Test Drive: 2013 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic Draws On Emotions More Than Logic

The thought keeps reverberating: This is a $44,655 car that doesn’t even have a navigation system.

As much as there is to like about the 2013 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic, there’s no getting around the fact that it’s a terrible value.

Or at least it seems so at first. The more time I spend with this spunky little sedan, the more it proves, as most luxury goods do, that its appeal is more emotional than rational.

It looks gorgeous with its lustrous white paint, long hood and raked windshield. The door makes a satisfying thud when you close it. The leather is smooth, the stitching perfect and the carpet thickly woven.

But the best part is the engine, a 3.5-liter V6 that pulls like a V8 without guzzling gas. Squeeze the throttle and the car takes off as if rocket boosters sprout from the trunk. The sound is as exciting as the rush of speed.

Then there is the tight suspension, which comes standard with the “sport” version I tested (there is also a more sedate “luxury” version of the C300). It makes high-speed bends and tight turns equally enjoyable, thanks to how flat the car stays. You would think this would mean the C300 has a harsh ride, but it doesn’t. It practically floats over winter-worn highways.

Two-and-half-hour stints are a breeze, thanks to the supple suspension, potent engine, smooth-shifting seven-speed automatic and quiet interior.

Only the super-low-profile tires on optional 18-inch wheels, included in a $2,300 sport package, were a liability on long hauls. I could feel and hear the rims crashing against hard pavement over potholes and wide expansion joints. The standard 17-inch wheels would be my choice.

Ultimately, there were a few things that would rule the C300 out if I were shopping for a compact premium sedan. Chief among them is the lack of headroom up front. I’m 6 feet with a tall torso, so that steeply racked windshield that looks so great on the outside doesn’t go over well on the inside. The top of it was practically glued to my forehead, even with the seat set as low as it could go.

The bottom portion of the expensive power-operated seats—part of a $2,500 premium package that also includes seat heating and an upgraded stereo, among other things—didn’t raise high enough to offer thigh support. So on longer trips, my knee joints would start to ache as they bore the weight of my legs, if I didn’t continually shift positions.

I’m not sure how the strapping Mercedes German engineers I’ve met over the years, which often are both taller and more built than I am, fit in the C300 without finding it more confining and uncomfortable than I did.

The last nuisance to bemoan is the speedometer, whose script was hard to read even for my relatively young eyes. Fortunately, the small digital screen in the center of the speedometer can be set to display the vehicle’s speed to spare eye strain.

At the end of my week with the Mercedes C300, I was torn between opposing opinions. It gets the big things right. I loved the way the car looked, sounded and drove. But it was grating in several significant ways.

If I were to get a Mercedes, it’d be the larger E-Class, which to me is the most well-rounded model from this Germany automaker and what I consider to be just the right size for a sedan.

Now that the smaller and more affordable CLA-Class soon will be joining Mercedes’ lineup, the C-Class has room to grow a bit. And that will only serve to bolster its rational appeal, without detracting from its emotional considerable allure.

forbes.com