Mercedes-Benz C-Class C200 AMG Line Estate 2018 first drive

You’ll have heard the term 48-volt hybrid a lot lately, as manufacturers put the technology into mass-market models for reduced running costs and a bit of extra power.

Merc's version, badged EQ Boost on this C200, is essentially a 17bhp electric-motor-cum-belt-driven-alternator which can give progress a little nudge when required, or keep fuel economy and emissions down at all other times. 

This little electric unit is paired to a new 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, and Mercedes claims that it has the same delivery of power and torque as the previous car’s 2.0-litre petrol, without the higher fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. 

The official figures are 181bhp, plus 17bhp from the electric boost, with maximum torque of 207lb ft. 0-62mph passes in a hair under eight seconds, and the maximum speed is 146mph. It goes 44.1 miles before asking for another gallon of fuel and breathes out 136g/km of CO2 in return. 

We’ve not yet driven the C200 in estate form in the UK until now, but the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is the UK’s best-selling car of its type, so the pressure is on for lower-end petrol models like this, as the public continues to turn away from diesel-powered cars. For the time being, though, C220d saloon is still expected to be the top dog among customers.

It’s quite refined. If you’re going to be doing motorway miles in a C200, you won’t be faced with much noise. In fact, it’s not until 3500rpm that you can even really hear the engine and those kind of revs aren’t a requirement of getting up to speed, unless you want to get there particularly quickly.

There’s enough low-end torque to make satisfying progress in relative hush, but there’s also a decent glug of it if you’re accelerating hard. The hybrid system is incorporated seamlessly into the experience, with none of the grabbiness in braking of other hybrids, and a distinctly smooth power delivery. 

That’s in part thanks to the nine gears on offer. Shifts are smooth and well executed when on the go, and it’s not until you venture into the car’s Sport+ mode that it gets a little clingy in lower gears to deliver more revs and more power. 

It’s sophisticated and refined until you encounter stop-start traffic, where it can be a little juddery when starting back up. It lasts only a second though, then the C200 gets back into its stride and next-to-no vibrations leak through to the cabin.