2008 Mercedes-Benz C180K Review

Mike Solowiow
by Mike Solowiow

Engineered like no other car in the world. At some point in the 90's, Mercedes dropped their longstanding ad campaign. And no wonder. The promise had become a snigger-worthy ironic joke. That said, it stopped being funny when it started being you making regular pilgrimages to your local dealership. Mercedes trumpets its new C-Class as a return to the legendary, over-engineered cars of Mercedes-Benz's past. Heading straight to the very bottom of the range, will the cheapest and most basic of all "true" Benzes right 15 years of wrong?

"Heir ist Ihr Mercedes C180." The attractive Europcar clerk handed me the keys and pointed to a basic looking silver Mercedes nestled in between two extremely seductive Alfa Romeo wagons. Sitting next to the two beauties, the C180K looked more like Miss Moneypenny instead of Vesper Lynd. Restrained and elegant, the new C-Class dropped last year's goofy ovoid look and returned to the timelessly classic wedge shape of the late 1970's.

Being the cheapest in the C-Class range, you get a hood ornament, body colored door handles and plastic wheel covers. The C180K offers none of the chrome disco bauble trinkets found on the North American C300, and its all the better for it. The C180K feels eminently secure in its inexpensive roots, proclaiming to the world that you purchased an engineering masterpiece, not a tarted-up special (cough Lincoln cough).

The unadorned minimalism continues inside; the only gleaming surface you'll find is a polished aluminum six-speed manual gear lever. High-grade black plastic and a few chrome touches accent the rest of the C180K's interior and gauges. Power windows, locks, climate control and a small Nav screen hidden away in the top of the dash are the only options. For a mere 30k Euros, you get what you need und nothing more (unless you need a place to put your coffee).

Everything about the C180K's interior reeks of superior design and craftsmanship, from the ergonomically perfect cloth-covered seats, to materials that feel as though they were constructed to survive a nuclear blast. The C180K shows every Euro's worth of its cost in its absolute perfect construction.

Putting the infrared key into the slot, I cranked the Merc's diminutive 1.8-liter supercharged four-cylinder powerplant. The engine places 156bhp and a torquey 230Nm at your disposal, with a solid little thrum exiting the single chrome exhaust pipe. The engine revs as smoothly as it sounds, and, surprise, it does so with puppy-dog eagerness. Depressing the perfectly weighted clutch (yes, a manual) and slipping the vague-feeling gear lever into first, I pulled out of the carpark and headed straight for the autobahn.

The smallest engine in the C felt right at home puttering around Kaiserslautern. Despite the hefty 3400lbs, the C180K felt sprightly and nimble around the narrow streets, weaving around Smart cars, Golfs and BMWs. The steering was light and tossable.

The firm-yet-compliant ride was brand faithful. Whether surmounting cobblestones, concrete or brick, the C180K was a planted, communicative and comfortable city car. Never wanting for power, easy to shift, the C gave everything, demanded nothing.

Amy, my electronic navigatrix, told me to turn left to merge onto the A6 autobahn. Und now it's time to learn whether the downmarket Merc had upmarket aspiration.

Shifting to third, flooring the accelerator, the C180K moved forward at an adequate pace. A useful 100kmh arrived in about nine seconds. I've driven faster cars, and I've driven slower. The C180K slots nicely between the two, in that special place where hot-footing into a merge requires some attention, but not a lot. And then you're done.

Entering the unrestricted speed zone, I mashed the gas again. Expecting the engine to run out of puff, I looked on in amazement as the engine kept pulling. 140kmh flashed by. The steering tightened-up, the suspension hugged the ground and the cabin remained quiet. When 160kmh rolled around, I shifted gears. The Merc continued to plunge ahead.

The wind noise increased slightly as we topped 260kmh (downhill), yet the little Merc remained as composed as Yoda in a flotation tank. When the engine finally petered-out on the flat and level, the C180K was doing over 130mph, in the rain, in the Alps, at night. And my passengers were sound asleep. We averaged 40mpg coming back from Munich. Astounding.

It's been years since I've driven a car so completely cohesive. The C180K was inexpensive, but never cheap. It wasn't powerful, but it was fun to drive. It delivers excellent fuel economy. Priced right, the low-C could well help Mercedes NA restore some lost luster.

Of course, mechanical and electronic reliability are the ultimate hurdles for a true return to greatness. I remain skeptical, but the odds just got better for American mid-market motorists willing to bet on a Benz.

Mike Solowiow
Mike Solowiow

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  • Joelaterdayz Joelaterdayz on Aug 02, 2008

    260 kph downhill? Totally. I was stationed at Vogelweh AIN outside of Kaiserlautern from 99-01. While there I purchased my first car, a '97 Dodge Stratus ES with a 2.4L four banger. I regularly made trips to the Frankfurt Airport on the A6 to pick up incoming Airmen. On the unlimited speed areas of the A6 I'd regularly hit the governor at somewhere around 130mph (I'm guessing since the speedo didn't go past 130). The autobahn is engineered for speed; extremely smooth, low friction and has long, banking curves. 260kph downhill? No sweat. The downhills on the A6 are very, very long and pretty steep. As for the cup holders, the Germans cannot fathom eating or drinking while driving. Driving is the ultimate experience and all concentration must be completely focused upon it. Would an American stop to take a sip from a big gulp or a bite from a big mac in the middle of some sweet lovin'? Nevermind, don't answer that one.

  • Hal Hal on Aug 04, 2008

    For comparison a 1.8T Passat - with allegedly 170bhp - will do 32mpg on the highway at 60mph but that drops to 28mpg at 80mph. I really doubt you could get 40mpg at autobahn speeds from anything other than a diesel.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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