 rivals

BMW 4 Series

Handles as impressively as you’d hope, handsome styling makes the newer 4 Series look fussy, wide range...

Audi A5

Spacious boot. Solid build quality. Good to drive on the motorway. Good handling with quattro all-wheel...

Infiniti Q60

Elegant styling. High quality and plush interior. Very well equipped as standard. Refined 3.7-litre V6...

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe (2011 – 2016) handling and engines

• Engines range from C180 BlueEfficiency to C63 AMG Edition 507
• Readers report Real MPG to be between 14–63 mpg

It’s very easy to be taken in by the marketing talk, which uses words like ‘sporty and ‘agile’, to then expect a fairly harsh, sports car ride and lots of noise. Luckily there’s still a lot of Mercedes-Benz about it all. At low revs all of the engines are refined and quiet, while the suspension, although not necessarily as soft as the likes of a limousine, is smooth and does a good job of subtly isolating the cabin from bumps and potholes.

The entry-level engine is the C180, a 1.8-litre petrol, which comes with a standard six-speed manual or an optional 7G-TRONIC PLUS seven-speed automatic. In town the engine is hushed and the automatic gearbox makes the car relaxing to drive. The steering is a little too light though.

Out of town and on the motorway, the 156bhp engine remains quiet and the seven-speed gearbox is intelligent in its selection of the correct ratio, quite happily dropping two gears to make light work of overtaking before changing up again to settle into a cruise. On long, flowing curves mixed with a few tighter, narrower sections, the C180 shows its weakness. The C-Class Coupe is a heavy car and the 156bhp engine doesn’t quite have the torque to make this type of driving as enjoyable as it could be.

The more powerful engines are better suited to flowing country roads. The C220 CDI and C250 CDI diesel engines produce 400Nm and 500Nm respectively while The C250 petrol delivers 310Nm and the C350 V6 has 370Nm. The petrol units have wider torque bands than the diesels, which is useful on twisty sections and means you don't have to work the engine as hard. The four cylinder engines have tuned exhausts, which make them pleasant on the ear at higher revs, though they all remain quiet at low speed.

An Agility Control suspension system is standard across the board and it provides a good balance of comfort and enjoyable handling thanks to adaptive damping. The C-Class Coupe is so stable at high cornering speeds that it’s quite easy to forget just how fast you’re travelling. The steering weights up at higher speed, although it doesn’t provide enough feedback to give a real sports car feel.

The C-Class Coupe may be fairly dynamic through the bends, but it’s safe to say that for most buyers - some of whom Mercedes-Benz wishes to attract from the Audi A5 and BMW 3 Series Coupe, usually bought by slightly younger people – will rarely drive on sweeping, smooth, empty roads in southern Spain.

Most people will use a car like this for their commute, with the odd long-distance motorway journey and the occasional holiday road trip, and the C-Class Coupe provides an obviously well thought out balance of characteristics that, when combined, make a compelling package. It’s quiet, refined and well built, and shy of the A-pillar somewhat obscuring visibility it’s quite easy to drive around town. It’s effortless on the motorway, and when you take it into the countryside it’ll travel at any speed you ask it to without even a jot of fuss.

The range of engines provides a suitable option for all tastes, although our pick would be the C220 CDI because it provides the best fuel economy and lowest emissions in the range while delivering brisk performance thanks to a healthy torque figure. With a manual gearbox it produces 117g/km of CO2 and official figures state that it can travel 64.2 miles on a gallon of diesel. 

The C250 CDI diesel isn't far behind, capable of a claimed 57.6mpg, with CO2 emissions of 128g/km. If you prefer petrol power then the 3.5-litre V6 is surprisingly efficient, producing 159g/km of CO2 with official economy of 41.5mpg. That's more or less the same as the middle-of-the-range C250 petrol, which produces substantially less power. 

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe (2011 – 2016) interior

• Boot space is 450 litres
• Euro NCAP rating of five stars

The C-Class Coupe cabin has four individual seats, and thanks to being built on the same platform as the C-Class, rear legroom and boot space are both good, An average adult of about 5ft10 can easily fit behind the equivalent height driver without much contortion while the boot is 450 litres. 

The dashboard and centre console are more or less the same as in the saloon and estate, which is no bad thing. There’s little ‘flair’ save for the customisable trim stretching across the dash, but everything feels solid and well put together, something especially evident with the single indicator stalk. It's chunky and requires much more effort to operate than in cheaper cars, while the metal buttons below the stereo to operate the optional heated/cooling seats have a similar quality feel.

The foot-operated parking brake is very ‘USA’ and releasing it requires the use of a handle which doesn’t feel particularly premium, but the rest of the interior is logical in layout and simple to operate. An SD card based sat-nav system comes as standard and is very simple to read and follow. It can be upgraded to a more complex system which can be linked to Google maps to display 3D terrain and buildings.

DAB radio is standard, as is a six CD auto changer. In fact, standard equipment is quite good all around with automatic wipers and headlights, as well as an alertness monitor, electric seats, dual zone climate control and a multi-function steering wheel.

There’re also plenty of optional extras, most notably an improved telematics system called COMAND Online, which provides internet access on screen providing it’s linked to a suitable mobile phone. A full length glass roof is available as an option too, and it makes the cabin light and airy. The seats are laterally supportive to keep you from falling off in a high-speed corner, but they’re also comfortable and easy to adjust.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe (2011 – 2016) models and specs

On sale until October 2015

On sale until April 2014

On sale until June 2012