SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
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First posted: August 2. 2008
I am in two minds about the recently announced Mercedes Benz CLC 200 Kompressor; it is gorgeous and sexy like the hottest cheerleader in the squad and as captain of the First XV, it is assumed that you will date her but…
Her sister is just as pretty, is more fun to be with and she relates to you on a spiritual level as well. Your image demands that you stay with the hottie, but guess whom you would rather be with?
It’s rather like that with the Brazilian-built CLC 200 K. Basically, it’s the old CLK with new C-class front and rear styling grafted on. Before you write it off as just another facelift though, MB wants you to know that some 1 100 parts have been renewed or improved. Details are hard to come by, but what is included is an uprated 135 kW, 1786 cc powerplant that is claimed to be 8 percent more fuel efficient than the one it replaces.
Standard equipment includes:
Electronic Stability Programme ( ESP),
Emergency Brake Assist ( BAS ),
Acceleration Skid Control ( ASR ),
Anti - lock Brakes ( ABS ),
Dual front & side front airbags,
Full side curtain window bags,
Belt tensioners & belt force limiters for front & outer rear seats,
NECK - PRO Active head restraints
Sump shield protection plate
Sports suspension
Audio 20 ECE Radio with CD player
Anti-theft system with anti - tow - away protection
Automatic climate control
6 CD changer: MP3-compatible (in glove compartment)
Comfort Package (rain sensor, dimming mirrors and exterior folding mirrors)
ISOFIX child seat attachment system in the rear and
Automatic child seat recognition in front passenger seat (only in conjunction with MB child safety seat)
5-spoke Alloy wheels
The most interesting optional extra available is the Sports Package, priced at R18 000. It includes certain engineering innovations and equipment extras such as 17-inch light-alloy wheels, wider tyres, headlamps with black inner surrounds, lowered sports suspension, leather sports steering wheel and dark brushed aluminium trim elements. Another special feature of this package, which the CLC inherits from its racing car counterparts, is the instrument cluster with red needles for the speedometer and rev counter. When the engine is switched on, these needles spin once around the dial before returning to their start positions.
The sports package includes a direct-steer system, which enhances the agile driving experience of the CLC while adding an important boost to safety. It is based on the speed-sensitive power steering and offers a variable rack ratio, which changes as a function of the steering angle, so that the driver only has to turn the wheel slightly when cornering. The Sports Coupé therefore responds more spontaneously to steering commands for sportier handling. As a result, it improves handling safety in critical situations -- for instance when taking sudden evasive action.
Other options include Parktronic park-assist, an uprated stereo system, navigation kit, wider wheels and tyres, 5 speed automatic transmission, additional airbags, Bi Xenon headlamps and a “panoramic” sunroof.
On the road, the CLC 200 K is a willing performer with plenty of get up and go for what is, after all, a small engine in a fairly heavy body. The zero to 100 km/h dash is executed in a claimed 8,6 seconds and it reaches a top speed of 235 km/h. While these numbers are good, I still felt that it could use a bit more basic muscle; a few more cubic inches, perhaps.
It returns good fuel economy for its class at a claimed range of 7,8 to 8,2 l/100 km.
Inside, the seats are supportive and firm in the Mercedes Benz tradition. You might think they are a bit hard at first, but you will still be free of creaks and groans when you get to Johannesburg, and that’s what counts. Otherwise the interior is possibly a little dated by comparison with newer C-class cars. This is just my impression, as I haven’t driven a C-class since February and these test cars do blur together, somewhat.
What is certain is that owing to the fact that it is a coupè, after all, headroom in the rear is a bit restricted for taller passengers. In fact, unless you have a compelling reason for wanting one (and MB has sold some 320 000 of the previous generation, with a capture rate of 70 percent - people who chose sports coupès as their first Mercedes’ – and 65 percent retention) I would opt for the saloon version, which runs R15 000 cheaper and offers a similar range of extras.
Possibly even more appealing than the pretty saloon sister is (“your mom’s quite nice”) the CLC 350. At only (at these price levels, it is “only”) R70 000 extra, you get the added grunt of the bigger engine, the sports package, a 7 speed automatic and bigger wheels and tyres. The included extra kit would cost at least R40 000 on its own, so R70 000 is not such a big step after all.
Pretty sister or Mom? Or stay with the hottie? It’s your choice, but I would probably go for the bigger-engined version if I were in the market for one of these.
Test unit from MBSA press fleet
The numbers (Manufacturer)
1786 cc in-line four-cylinder, 16-valve supercharged
Power: 135 kW at 5 500 rpm
Torque: 250 Nm at 2 800 to 5 000 rpm
0 to 100 km/h: 8,6 seconds
Max. speed: 235 km/h
Economy: 7,8 to 8,2 l/100 km NEDC cycle
Introductory Price: R335 000. Includes Mobilo 120 maintenance contract
This and all other prices mentioned were those ruling at date of writing.
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.
If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles. And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.
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