I really like cars. But some terms that car manufacturers use are, well, a bit stupid. Take the new 3 Series for example. It's got a mildly updated plus more vulgar exterior, new wheel choices, a new pair of wing mirrors and the newer iDrive which mimics Audi MMI in about a thousand different ways. Brilliant! Just what one of the first E90 owners would be willing to pay for.
Then there is the new Ford Focus XR5 Turbo. It is being advertised and promoted all over the place as new. But it isn't new at all.
Then there is the Fiat 500. This car obviously has changed but not to a full extent. It keeps the same overall shape and design as the original Fiat 500, except obviously it has improved safety, more features, and a different use of technology. But this car is purposely built to be similar to the original Fiat 500, just not in the bad ways. It is supposed to be cutting edge.
So, we've learnt that the new E90 is as new as the Bush Presidents, that Ford's criteria for a new Focus is a new pair of headlights, and the Fiat 500 is slightly new but it isn't supposed to be very new, so that's why I like the Fiat 500, except it's a bit girlish.
And that brings me onto the Mercedes-Benz CLC-Class. I'm sad that Mercedes-Benz didn't keep its original name, the C-Class Sports Coupe, because this new model could have redefined the C in the C-Class, as Confusing.
I drove the CLC 350 when I was in the UK. It was very nice. The exterior styling is quite attractive.
If I didn’t have a sense of humour, this is where this article would have ended. But the problem is, I do have a sense of humour and I am going to torture the CLC-Class with it.
First of all, it can’t be categorised as a new car. Yes, it does have a new exterior, but why the hell did Mercedes-Benz decide to keep the W203’s interior. I’m not saying that the styling on the new CLC or the W203 interior is bad, but how on earth is it a new car then if the only difference with the interior is a new steering wheel.
The navigation system had been partially updated, so has the gearbox. The CLC 350 engine is from the C350. But that’s like saying the CL203 (W203 Sports Coupe)’s engines are from the W203 sedan, because they are.
What I really don’t want people to be confused with, is that I really do like this car. The exterior is nice, and the interior I still like. But it is supposed to be a new car, so why does it have half of the W203 in it. Did the designer get ill and Mercedes-Benz only have the new exterior drawings so they decided they couldn’t wait for him to get better so he could fit the new C-Class interior inside the CLC?
That’s why I don’t really like the CLC being called a new car, or the CL204. It should be called the CL203.5 or CL203 ½.
Because, like the ‘new’ E90 and the ‘new’ XR5, it isn’t new at all. But the CLC’s defining of new is worse than the ‘new’ E90 and XR5, because this is supposed to be the ‘all new, next-generation’ model.
It should be called the ‘partially new, partially newer-generation’ model.
Buy a Fiat 500 or a 1 Series.