Spies first to photograph new Mercedes C-Class on US Soil-Exclusive photos!

Very impressive! The lipstick color is cute on a car this size, and the interior (sans the steering wheel) is much better than it looked in the press release! The guys at Stuttgart are on a roll...

"The lipstick color"

It's a new color at Mercedes- "Street-Walker Red"...

LOL!!!

A "bad car" from Germany all the sudden becomes Lexus's fault?

Any chance we'll be seeing some good photos of the exterior of the car? You only posted 1 and like 50 interior shots of the same thing.

oH, what a cheap ugly interior design! The car looks completely out of proportion.

I don't think so.

I am seriously honest here not because I am a fan of Toyota/Lexus. If you could love this cheap yet ugly interior, good for you. :)

CHEAP???

You're talking utterly and complete RUBBISH!

Do you even have the slightest idea of how much engineering went into making this interior? Do you?

You're seriously disturbed.
The interior is simple but trust me when i say the quality will be top notch.

very good looking car. details have been paid attention to. much sportier inside and out compared to last generation.

still, i'm doubtful mercedes would make this car drive too sporty. their buyers tend to value luxury as much as--if not more than--performance.

but overall very impressive so far. let's see how it drives...

Take off your Lexus goggles.

^lol.

I'm not an MB fanboy. Lexus is at the top of my list for daily drivers. But i give credit where its due. And if a Lexus troll talks too much i let them know that Lexus is not the do all and say all of luxury.

Take off your Lexus goggles.

An A4? How about a 3-series.

Great design inside and out....the new C looks very solid....can't wait to read more of the upcoming articles!!!

I think it looks hot in red. It doesn't look cheap at all. It does look solid. Criticism from the Lexus fans as usual because this isn't a Lexus yadada what else is new. I think it can take on the cars in its segment. The C-Class targets another niche market though within the entry level segment. An IS driver will certainly not buy a C-Class because it's not as sporty looking. However an A4 or 3 series consumer would. That's what I think.

Car looks good, solid, it may not sell as hot as the 3 series but it will be a great alternative.

Somebody is jealous...

XEROKOOL, there's a difference between a photo and reality. There's also a difference between photos and feel. Some things may look and feel better in person. It's not like the Lexus IS is the most exciting design. It's not like the BMW 3 is the best looking interior. The A4 certainly isn't the "koolist' design but doesn't mean it's not good.

If you haven't noticed with the S-Class and the CL the interior looks quite simple without all those Audi buttons all over the place. If buttons make the car look more gorgeous then how can you explain the Rolls Royce Phantom? simplicity is sometimes a great thing.

Like I said the C-Class buyer is not always the Lexus IS buyer. Different markets within the same segment.

Agent63, needless Audi insertion there... you want simple beauty, go look at the inside of an A8. Or even an R8!

But yes, I don't understand all this C bashing. It's a massive improvement. I really like the Sport/AMG bodykit, and to me, the interior doesn't look cheap at all. I can tell it will have a uniquely German feel on the inside- one that was practically pioneered by Benz.

I'm still trying to figure out the "uniquely German feel." The interior is a major improvement over the last one, but that doesn't mean people aren't allowed to not like it.

The A8 interior is beautiful!

I like the look of it. I wouldn't do red and I'd want the wood in the interior but otherwise I think its lookin pretty good.
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Im disapointed. With the fantastic new S-class, the gorgeous new CL & the always amazing SL, I expected much better for the baby Benz.

To me, the outside doesnt look very Mercedes-like and that interior is just nasty. So many cheap looking bits and pieces everywhere.

Major letdown in my opinion. I expected more from Mercedes.

There's nothing about this Mercedes to complain about unless of course youre wearing your Lexus goggles.

interior pictures make it look cheap, but the layout isnt too bad at all

Japanese car fans just can't face the fact that this Merc is better than the IS. I'm not sure what some people are talking about - this car is a MASSIVE improvement over the last gen. 10x better!!! I would even get this over a 3-series just to be different

I think this color is supposed to be called "Mars Red."

watch the fifth gear review of this...it highlights all the major features of this car

big improvement but the grill is a little too beefy and not a big fan of the mazda like navigation setup

You can get a C350 "Luxury" with a more subtle bodykit and the classic chrome grille/three-pointed star hood ornament.

Looks great to me. Nice car, to be expected from MB.

Really like the exterior. It has some presence. The interior is terrible. Terrible.

I'm sorry but this is a very cheap interior. Mazda makes better interiors than this. Yet another reason I'll never buy a Mercedes.

Take a look at the inside of an S or CL, and it's obvious that Mercedes hired different accountants for those two.

