We review the Mercedes C-Class from price to economy and all its features

THE all-new Mercedes C-Class is so clever it can drive itself.

This latest model is packed with technology adapted from the S-Class. Sensors, radar, a 360° camera and ultrasound watch out for — and automatically avoid — pedestrians, vehicles and obstacles.

Head-turner ... Ginny and the C-Class cause a stir in Marseille

I wanted to test it by driving blindfolded but the sensible folk at Mercedes put the brakes on that.

Instead I became a passenger — sat in the driving seat — while the new C-Class drove itself for 200 yards on a test track before it warned me to get my hands back on the wheel.

But the C-Class will do the work if you are stuck in slow-moving traffic. As Mercedes’ Ola Kallenius said: “It’s like having your own butler in the back seat keeping an eye on things.”

No hands ... Merc is so smart it can drive itself

One in three Mercedes sold in the UK is a C-Class — and sales here have leapt by 45 per cent over the past three years.

But Mercedes wants to overtake the class-leading BMW 3 Series — which sold half a million globally last year — and it thinks luring younger buyers is how to do it.

Despite the popularity of the outgoing model — which sold 165,000 in the UK — the C in C-Class stood for “conservative”.

It’s like having your own butler in the back seat keeping an eye on things

To woo those young executives, it must come to mean “cool” and “charismatic”.

Mercedes thinks it has got the winning formula. Marcus Breitschwerdt, the former CEO of Mercedes-Benz UK and current head of cars for Europe, told me: “This is now a cool car for a cool segment.”

The changes for this fifth-gen version are not radical. After all, Mercedes has sold 8.5million of the C-Class. But the SL-style grill, longer front bonnet and more dynamic lines give this new version plenty of kerb appeal — and it turned heads outside the cafes of Marseille where it was launched.

Sleek ... C-Class is classier than ever

If you want an even sleeker look, opt for the AMG line, one of three trim levels, with 18in AMG alloys, AMG body styling and LED headlights styled after the S-Class.

Inside the C-Class, the overhaul is more radical.

It oozes quality and class, with curving lines and a tablet-style information screen, adding up to what Mercedes calls “a free upgrade into business class”.

The interior was the result of a competition between two Mercedes design studios. Till Varailhon from the advanced design studio in Lake Como — which usually works on concept cars and design studies — won.

Mercedes has transformed the C-Class into a baby S-Class

He said the interior closely resembles his early drawings.

It will go on sale in July with a choice of three engines, the C200 petrol and two diesels.

I drove the C250 BlueTEC diesel with seven-speed automatic gearbox and paddle shift.

The engine — carried over from the previous model — is quieter this time but is still noisier than some rivals. Steering is direct and responsive, the ride smooth thanks to the optional £895 air suspension, a first in its class.

Quality ... C--Class is 'a free upgrade into business class'

Choose from five driving modes or set the engine, gearbox and steering to suit your own style.

Prices start at £26,855 for the C200 and, arriving in September, are a fuel-efficient 1.6litre diesel and a hybrid, which will appeal to company car buyers.

Jaguar has said it aims to score in this competitive market with its new small exec car, the XE, set to be unveiled in July.

But Mercedes has transformed the C-Class into a baby S-Class.

Jaguar needs to put the extraordinary into its XE.