Review: The Mercedes C300 is smarter, safer and more luxurious than anything in its price class - CNBC

Mercedes has a long history of offering class-leading technology. It was an early adopter of direct fuel injection, crumple zones, seatbelt pre-tensioners, traction control, massaging seats, radar-guided cruise control, LED lighting and more. The cabin is blanketed in lovely brown leather, accented by gorgeous open-pore wood and metal accents. The C-Class now also has the touchpads to control everything from the steering wheel, a trick it borrows from the E-Class and S-Class. The C300 is the least-potent C-Class, but it still offers 255 horsepower from a 2. 0-liter four-cylinder engine. The shift logic of the Mercedes 9-speed automatic is also fantastic, making the most of the engines low-end grunt. It's not the sports car of the segment — leave that to Alfa Romeo and Cadillac — but it's still quick. The C-Class is remarkably quiet and well damped. We'd probably skip the AMG sports suspension that our tester had, but even in its most aggressive guise, the C300 is a comfortable highway cruiser. You can adjust the ambient LED lighting between 64 different colors, use a 360-degree camera to park or have the Benz park itself. Source: CNBC