Amateur inventors have it tough in the 21st century. You may’ve been wondering, as I was recently, what’s happened to all of them? Someone’s already invented Google, long johns, Bluetooth for your mobile phone, suspension bridges, the mountain bike, mayonnaise; I mean, what else can they think of that doesn’t already exist? The motor car however, is the exception.

It’s been with us for well over a century and yet it continues to evolve and reinvent itself on an almost annual basis. Well, every three to four years for a facelift, if we’re being pedantic. That’s why the combustion engine itself, and several other automotive technologies are at the very zenith of mans engineering prowess. Modern motor cars are an exercise in evolution, over and above solving a simple transportation need. Four wheels and four doors is no longer good enough, a new car nowadays has to fight off eminent obsolescence by equipping itself with three to four years worth of technological supplies, before the next evolution comes along.

On the face of it, one has to say Mercedes-Benz is on the right track with the C-Class facelift. We had the job of sampling it and perusing the factory in East London in which both left and right hand drive equivalents are built for local consumption and export to the US market.

What the brochure will tell you is that it’s better in everyway. A bold claim considering the pre-facelift C-Class, since the month of its launch in 2007 has commanded over 40% of the market it competes in and has been the most successful C-Class in the company’s history. It sold well over a thousand units a month in South Africa on average come e-Natis backlogs, recession, credit tightening measures from the banks, you name it.

How can they possibly keep the W204 on top of its game until the W205 arrives in 2014? Firstly, the facelift C-Class has undergone extensive endurance testing all over the world. Mercedes-Benz envisage a product lifespan of at least 300 000 km under everyday driving conditions. 2 000 new components reside within the new cars. An updated front bumper and headlight arrangement are hard to miss, and new taillights adorn the rear to give a better, fully integrated look. A new dashboard greets you on the inside, making use of more contemporary materials and trims. One car had some trim that resembled enamel bathroom tiling on the dash and doors, I quite liked it all the same however. There are also two new steering wheels, a three and four spoke, depending on the trim level you option.

All models sold in the C-Class, even the six cylinder motors, are now badged ‘Blue Efficiency’ due to their improved economy and emissions. CGI badging has been dropped as the moniker on entry level petrol models and the C220 CDI is no longer available in the range. All CDI motors have been fitted with an eco stop/start function for ‘Blue Efficiency’ compliance and a new ‘Parktronic,’ parking guidance system option allows the C-Class to parallel park itself. Latest generation Telematics, with the ‘Command Online’ option now allows you to browse the internet via the Bluetooth connection on your mobile phone, and it’s fantastic to operate; making it probably the industry leader at the moment for online connectivity.

Safety has of course been further improved with the inclusion of assistance systems like a new ‘Agility Control’ suspension system option and ‘Active Lane Keeping Assist’ option that you would’ve normally found higher up on the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and S-Class pecking order. Mercedes-Benz have also enhanced their value for money propositions by offering the C250 and C350 petrol and diesel models with more specification as standard, like 18-inch wheels, 7G-tronic automatic gearbox, etc, which is more than you got before.

We got to sample the top of the range 165 kW & 510 Nm, C350 CDI on our admittedly brief launch drive, followed by the 225 kW & 370 Nm, C350 V6 petrol, both of which have benefited from improvements in performance and economy as well as a reduction in emissions. We were suitably impressed by the big torque of the diesel, if not the supreme quietness or refinement we may have been hoping for from a car with this sort of price tag.

Then the long legged, silky power of the normally aspirated V6 petrol C-Class wowed us even more in the way it will get you to 100 km/h in 6.0 seconds, top out at 250 km/h and still return 7.0-litres per 100 km. It seems as if while all the focus has been on producing high efficiency diesel motors in the last three years, we forget that petrol engines have undergone the same levels of efficiency reinvention. It’s a marvelous motor that could make it cool to pilot a petrol powered car again. The ride quality and agility of the C-Class too – over demanding, flood damaged and potholed Eastern Cape roads – left us very impressed.

We do however have doubts over Mercedes-Benz’s choice to omit paddle shifters for its automatic transmission. The performance of the two top end C-Class’s at least warrants their inclusion as an option. And we noted new torque converters in the transmission that give shifts a constantly variable, less feelsome response. One of the cars we drove also had a significant squeak and rattle behind the new fascia, particularly when cornering to the left. Quite ironic after our mornings visit to the squeaky clean facility of ‘Johnson Controls,’ the company tasked with fitting dashboards in the C-Class. The tyre pressure monitor was also convinced we should halt proceedings immediately and check the pressures, which we did only to find everything was fine. But this almost certainly had something to do with the battering the tyres were taking on the rough Eastern Cape roads.

Assuming these are isolated incidents somewhere in the component supplier chain, and Mercedes-Benz keep a studious eye on them, these aren’t enough to put us off. Far from it, the C-Class facelift is nothing less than prophetic in its upgrade of an already dominant product. The most comprehensive, Mercedes-Benz admit, ever undertaken by the company; and one that almost certainly will keep its competitors at bay until the arrival of the new W205 in 2014.

Pricing include 60 000km ‘Mobilo Drive’ maintenance plan.

Ray Leathern has been test driving and critiquing cars for four years now. You’ll find his work at autocirca.com, the Mail & Guardian and of course, right here on SACarFan.