For the longest time I have been a fan of the Mercedes Benz C Class, I think the love started with the 1996 C Class and I think that’s when I saw the first ever E Class AMG and it made sense for some reason. I remember there was a guy called Stompie in the hood and he would drive the Evolution E Class AMG with that distinctive spoiler. There were two of those AMG’s in the hood at the time and one of them was black in colour. The following model got better and it was much more sophisticated to be honest and it got interesting when the AMG 32 was introduced and then later the AMG 55 with those models and the MAG models were different compared to the models from far. When you think Mercedes Benz will get it wrong, they get it even better, the previous model for me was perfect in every sense of design and you didn’t have to do anything to the car but drive it. It didn’t need new mag wheels, or a bigger spoiler or sunroof to make it look great. Also it didn’t matter if it was the Avant-garde, Classic or the AMG; the car had everything you needed and lived up to the best or nothing and this design worked with any colour you could imagine.

Then Mercedes Benz launched the current model, people got excited but I wasn’t. As a huge fan of the C Class the design language didn’t make sense to me. I waited for the AMG and still I wasn’t moved but maybe it’s a step in the right direction because it doesn’t always have to make sense to me.

I started liking the white sedan, there is something about white and that panoramic roof that just says luxury. It grew on me and I also accepted that maybe the designers changed and its fine, one day it will make sense to me. So when we started reviewing Mercedes Benz I also wanted to understand the direction of the company. I was invited to the new C Class media launch in Johannesburg and I went in with an open mind because I don’t know everything and I was willing to learn a thing or two. One thing Mercedes Benz gets right is their interior which is an advantage over their rival brand BMW, they always get it right. You don’t have to understand it but it feels right, interior is important because you spend a lot of time in your car and as such it needs to make sense.

We got into the new C43 and it felt solid on the road, it felt like it was ready for anything and obviously I got into the white one. I loved the steering wheel, it felt much more comfortable and sporty too. We were driving towards the Vaal for lunch so we got on with it, opened the sunroof, blasted some good tunes and off we went. The new Mercedes Benz C43 will bring out the speed beast inside you and you will respond when it calls your name. I went into the car with my views about the design because design is very important to me but this car is not all just design – there is more. There is more than comfort, there is luxury, there is power and as a sedan it’s almost like the S Class which has been my dream car for the longest time. I am yet to test drive the new S Class but when I do please bear with me because I have to criticize my dream car and I will even if the car doesn’t make sense.

We got to the Vaal and by then I also got an opportunity to drive the Coupe and honestly I understood when I got into the car. The car made sense why people make it a big deal when you drive a C43/C63 – the sound it makes!! You want to hear the sound all the time and people expect you to rev it and you also want to because you can. Now your driving is about making people happy and giving them hope about their dream car. I see how young ones look at me when I drive these cars and because I have access to them it’s now possible for them as well because we come from the same place. Once you are in the car you just want to show off and make sure that everyone has seen you, it’s similar to when you are dressed well and you feel like not enough people have seen you therefore you go to more places where you can be seen. You want to be seen in this car, you want to be in this car. I get it now.

Both the Mercedes-AMG C43 4Matic sedan and Mercedes-AMG C43 coupé 4Matic are fitted with 4Matic 4-wheel-drive, which means the above mentioned power can be put down well to get max traction and hence performance: 0-100km/h arrives in 4.7 seconds.  This is helped by the 9G-Tronic 9-speed automatic, which in turn helps keep engine revs optimal, and minimise consumption and emissions.

Here are the prices, including taxes, for the 2 available C43 models:

Mercedes-AMG C43 (sedan) 4Matic	R 835 182
Mercedes-AMG C43 coupé 4Matic	R 901 582