In the days of yore, a Mercedes was the only premium car one could buy. Today we have Beemers, Audi’s and a whole host of premium cars but the Indian mindset is still resolutely Merc-centric. A Mercedes is still a Mercedes – the ultimate status symbol and OverDrive (May ’09) welcomes the C220 in its fleet…

To start off with the Merc C220 CDI is a very comfortable car to live with. It strikes a brilliant balance between ride and handling, it smothers most undulations and rough patches without jolting occupants while at the same time being very well behaved in the twisties. Internationally the C-Class is available in Elegance and SE trim though in India the SE trim is only available on the C230. The Elegance features traditional Merc values – supple ride, feather-light steering at low speeds and the three-pointed star perched on the bonnet.

If you drive her hard, with 172 PS of power the C220 gets to 100 in 9.5 seconds and the top speed is limited to 219kmph. Also she’s got a combined fuel efficiency of 13.6kmpl which is phenomenal in this segment.

Thus first impressions of the Merc C220 CDI are hugely positive….more next time signs off OverDrive (May ’09).