I have to agree with some of you guys on here, that the exterior is a vast improvement over the last gen., but the interior is just nasty. Its almost Nissan-like. Looks really tacky and lots of plastic. I can't believe this is coming from a high-end luxury maker. I expected a lot more, I'm disappointed.

nice interior....NOT the dash is sooo blaaa, no pizaz at all, nice try at copying lexus and audi, better luck next time!!!!!

very nice!

This car will give the 3 series a strong challenge for all except those wanting a manual transmission.

Well, considering the BMW 3-Series sedan's exterior and interior, this new C-Class already has a strong position against the "class leader." If the driving dynamics are any good, I think Mercedes may have hit the exact target they were aiming for.

If this offends you, I can't imagine what you thought about previous generations of Lexus ES.

I don't know what you're talking about, considering:

a) this doesn't offend me,
b) I didn't say this offends me,
c) I said nothing about Lexus, and
d) you're just fetching for an argument so you can start bashing Lexus.

In case y'all didn't know, I was trying to give the new C some positive hype...

it might give the 3-Series sedan some competition in terms of exterior aesthetics (I think the C-Class looks really good outside) but this interior is plain cheap looking. I don't care how much people on here bash the interior of the 3-Series (which I again think is more a matter of people regurgitating other people's opinions versus actually sitting in the cars and forming their own), the 3-Series interior is 1000000x better looking and richer looking than this interior. That interior wouldn't look out of place in the first generation CTS, and whoever said Nissan is right on. Considering you spend a lot more time looking at the interior of the car you drive than the exterior, that is a big, big disappointment.

Looks good, but i think my wife will keep her 07' 230 sport for now.

It looks nice, but like the E-class it needs the wider wheels to give it oomph and appeal. A solid effort from MB though. I'm not even going to compare it to other cars in its class, as every one already has done that ad nauseam.

Exterior steps up. Interior steps down, twice.

the exterior looks awesome. the interior is not ugly or cheap. it is just the color of this one. this same interior in tan with wood trim looks great

Youre right. this is the most basic model u can buy

The interior is not cheap and all you Toy-boyz are just used to 10,000,000 knobs to fiddle with like in the Lexus series!

I'm not impressed at all. New Caddy CTS looks light years better! Really, what was Mercedes going for design-wise? The look just doesn't flow.

Best car is class. That's what I think of it.

Brilliant engineering.

Exterior looks brilliant, especially since its the AMG package, the interior looks sporty to fit the package. Other than that, you can order the normal one with a beige interior and a wood trim and it would look better. Also the MB badge would be on the hood not the grill.

I am actually wondering if they will make this package standard, since they said the US C class would be different than the rest of the world..... you people want it to be sporty.

People who say the interior is cheap, talk through their asses. Very few of you have touched it, from what i hear it's all put together very well as you'd expect from MB. As well as this, it doesn't look out of proportion it looks fine. You people obiovusly realise that MB design the best cars, for the negatives you attempt to find that the interior is cheap.

This just looks far better than any other car in its class.

Why was I de-boosted???

I stated my opinion and a fact... if you dont like it then tough!

Yes, the people who say the interior is cheap are most likely full of it. However, the people who say it "looks" cheap may actually have a point...

It's no secret that Benz economy cars don't have the best interior dynamics, because let's be real: Mercedes themselves considers the C-Class an economy car. This is Benz's Accord in their line-up. Maybe this is why there is a strong resemblance?

The layout does achieve an even sportier look than the 3-Series interior, I think we can all agree on that...

WOW



I like how they make it look "MUSCULAR" (look at front air dam)yet still manage to have an elegant ambiance.
A very nice fusion of two styles which is otherwise difficult to achieve.

I also like how they keep the interior minimalistic and simple. Too many do-dads and ding-dongs in cars these make the dashes look like a Sony PSP. The interior also looks like it is built to be used and last.

IMO, the exterior looks good, though I feel like the car looks smaller (may be the picture). The interior looks CHEAP. I do like the pop-up navi screen. Reminds me of Infiniti and also the 3 gauges for the speedometers etc, which also looks like Infiniti..hmm...The lack of wood in the interior is what makes it look cheap to me, but I think overall, the car looks good.

Let me rephrase what I said. The interior doesn't look cheap, it looks subdued.

The interior is just weak. Your eyes are drawn to the center stack and directly to...the ac vents..why? Visually there needs to be a focus and without a radio or built in nav screen or even digital AC controls it just looks unfocused. Not terrible, just not up to the exterior sleekness...

