Wag no Tails The Mercedes-Benz C43

What we like:

All-round performing compact car. Great handling from the 4-wheel-drive and precise steering. Good engine and exhaust note. Mercedes-Benz interior quality

What we dislike:

Infotainment screen sits static

and looks a little out of place. Throttle response at low speed in ‘Sport+’ mode is a little too sensitive. Can feel a little too clinical

There is a pleasant engine note to the C43. Never overly mental like the wilder C63, but enough snarls and grunts to let your hair bristle. In Comfort drive mode, it does drive most like any other C Class sedan, although the large rims dampen the bumps a little less. This car does make a good everyday driver, especially without sacrificing any boot space or folding seats for the sake of strutting, in the name of better handling.

In Sport mode, the trick suspension stiffens up a little, with just about enough play to soak up most road undulations. This, in most cases would offer satisfying a drive, without the roll you’d expect from a softer setup when taking to the bends.

The Sport+ mode of the C43 is more unforgiving. Throttle response is extremely sensitive to right foot inputs, and taking off from the lights will require you to be extremely surefooted. Any light feathering off the pedal could easily send the car into a series of jerks. But on the run, Sport+ rewards with near excellent handling. Twists and turns are met with point and shoot accuracy, although there is a slight bit of lightness coming from the steering somewhere mid-corner, but it is dead accurate. Overall, communicating from the road through the electro-mechanical steering is very good. The 4-wheel drive keeps the little Merc within very safe parameters, ensuring that the job gets done, without the waggy tail tendencies of a RWD car. For those who like something more loose at the rear, might be better off in the BMW 340i.

The V6 3.0 is very obliging to give its full 520Nm at a low 2,000rpm, and keeps the torque tap on at full, all the way to 4,200rpm. We believe that the engine can actually spin a little harder to deliver more of a spread-per-gear, but had been capped at 6,500rpm for reasons of longevity. Mated to a nine-speed 9G-TRONIC transmission, gear changes are quick, and the 9 ratios would also mean very low RPMs at cruising speeds. In ‘Manual’ mode, the transmission reacts to your imputs at an instant, and engages you in the driving experience. Pop the C43 into a few corners and activate the paddle shifters, and you’d find that there is plenty of torque on tap, and there are sufficient gears. Getting the right ratio takes a while getting used to, but once you’re in the groove, the driver satisfaction you get from dropping, entering and exiting on the right band of power is extremely addictive!

What makes a car great, is one which can do everything, while being civilised. The 4-wheel drive in the C43 also gives you the confidence to plant the car into very tight corners, only to power out from them without worry of too much opposite correction. There are a few niggles. The overly sensitive throttle response in ‘Sport+’ and ride comfort in ‘Comfort’ mode is marred just a little by the fat rims and thin tyres.

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