Road Test: Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport

Mercedes-Benz has finally gotten serious about its bread-and-butter sedan. It's always seemed to me that M-B put its brain trust behind its powerhouse beauties like the S-Class, the SL and the CL, and left its less glitzy sibling, the C-Class, to exist on hand-me-down electronics, design and road handling. All that changes with the summertime debut of this fourth-generation family sedan. The redesign is real, with noticeably improved performance and a robust, athletic look that meshes better with Mercedes's more expensive lineup.

On a recent drive, my tester was slammed with 50mph-60mph winds that should have tossed me all over the road. Instead, the car stayed planted with the determination of a triathlete. Inside the cabin, silence. Such road-noise dampening is normally reserved for cars that sell for more. And this new C-Class gets goodies yanked from Mercedes's top dog, the S-Class, like a killer eight-speaker sound system with Bluetooth, standard sunroof and the 7G-tronic transmission for improved fuel economy. I lived on the Sport button, which lowered the car a bit for better road tracking, sharpened the steering and stiffened the suspension even more. F-U-N. A luxury version of the C300 offers a softer ride and wears a more conservative look. Either one will impress.

Tip: Buff out the car even more with the Advanced Agility package and get quicker steering for about $2,000 more.

—Tara Weingarten

© 2007