I suppose Mercedes-Benz South Africa would get very grumpy if I described its flashy new C-Class estate as a “depot hack”, but that’s exactly what this particular style of automobile was originally known as.
Derived from the horse-drawn hackney carriage, these vehicles were a product of the days of railway travel and were used to carry guests and their luggage from the nearest railway depot to the country hotel into which they’d booked.
Early versions were simply converted trucks, but customers soon started buying cars sans bodywork and fitted custom wooden wagon bodies, with both benches for passengers and space for their luggage. In the 1920s depot hacks started being called station wagons, which were subsequently tagged as shooting brakes, carryalls, suburbans, estate cars and, eventually, just estates. By then car manufacturers were building them in numbers on extended car chassis with car front-ends and squared-off tails.
The new Mercedes, following hot on the heels of the recently launched C-Class saloon, would have tickled our early 20th-century traveller no end, as it will most modern motorists. With between 485 and 1 500 litres of load capacity, depending on the position of the split rear seats, the new wagon is claimed to be bigger than any of its rivals in this class and a whole 146 litres more spacious than its predecessor. The press release tells us that it can comfortably swallow four golf bags, including trolleys.
The styling of the new Mercedes wagon is mighty impressive. The range consists of five models — four petrol and one diesel — but will extend to seven when the C220 CDi diesel and the C63 AMG versions arrive in July.
At the bottom of the heap come the two four-cylinder models — the C180K Estate and the C200K Estate. Despite their differing nomenclature, both use the same supercharged 1,8-litre petrol engine, although the 200 is tuned for more power and torque. The factory claims 115kW/230Nm and 135kW/250Nm for the two engines respectively and says that although each is about 10% more powerful than its predecessor, fuel consumption for each was reduced by the same percentage to about 7,7 litres per 100 km.
Buyers who prefer six-cylinder engines can choose between the C280 (3-litre, 170kW/300Nm) and the 3,5-litre C350 (200kW/350Nm) or the diesel C320 CDi with 165kW of power and a mammoth 510Nm of torque.
The four-cylinder offerings come standard with six-speed manual transmissions, but those who prefer self-shifters can cough up R13 000 extra for a five-speed auto. The bigger engines only come with a seven-speed manual/sequential 7G-Tronic gearbox.
The new C-Class estates all come standard with what the factory calls an agility control package, featuring shock absorbers that automatically adapt to suit prevailing driving conditions, changing damping settings according to requirements. There’s also an “advanced agility” package available as an option, which allows the driver to switch the suspension and steering electronically between comfort and sport modes and an AMG sports kit that adds 17-inch alloy wheels, some body skirts and even stiffer, lower suspension. There are three trim levels scattered around the various models — Classic, Elegance and Avantgarde.
As one would expect of any Mercedes-Benz, luxury and safety features are plentiful across the range. Something I’ve not yet had the dubious pleasure of experiencing is Mercedes-Benz’s PRE-SAFE — damn those capitals — system that is claimed to anticipate a collision and prepare the vehicle and its occupants for the impending trauma.
Pricing kicks off at R306 000 for the C180 K Classic Estate and ends at R441 000 for the C350 Auto Elegance Estate. The C220 turbodiesel (to be announced) and the C63 AMG (R738 000) should be here in about two months.