Place an owner of the current Sports Coupé in the CLC’s driver’s seat and they’d struggle to notice any difference. New steering wheel aside, the CLC carries on exactly where the Sports Coupé left off. That does bring some benefits; the CLC remains well packaged for a car with small dimensions and a sloping roofline.
Although access could be improved (the front seat backs flip forward, but they don’t slide automatically), there is enough space for four average-sized adults. In addition, luggage space, if marginally less than that of the BMW 1-series coupé, is still usefully shaped and good for 310 litres.
So outright space is adequate, but comfort is less impressive. Mercedes claims the front seats are more supportive than ever, and while we don’t have an issue with lateral support, we do with comfort; the seat base is simply too thin.
Mercedes has been brave in not spending more on the CLC’s interior, because the hard truth is that it now feels very dated. Too many hang-ups from Mercedes’ recent and less successful past remain. One look inside a new C-class saloon shows how far the game (and Mercedes) has moved on.
While it is true that the CLC undercuts its obvious rivals on price, even in this Sport trim, and does come with a few notable items as standard, this is far from the full picture.
First, both the 120d coupé and Audi TT offer higher outputs for not much greater outlay. Second, while leather is standard, it isn’t exactly convincing and in no way makes up for the CLC’s inferior cabin quality.
Finally, in the long term, any initial purchase price advantage will be whittled away by the CLC’s higher running costs. Claimed combined economy is 47.0mpg, while both the BMW and Audi are in the 50s. In reality, expect an average closer to our 37.8mpg. The CLC’s 166g/km CO2 emissions place it in the 24 per cent BIK bracket, compared with the BMW’s 18 per cent.