Test drive C240 Sport

Merc C240 new offering for young executives

Primastuti Handayani The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A fire-red Mercedes-Benz C240 Sport and a weekend vacation with the family sounds like a perfect match, at least for the urban middle class, particularly young executives.

With both husband and wife working, the children at school and private courses, weekends are time to "escape" from the metropolis' hustle and bustle.

Such lifestyles, however, requires a vehicle that can accommodate the parents' business purposes as well as the whole family's leisure time.

One of the considerations is the Mercedes-Benz C 240 Sport.

The car, which was launched here during last year's fourth quarter, has a similar design to the previous C-class except for its new clear lens headlights and fog lamps, new tail lights and new radiator grille. Those new features, however, give a sportier, trendier look.

The headlights are equipped with Bi-Xenon bulbs with a cornering light function incorporated. This feature gives a better view of the direction being taken with reference to a direction indicator, steering angle and speed.

The new models also come with clear lens indicators in the mirrors.

A sportier look is achieved with the use of new, more powerful front aprons with large air intakes. They are not only sportier but allow an optimal air supply to reach the engine.

The C240 Sport seats are covered by alpace gray fabric upholstery. The car is also equipped with the instrument cluster which has a four-dial design with chrome trim rings and white illumination.

During a test drive two weekends ago, the car -- powered by a V6 2,597cc engine that can develop reach maximum power of 170 horsepower at 5,500 revolutions per minute (rpm) and a peak torque of 240 Newton-meters (Nm) at 4,500 rpm -- was comfortable enough for one to drive it oneself.

Safety is no question as the car is equipped with three-point seatbelts and head restraints for all seats, belt tensioners, two-stage airbags and sidebags for driver and front passengers and windowbags for driver, front passengers and rear passengers.

Apart from those, the car also has active safety features including an antilock braking system (ABS), electronic brake- force distribution (EBD), brake assist (BAS) and electronic stability programs (ESP).

Although the car can reach a top speed of 232 kilometers per hour (kph) -- with acceleration from 0 to 100 kph at 9.5 seconds -- during the test drive, I could only reach 100 kph, the maximum speed allowed on the toll road, with two considerations: children were onboard and the toll road was full of other Jakartans heading to their weekend destinations.

Available in five-speed automatic transmission with cruise control and Speedtronic variable speed limiter, the C240 Sport can be operated in two modes: C for city and S for sports.

When the C button was switched on, the car operates just like other automatic transmission cars although we could feel the power when the speed was above 80 kph.

But when driving in the sports mode -- which I could only get up to 140 kph, less than half of the car's capability, on the inner city toll road on a different occasion -- it felt that the engine "pushed" the driver to go much faster.

Fuel-wise, the car's engine is quite economical, with the combined fuel consumption of 10.1 liters per 100 kilometers, and environmentally friendly with the use of unleaded high-quality gasoline such as Pertamax Plus.

With 70 units already sold in this year's first quarter, according to data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo), the C240 Sport, offered at Rp 550 million (US$57,864) on-the-road, strengthened Mercedes-Benz domination in the premium market segment.

Available in two colors, red and black, the C240 Sport is targeting young executives who do not only focus on engine performance but also exterior and interior appearances.