Mercedes-Benz CLC 180 Review

No. It's actually a reworked C-Class Sports Coupé and on the whole, an update of the previous generation C-Class, instead of an extensive rework of something pulled from last millennia.

But cosmetically, the only things that remain the same are the roof-line and its doors. The CLC has a new nose that's prominently gorgeous, bringing it in line with the Avantgarde trim of the current C-Class.

In fact, it looks exactly the part of a group of CLS and CL cars if you place all of them side-by-side. Therefore, you do get the impression that Mercedes-Benz hasn't put a foot wrong looks wise. Amongst the new add-ons were projector headlamps, a long row of LED third-brake lights, a rear bumper subdivide and lower sports suspension. For shoes, twin five-spoke, 18-inch light-alloy wheels paired to 225/40 profile tyres up front and wider 245/35s at the back.

The 1,796 cc four-potter isn't exactly new either, but it has been made more efficient in the way of better fuel economy and lesser carbon dioxide emissions. It has a power rating of 143 hp and a peak torque of 220 Nm at 2,500-4,200 rpm. Mercedes-Benz claims performance figures of 9.7 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h, and a top speed of 220 km/h.

The CLC 180 has the steering rack of an SLK roadster, and also incorporates a speed-sensitive power steering. This "Direct Steering" offers a variable rack ratio which changes as a function of the steering angle, so the driver only has to turn the wheel slightly while cornering.

All intricacies in the suspension setup for both front and rear have been heavily reworked. This, Mercedes-Benz engineers claim, will yield greater point-and-shoot accuracy and ride comfort for both driver and passengers.

Step into the car, plonk your butt onto its seats and you will gasp in shock. They're hard - quite a departure from the usual Mercedes fashion of bolstering.
You're probably thinking that it's supposed to be a sports Coupé and not a big, fluffy cotton-candy machine. However, we still couldn't help but feel that the seats needed better support in the thigh and waist department.

Aside from that, the rest of it all is typically high-quality Mercedes-Benz. It follows the current generation of C-Class automobiles closely, with a few exceptions of course. The black and white leather-seat trimmings, chequered background instrument dials, aluminium pedals and sportily trimmed floor-mats were all very nice touches.

There was also lots of room for both driver and front passenger to self-adjust into any position, along with enough at the back for the average Asian. This is provided are no Magic Johnsons or Jeremy Clarksons for that matter. A surprisingly big capacity (1,100 litres with the seats down) seems to belie the Merc's non-cavernous looking boot space.

Driving Impressions

If all of those mechanical modifications were done so as to give the car an edge in driving performance, then you'll be sorely disappointed with the CLC 180.

The engine was rather audible when stretched to its redline, but when combined with the five-speed automatic gearbox, delivered rather commendable shifting performance when set to sport mode. What a shame though, that it didn't blip the throttle on downshifts in-line with Mercedes-Benz's higher range of transmissions found in the AMG series.

In a straight-line, the car felt rather languorous when getting to its quoted 0-100 km/h time. But in legendary Mercedes-Benz fashion, it tracked dead-straight even at high speeds. However, it didn't do as well when driven hard and over rough surfaces.

The 18-inch wheels certainly helped the car through corners at higher-than-expected speeds, but the variable-ratio steering proved rather scary at times. This was so when it got caught off-guard through dramatic speed changes. In addition, the low-profile tyres did not afford us a comfortable, compliant ride.

Under hard braking, the steering failed to lighten in time for the driver to fully realise what he might have gotten himself into. Hence, he or she might get thrown off by the sudden extra weight.
But thanks to a decent amount grip and traction control, nothing really "alarming" happened anyway. Just don't expect it to outplay or outlast today's current offering of chilli-hot handlers like the BMW 1 Series, Volkswagen Golf GT or the Peugeot 307.

Maybe this is wrong

All right, I admit - customers are not going to buy the Mercedes-Benz CLC 180 so they can tear up the Malaysian back roads and trash other go-fast cars. To do so would be missing the point of this car entirely.

So I turned off the transmission's "sport" setting, stopped driving like frantic teenagers who had too much chilli for lunch and turned my average speed down a notch.

And what a revelation that turned out to be.

Cruising down Orchard road past midnight on a weekend, taking long, leisurely drives up and down the eastern coastlines of Malaysia and doing the customary shopping run while letting our hair and windows down - these are the things that the CLC 180 was designed for. This isn't an exaggeration - it excels well doing these everyday tasks.

Commendably well, in fact. I spent a whole weekend by the beach, cruising to dinner and rolling back home in the car without so much as a worry at the end of it all.

You know, this is the sort of car that inspires emotions of freedom, liberation and restfulness whenever one sits behind the wheel. And we can't think of any other car in its range that will evoke such feelings from us chauvinistic, power-hungry mortal-male journalists.

Of course, it's also the sort of car that faces competition from the current BMW 1 Series hatchback, albeit a car with a totally different set of principles, nonetheless.

But if you're after an authentic rear-driven, pretty looking three-door coupé with respectable amounts of space, the reliability of tried-and-proven components and if you don't drive like a hell-bent maniac on steroids, then suddenly, the Mercedes-Benz CLC 180 starts to make a lot of sense. Let's not forget the undeniable prestige associated with the three-pointed star, indeed.