Ray Leathern takes the Mercedes Benz C-Class Coupé out for a shakedown to see if the drive befits the hype.

The arrival of the Mercedes Benz C-Class Coupé in South Africa has been preempted by much airing of its exciting television commercial. So I’m aware a lot of you will be very keen to hear what I have to say about the car long before you’ve even laid eyes on one in the metal. Said advert with the girl from Transporter 2 (just with hair this time) was shot in Cape Town around the scenic roads of Misty Cliffs and the twists of Franschoek Pass. How fitting.

However, as motoring journo’s, we’re more immune than most to manufacturers drumming up positive sentiment for their cars. Thumb through a French or Korean press release that insists on telling you how sporty, dynamic and stylish a product is and be sure it’ll be the exact opposite. Quite often, any big marketing push at all should be enough to make you a little skeptical. Like when the bug-eyed BMW 1-Series first arrived or just the new VW Beetle bug. Feeling compelled to create a buzz speaks to a slight lack of confidence in the product. Or lack of confidence, at the very least, in its potential uptake.

You don’t see big ad campaigns for the Ferrari 458 Italia now do you? Okay, Ferrari is all about exclusivity you may say, but what about the mega, supercar slaying Nissan GT-R then? You can’t tell me that car is about exclusivity. A car that’s quicker than a Ferrari but costs a third of the price, well, I think that’s worth advertising. But we see nothing through Nissan’s own channels. If a car is good it doesn’t need the hype, it promotes itself… fact.

When a totally brand new model like the C-Class Coupé arrives – and Mercedes-Benz do say this is an all new model – it’s not a replacement for the CLC or the CLK; I suppose you can forgive Mercedes Benz for throwing a bit of money its way.

Now, I bet the commercial left you thinking it was a very attractive car. Try watching the advert again; note how many quick cuts there are. None long enough to really focus the eye. Note how when its statically parked, the rear end is totally obscured and the whoops of delight from the Transporter lady as the male protagonist exerts all his driving prowess on her, building proceedings towards a climactic finale. It’s great. Maybe a little sexist and inaccurate, my girlfriend certainly doesn’t react like that when I put the hammer down – there’s often a lot more profanity and swatting… But a great commercial all the same.

By rights we might believe the C-Class Coupé to be the sportiest, most agile Mercedes Benz you can buy then. And I am including AMG tuned Mercedes Benz’s by the way. Because anyone who’s ever had the pleasure of an AMG drive knows they’re as deft and agile as a Pierre Spies crash ball. Here I’m talking about: handling, light, delicate, seat of your pants, pure driving machine stuff. It’s only competition within its own stable is the Mercedes Benz SLK. Stop sniggering. It really is their best handling car despite it being a tin top. The SLK350 can dance when summoned to… and the SLK55 AMG can head bang to its V8 soundtrack. But, I know because I’ve taken them both around the race track, the SLK350 is more agile, the SLK55 AMG with a traction control system that can’t be switched all the way off is less feelsome and more like a V8 business lounge. I’ve driven rings around a CLK63 AMG on the track in a Peugeot 207 GTI too… no jokes. Words like ‘Mercedes-Benz’ and ‘agility’ are rarely bedfellows and there’s a brand new SLK coming at the end of month anyway, which I’m confident will be an even better handler and still just as adept at comfort cruising.

What I’m trying to say is Mercedes-Benz have a rare opportunity here to make the C-Class Coupé sporty. I mean really sporty. No compromise. Give it the feel and excitement of a hard driving BMW. No, not monster power and requisite tail slides. That will arrive at the end of the year with the AMG. But inject it with road strafing, mountain pass prowling dynamism.

And… it doesn’t quite deliver. Its quick and comfortable and high tech and stylish and efficient, be in no doubt. But it feels benign and too closely connected to the C-Class sedan on which it’s based. The C-Class sedan is fantastic because it’s practical and will outsell all the icy Eskimos. However, except for being 41 mm lower, the two door has the same engines, same driver assistance systems, same dashboard, same everything. It just isn’t enough of a step up to be a special coupé. It also, while looking very handsome, doesn’t look quite perfect enough.

The front is gorgeous, but the C-pillar shoulder line is too high and the boot line is too low and it doesn’t even have pillar-less doors – chapter one, verse one out of the coupé handbook. What about some big wheels? Mercedes Benz says the rear proportions are there to accommodate a folding roof for a future cabriolet version. You see what I mean about compromise?

It’s not all doom and gloom however, if you’re desire for keen driving is small and your pocketbook is large. Because some points worth singling out are the four individual bucket seats, the panoramic sunroof, the ‘Command online navigation’ system and the AMG sports package you can option to the car. These go a long way to giving it the individuality a buyer will almost certainly be looking for. And be prepared to add around R70 000 to the sticker price for these options.

Prices include a 60 000km 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.