Mercedes C-Class Cabriolet First Look Review

Mercedes-Benz has one of the largest product portfolios amongst car makers in India. From hatchbacks to limousines and coupes to trucks, Mercedes has something for everyone in the luxury car segment. Latest addition to the portfolio is the Mercedes C-Class Cabriolet. 

The C-Class Cabriolet is built on the new C-Class platform and carries the same design cues. The typical Mercedes fascia of the rounded trapezoid grille and headlamps with LED DRLs continues with its presence. The C-Cabriolet gets the bling diamond grille that was first seen with the Mercedes A-Class in India. The bumper gets a three-part air dam with honeycomb mesh grille and an aluminium finish lower lip for better aerodynamics. 

The drama begins when you move on to the profile that gets a raked windshield and the classic fabric roof. The black roof looks dapper and can be retracted within 30 seconds at speeds up to 50kmph. Even if you have the roof down beyond this speed, don’t worry. The windshield and the deflector in the back have been designed so that the wind just flows through your hair and doesn’t blow it away even at speeds up to 250kmph. It also gets the AIRSCARF – neck level heating for when you are out on cold evenings with the roof down. 

The classic roadster lines mean a flat profile towards the rear defined by the strong shoulder line. It complements the long frameless doors and the super cool multi-spoke alloys. The tail-design on the cabriolet is all new and gets the S-Coupe-ish elongated LED strips that run parallel to the bumper, wrapping around the fenders. It is available in four colour options – white, blue, black and red along with four options for the roof hue – black, brown, blue and red.

The plush upholstered cabin can be opted for in four shades – black, brown white and red. The C-Class theme has been continued along with the tablet infotainment screen on the leather upholstered dashboard. The cabriolet will come with the top-of-the line Burmester audio system and a touch-panel controller. The cabin has been truncated to accommodate the folding roof as well. It gets two individual seats in the back and will seat four occupants including the driver.

Luxury features like power seats with lumbar support, electric headrest adjustment, adjustable steering column, automatic headlamps and wipers are all present. For safety, it gets dual front airbags, knee airbags as well as window-bags integrated at the top of the front doors. It also comes with a host of driving aids as a part of its comprehensive ESP package. It also gets intelligent all-LED headlamps along with parking cameras with guidance for added safety.

The C-Cabriolet comes with the C300 setup that gets a 2.0-litre turbocharged four cylinder petrol engine. The engine generates 241bhp of power and 370Nm of torque and is mated to the new nine-speed automatic that powers the rear wheels. It zooms to 100kmph in 6.7 seconds and the top whack is electronically limited at 250kmph. 

The C-Class sedan based cabriolet offers the Indian customer the classic roadster lifestyle at a much affordable price tag than the E-Cabriolet or the S-Cabriolet which are a segment above and significantly more expensive. You also get the Audi A3 Cabriolet that is a segment lower than the C-Cabriolet, thus giving Indian buyers a full range of drop top beauties to choose from with the first in line being the Mini Convertible.