Faults:

Two break light bulbs have blown.

The stearing has always pulled to the left (only marginally, but is annoying on the motorway)and the dealership can't seem to sort it.

General Comments:

I have enjoyed the past 18 months driving, as this car is very comfortable, quiet (rattle free) smooth and relaxing.

The car performs well after about 1500 rpm (before that it is VERY sluggish) that's when the turbo kicks in.

The acceleration from 60 to 'way over the national speed limit' is amazing for such a heavy luxury car. In Germany I have flown from 90 to 125mph in no time. For a diesel slugger at 100 mph it's very quiet, almost too quiet - too easy to speed in the UK.

The C Class has room up front, but is a little cramped in the back when seating four good size adult men, and five is really pushing it.

Despite what people told me, you do get a lot of extras as standard. The dash and steering wheel controls are easy to locate and use.

I suppose the nicest thing about the Mercedes C Class (as with all Mercedes I guess) is that you can drive for two, three of four hours non-stop then get out of the car without having to do a ten minute workout to loosen up again.

The only major problem I have had with this car is that it has been an accident magnet! Two very nice chaps over the last year have decided that the rear of my car is a great cushion to help them stop! Thanks guys!

Service intervals depend on driving styles, but I have only had one so far at 15,500 miles. This, along with 45 miles per gallon average, makes it a very cost efficient luxury car.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

This car never put a foot wrong. It was comfortable, quick and very economical. On motorway trips (I regularly drive from central England to the south of France) it regularly returned nearly 50 miles per (UK Imperial) gallon.

The only attention it needed over 16000 miles was two litres of engine oil. When it left me (my employer canceled the lease) the computer in the car was saying that another 3000 miles were necessary before the first service.

My only criticism: my three teenage children found the backseat uncomfortable on long trips because the seat is really designed for two people and curves up at the ends to accommodate the wheel arches.

Faults:

Cd player swallowed a disk and wouldn't let go.

No other problems.

General Comments:

The leather seats despite being firm are very comfortable on a journey.

They are very easy to keep clean.

The engine is superb above 1500 revs, but can be a touch sluggish before that.

It pulls effortlessly and requires very little throttle for a boost of acceleration.

The gearbox is smooth and positive.

Economy is near to 50 Mpg on a run, 35 - 40 Mpg around town.

The difficulty is keeping the speed down, it is too easy to reach 100 Mph without any sensation of speed.

This is superb for a car with such comfort.

No rattles or squeaks.

The air conditioning works well.

With the seats folded down, the luggage capacity is adequate.

The car is deceptively wide however and can be tricky to reverse up a tight drive.