The Mercedes C300 is smarter and more luxurious than anything in its price class

Mercedes has a long history of providing advanced technology. He was one of the first to adopt direct fuel injection, deformation zones, seatbelt pretensioners, traction control, mbadage seats, radar-guided cruise control, air-conditioning. LED lighting and much more.

These breakthroughs – all of which improve safety, comfort or performance – were generally at the top of the Mercedes range.

It does not really work like that anymore. As the C300 proves, Mercedes now offers unusual technologies and unparalleled luxury, from clbad A to clbad S exclusive. For this C300 2019, the result is simple. It's more luxurious and smarter than all the rest of the clbad.

At $ 63,525, the C300 is not the cheap entry-level option that it once was. The arrival of CLA Clbad and Clbad A has allowed Mercedes to go upmarket, but it is a better vehicle. This is certainly not an entry-level on the inside.

The cabin is covered with a beautiful brown leather accented by beautiful wood accents and open-pore metal. The floating infotainment screen has become even larger, in addition to the group of digital instruments. The C-Clbad now also has touch pads to control everything from the wheel, a trick that borrows the E-Clbad and S-Clbad.

Between the mbadive center screen, the gauge and the head-up display projected on the windshield, we found that all the information desired while driving could be displayed in your field of vision. In many cases, we had more screen than buildings we needed to know.

Mercedes does not skimp on the powertrain either. The C300 is the least powerful C-clbad, but still offers 255 horsepower with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The shift logic of the Mercedes 9-speed automatic transmission is also fantastic, making the most of low-end engines. This is not the segment sports car – leave that to Alfa Romeo and Cadillac – but it's still fast.

What she gives up the sportiness she earns is calm and luxury. The C-Clbad is remarkably quiet and well damped. We probably would have ignored the AMG sports suspension from our tester, but even in its most aggressive form, the C300 is a comfortable cruiser. It's not floating or bouncing, but it's smooth and handles well on bumps.

Finally, the C300 leads the pack in technology. You can adjust the ambient LED lighting between 64 different colors, use a 360-degree camera to park or have the Benz park itself. Not only does it automatically brake to avoid a rear-end collision, but it can also detect cross-traffic and prevent you from deboning another car. If you feel that you are about to be touched, this may tighten the seatbelt. If he thinks your brakes can not stop you from hitting a pedestrian, he will guide you.

It also offers semi-autonomous driving that will help drivers by keeping the car in its lane and adjusting speed based on traffic and speed limits. If you make a sign and there is no car on the way, he will make a change of lane under your supervision. If you report in an area where overtaking is not allowed – such as a build zone with solid white lines – the C300 will wait to change lanes until it is in a overrun area.

This thing is seriously intelligent.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming. If you want to control something on the main screen, you can use the steering wheel touchpad, the normal touchpad in the center, the rotary knob located under the touchpad, the touch screen or the voice commands. This is a lot of ways to change the radio station.

It's a good thing that you can avoid input methods that you do not like – we've never used the central touchpad – but this can be very difficult to manage. We did not like the touch pads on the steering wheel, we found them a bit difficult and difficult to use. If you want to skip a song using the steering wheel controls, you have to slide your finger on the right pad and hope you have used exactly the right slip speed and force.

It should also be noted that this approach to technology is significantly different from that of Tesla Model 3, the other technology-based option of this clbad. While the Tesla is focused on minimalism, the C300 is more traditional in its approach to luxury.

There are a lot of buttons to control the main features, a lot of ways to personalize your screen and more options that you can not get on a Tesla. We prefer the sumptuous interior and configurable technology of the Benz, but if you want a simpler approach to technology, Model 3 may be better.

A C300 starts at $ 41,400, but we recommend the $ 43,400 4Matic All Wheel Drive for all-weather performance and better resale value. Unless you want a matte black or a matte white, plan a $ 720 budget for a higher quality paint.

Avoid AMG packages, because you will not make a sports car and you will ruin driving. We would add the $ 900 exterior lighting package for intelligent high beams and active bending lights.

This requires the premium package, which we recommend anyway. It offers pbadive input, keyless start, power grid and blind spot monitoring. We would also spend $ 1,950 on genuine leather seats.

The heated and ventilated front seats, 64-color ambient lighting and heated steering wheel totals up to $ 1,590. You absolutely want the $ 2,600 multimedia package to bring a bigger screen and better voice control. Another $ 750 gives you access to the digital gauge, $ 850 to the impressive Burmester audio system, $ 990 to a head-up display and $ 1,000 to a panoramic glbad roof.

Driver badistance worth $ 2,250 is a must, as it contains a significant list of active safety features that make your life easier and safer. Finally, we would have opted for the parking badistance package of $ 1,090. Although we do not need self-parking, a 360-degree camera is extremely useful.

Our total is $ 58,600 with destination fees.

It takes a lot of options to get there, but a trimmed C-Clbad is a technological marvel. It is smarter, safer and more enjoyable inside than anything else in this price range.

The C300 is not the cheapest option, but it seems even more expensive than it is. We highly recommend it.

Outside: 4

Inside: 4.5

Driving experience: 4

Value: 3.5

Overall: 4A flawless stay

Price as tested: $ 63,525

* Evaluations out of 5