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.