Mercedes expands range with Kompressor in Indonesia

Mercedes expands range with Kompressor in Indonesia

By John Aglionby

THE woman was undoubtedly beautiful. Her fine cheekbones
offset her small, perfectly straight nose and sensual mouth.

Her hair was tied back revealing a graceful neck and cute
little ears.

But my gaze was drawn elsewhere. For nestling between two
slim, elegantly long fingers with brightly painted nails was the
fattest cigar you are ever likely to see outside Cuba.

The impression I made was instantaneous and unambiguous. This
was a woman with attitude, someone who knew what she wanted, knew
how to get it and would probably not let anything block her path
to the top.

Welcome to the advertisement for Mercedes Benz's latest
addition to the C-Class range, the C230 Kompressor. While the
German car manufacturer is not aiming the vehicle at cigar-
smoking supermodels, it is targeting young (at heart?),
successful, female executives.

Mercedes Benz Indonesian press officer, Lisa Malonda, said:
"Many men think the C-Class is too small for them and so, go for
the E-Class.

"This car is aimed, therefore, more at women who, even though
they want to be feminine, like to show they have a macho touch as
well."

The secret behind the Kompressor's "macho touch" is its
compressor, which is designed to give the four-cylinder engine
almost as much pizzazz as the C280's six cylinders.

At 2200rpm, the compressor, a type of supercharger,
automatically kicks in producing 30 percent more power than the
equivalent models.

The compressor is driven by an extension of the belt from the
crankshaft pulley and compresses the air before it enters the
cylinder in order to boost both the power and the torque.

This means the maximum torque of 280Nm is reached at much
lower engine speeds without any discernible lag and should be
maintained right through until 4800rpm. The Kompressor's
acceleration, zero-to-100kmh in 7.9 seconds, and maximum speed,
230kmh, are comparable with the C280.

The standard C230 struggles to top 200kmh and for the C180,
that magic speed is just a pipe dream, although with an average
daytime traffic speed in Jakarta of only nine kmh there are
unlikely to be many opportunities to see if the Kompressor really
can outpace its siblings.

For drivers more worried about fuel consumption (6.2 liters at
90kmh) and CO2 emissions, the Kompressor is not as efficient as
the C230 but much more so than the C280, which is what Mercedes
Benz want it to be compared with.

However, their statistics must be taken with a pinch of salt
-- they were calculated in Europe with lead-free gasoline.

Premix-guzzling Indonesian cars will be unlikely to emit only
30 percent of the particles allowed under European Union
legislation, as Mercedes Benz say the Kompressor does.

The other difference between the Kompressor and the standard
C230 is the gearbox. While the C230 comes in either manual or
automatic transmission, the Kompressor will be available with
only automatic transmission, but features a five-speed gearbox
which should provide smooth shifting in the majority of
conditions.

As for the rest of the car, it is, to all intents and
purposes, the same as the C230. Antilock brakes are standard
and the crumple zone is capable of absorbing an offset frontal
impact at speeds of up to 55kmh.

The only downside is the price, a cool Rp 181 million
(US$75,000) off the road. This is 30 percent more expensive than
the nearest BMW equivalent but this does not concern Mercedes
Benz.

"We are focusing on quality not quantity and in the
Kompressor, we believe we have a car of unrivaled quality in
Indonesia in its class," Lisa said.

The naturally aspirated manual C230 Classic is priced at Rp
153 million with the automatic C230 Elegance costing Rp 169
million.

With more and more Indonesians wanting to advertise their
business success through the car they drive, only time will tell
whether 1997 sales (for all C-class cars) will be much below the
1,600 target.