This year for Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Mercedes-Benz is offering the 2007 C-Class, which is only available as a sedan with much luxury and safety features. With not so huge backseat and the usual cabin furnishings, the 2007 line-up includes C230, C280 and C350 sedans.

It has low hood line, arced roof line and triangular taillights. Its design resembles that of the vehicles six years ago and is comparable to Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Infiniti G35 and Lexus IS.

The 2007 Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan arrives as the C230 Sport, C280 Luxury, C350 Luxury and C350 Sport.

Standard in the C230 Sport are 17-inch wheels, a sport-tuned suspension, cloth sport seats and a CD player where fast types of music can be played to even add to the sporty image of the vehicle. The C280 Luxury has 16-inch wheels, softer suspension tuning, power front seats with driver memory, dual-zone automatic climate control with air filtration, genuine wood trim, and a more powerful engine. Equipped with similar parts as those in the C280 Luxury, the C350 Luxury uses V6 engine. The C350 Sport, on the other hand, has equipment similar to the C230; the only difference is that it possesses larger engine and power front sport seats.

Features like full leather upholstery, HID xenon headlights, a navigation system and a Harman Kardon Logic 7 audio system with a six-disc CD changer and satellite radio are optional on all C-Class sedans.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedans legroom space is not wide enough and dash board has a utilitarian look with adjustable vents. The trunk can handle 12 cubic feet of cargo

Since Mercedes-Benz is famous for its safety features, it is impossible the C-Class vehicles not to have these. Antilock disc brakes, stability control and six airbags that include front-seat side airbags and full-length side curtain airbags are standard. Optional are rear-seat side airbags and the Tele Aid emergency call system.

As proof of Benzs reliable safety features, the 2007 Mercedes-Benz C-Class bagged four out of five stars for driver and front-passenger protection in frontal impacts, and five stars for front and rear side-impact protection during the In NHTSA crash tests. The C-Class got the highest rating, Good, in the IIHS for its performance in the 40-mph frontal-offset crash test; and got the second highest rating, Acceptable, in the side-impact testing.

As to the power trains and performance, the Mercedes C-Class lineup uses three V6 engines. The C230 uses a 2.5-liter V6 that transcends 201 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque. The C280 has a 228-hp 3.0-liter V6. The C350 possesses a 3.5-liter V6 good for 268 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard in C230 and C350 Sport, and the seven-speed automatic is optional. Standard in C280 and C350 Luxury is the automatic transmission. Meanwhile, all models are offered as rear wheel but Luxury models can also be offered as 4Matic all-wheel drive. All 4Matic cars have a five-speed automatic transmission, and of course we can expect its Mercedes fuel filters to be top of the line as well.

The C350 Sport, with a manual transmission, is the fastest model among the four.

Dwyane Thomas is a part time cook and full-time auto-enthusiast. This 31-year old Civil and Environmental graduate is a consultant at one of the engineering firms in Pennsylvania.