The 2019 Mercedes-Benz C300 Coupe Is Quicker, Still Looks Great - Car and Driver

Most of these "base" powerplants deliver surprisingly hot performance, although that wasn't quite the case with the Benz—at least it wasn't until this year. For 2019, Mercedes has replaced its laggard-for-the-class engine in the entry-level C300 sedan, convertible, and coupe with an all-new 2. 0-liter turbo four. This change, along with a swap from a seven-speed automatic transmission to Benz's latest nine-speed unit, which happened for the 2018 model year, are the primary contributors to the latest C300's improved performance. An Effective Upgrade In this vehicle class, such base-model four-cylinder engines exist at least partly to provide buyers (and automakers seeking to please regulators) a more fuel-efficient option, and the new engine has massively upped the C300... In our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test, the rear-wheel-drive C300 delivered an astonishing 37 mpg—6 mpg better than the EPA's highway estimate. The only 2017 C300 coupe we tested came with that feature, and between it and the older engine, that model scored a so-so 29 mpg on our highway test loop. A rear-drive 2017 C300 convertible returned 32 mpg in the same test, and an all-wheel-drive 2019 C300 sedan with the new engine that we tested separately notched a decent 33-mpg score. Source: Car and Driver