HOWEVER, this was done on purpose..heres why...MB decided to finally release a car that, from the exterior, looks complete, not in dire need of an update (just look at the difference between the last gen c class from release to model refresh, completely different animals) So, for MB to get buyers back in the door later in the lifecycle, the interior was the sacrifical lamb...the model refresh interior will make a world of difference and not look so weak, bland, vacant...the car will initially sell based on the exterior alone...and people will overlook the starkness inside...

that red MAKES this car, as of ME liking this car its a no go, give me a CLK, thats my version of a baby benz, i cant say nothing about the interior cause i never look or wanted to look at any C-classes, theres no way this dull car is a class leader with the likes of Lincoln Zephyr, BMW 3-Series, Cadillac CTS, Acura TL, Audi A4, Infiniti G35, Lexus IS, Volo S40, Saab something lol

Is that a Saturn Aura. It looks good in red.

I actually like the exterior of the new C, definitely an improvement over the current generation. However the itnerior really doesn't work for me, if we look at the C's competitors (BMW 3, Audi A4, and Lexus IS), they all have much nicer interiors. MB used to be the benchmark of luxury (and to some extent still is), they need to try and stay that way.

How many people here have actually been inside this car or seen it in real life?
I'm guessing only the Europeans here, so what, 4, 5 people?
Let me tell you, there is nothing cheap about it inside. The materials used are brilliant, not hard, nor shiny, nor brittle, but soft and cosseting. It looks cheap in pictures but in real life it feels great.
Look at the nav screen up close, you can see the dash material. It is soft, push it and it squidges, like leather.

IMO it's best in class now.

I've seen it in person and the interior was a plastic-fest. The Quality of plastics is about the same as an Acura, and not as expensive looking as the last generation “C”. Not to mention the lack of any type of trim. MB missed the ball on this interior. I think the Germans should leave the cost cutting interiors to Lexus. Lexus knows how to make cheap look expensive. Mercedes-Benz doesn’t.

Also, The car has the same weak underpowered engines from the previous generation and promises to bring up the rear in performance comparisons. Combine that with a non-defeatable traction control system and you have the recipe for a Yawner. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I like the exterior styling a lot...but the interior is horrible, like a bad Lexus! BMW and Audi interiors blow it away.

hey MD plates. where did you guys take this at? in guessing euromotorcars of bethesda (i lived near there) lent you the car?

i drive a 2005 C55 currently and i must say that the car is already has a generally cheaper feel compared to other mercedes or even bmw models, this NEW C Class seems very CHEAP.. Very SEBRING like on the inside.. the outside is pretty but the steering wheel is so boring and the long thin arm rest and stupid manual lumbar on the seats... car is boring inside... the navi is the coolest part about this car... i hope the AMG model is a little better....

where are things like radio station displayed when the nav screen is down?

wow...that grill is huge...

Everyone has their own tastes. I personally think the car is aggressive looking and thats not a bad thing in this class. This design is a HUGE improvement for this model. The interior would look better if it had a leather wrapped dash. BTW, what is the little thing that popped open in that pic of the roof??? Anyone???

I have to agree here, is a cheap looking center console.

Here's a video that shows off the quality of the new C-Class interior and exterior.

Fifth Gear Mercedes C Class

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQxz5yqAhcs

This should quiet down the ToyLex scrum!

I would imagine that pictures don't do this car the justice it deserves. I will reserve my judgment until I see it in person as interiors are a very hard thing to judge by a photograph or 2. I wasn't a fan of Audi interiors until I physically sat in the A8. Beautifully executed interior. I thought the S class interior looked very upscale in pictures but didn't like specific angles of its exterior from the pictures. Once I saw it in person, I fell in love. The C class may look cheap in pictures but a picture can be very deceiving but thats not to say everyone is not allotted their own judgment of this car. I mean, that is what this website is for anyway, isn't it?

Someone did mention the awkward size of the turn signals on the side mirrors. They do seem a little excessive. I like when they are discretely placed somewhere near the bottom of the side mirrors or even how it is currently on the S550. Aside from that, I say its a nice step forward from the previous generation. (I did say I would reserve my judgment until I see it in person so take my comments with a grain of salt)

Made in the name of safety.

There you go another Mercedes first!

sevorbeupstryIsBack- were are you from?? Is Simon Cowel your cousin?? Remember this is not American Idol... Its American Cars! And The car is a total CHICK-MAGNET! The only rubbish is YOU! (The color is sweet... I have a 2007 Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG, a 2005 Maserati Quattroporte, a 2006 Mercedes Benz ML63 AMG, and a 2007 Lexus RX400h (I used to have a 2001 Honda Civic EX, a Honda Pilot SE, 2002 BMW Z4, and a 2005 Honda Accord EX-L V-6 then I won the Mega Millions Jackpot of $33,000,000! Im not bragging) But all of my new cars are ''Street-Walker-Red'' (refer to above comments) AKA: the red on the 2008 Mercedes Benz C-Class! Have I made my point ABOUT A COLOR- I mean Car??!!