C-Class Named Best Company Car

     Fleet managers, test drivers and motoring journalists have named the Mercedes-Benz Esprit C 180 the "Company Car of the Year 1999". The C-Class bested a field of 22 of the best-selling European, Japanese and Korean middle-class cars. Such factors as purchase price, operating costs, function, handling, comfort, design and image went into the evaluation. The results can be found in the latest issue of the magazine "Firmen Auto".

Despite its compact dimensions the C-class is a fully grown Mercedes with all the features that a car with the "star" should.

    It encompasses maximum comfort, handling, safety and quality to the highest technical standards. And the little Mercedes offers an individuality unique in a car of its class. If you would prefer a larger Mercedes, then the T-Model provides excellent alternative.

April 1997. The one-millionth Mercedes-Benz C-class saloon rolled off the production line. The emergence at the Sindelfingen plant of a brilliant-silver metallic C 230 (Sport version) was an important milestone. The compact series now ranks as one of Europe's most successful vehicles in its segment.

    There are a number of reasons for this success. The attractively priced model spectrum, which offers the customer everything from elegant saloon to practical, stylish estate, is complemented by a full range of engines and an innovative equipment "lines" concept. The C-class also symbolises the new dynamism of Mercedes-Benz. Its launch in 1993 marked the beginning of a unique and ongoing product drive, which is breaking new ground with new, innovative models.

The four equipment lines (Classic, Esprit, Elegance and Sport) offer C-class customers the freedom to select a vehicle tailored to suit specific individual requirements. The fact that these equipment lines are available in combination with any of the seven C-class engines further broadens their appeal. A top-of-the-range C 43 AMG model (a 280-hp high-performance saloon) is also available.

Germany's most popular model is the basic C 180 (122-hp four-cylinder engine), closely followed by the C 200 DIESEL, the C 200 and, finally, the C 250 Turbodiesel. The picture is a different one in the USA, however, where the most popular model is the (193-hp six-cylinder) C 280. In Japan, on the other hand, it is the 136-hp C 200 which heads the sales rankings.