Cruising UnCovered
There is a sedan, estate, coupe, and now a cabriolet. Mercedes-Benz’s compact executive range has something for everyone. Compact dimensions means a car that is easy to steer in cramped quarters, but then, you do get +2 seating, which in my view, still offers very generous legroom.
What makes this car a gem is the handling. Minus a roof, the cabriolet still does well around corners, without the expected wobble you’d get from a less rigid car; dealing with multiple directional changes without feeling unsettled. There is some oversteer coming from the rear drive, and on extremely slippery car park surfaces, you can feel the stability programme kicking into play, to correct the car. Only under extremely hard cornering, over (very) uneven surfaces, would you find that the system fights to gain an understanding of what all four wheels are going through.
Steering feel is light at low speeds, with it rather heavily weighing down at higher speeds. Road feel is good, with sufficient feedback.
Powering the C200 is a direct injection, turbocharged 2.0 inline 4, churning out 181bhp at 5,500rpm. Taking off from the lights, you would note that there is sufficient torque, which kicks in at a low 1,200rpm, keeping all 300Nm going till 4,000 rpm. Delivery of power is never brutal, even in Sport+ mode.
With a wide torque band, it is very tempting as you take the car around corners, with more than sufficient twist to power out of the bends. In Sport+ mode, throttle response is more immediate, and the transmission becomes more reactive, while in want to hold the gears down for a longer time. A small gripe though, is that at lower engine speeds, cog swopping in the said mode sets the car off, jerking with each change.
Driving the C200 in Comfort mode reveals more relaxed throttle response, coupled with more fluid gear changes. The 9-speed, 9G-TRONIC transmission, ensures very low revs when cruising along.
Road noise, as for many soft tops comes through, especially from the rear quarters.
While the C200 is able to deliver more than satisfactory handling while in the most extreme of performance modes, it shines the best in the ‘Comfort’ setting, with the roof either up or down.
It is obvious that the C200 competes directly with the BMW 4 series convertible. What it loses without a hardtop roof, it does make up for in simple touches like a set of wind deflectors in the right place (which do not eat into the rear seats). And, well, yes, one more cog.
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