Why Driving A Mercedes Will Make You Live Longer

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t have an affinity with Mercedes. For me, it’s always been BMW cars that get my blood pumping and I don’t see that ever changing. Despite my preference, it would have been short-sighted of me to refuse a one-week loan of a new C-class when it was offered, and so it was that the car was outside my house just a week later.

When the car was dropped off, I remember my surprise at how easy the C-class was on the eye. I liked the relatively small dimensions and looked forward to the perks of a diesel engine (fewer fill-ups) and automatic gearbox (you can read the exact specs in Matt’s 5am drive blog). Obviously, this new baby S-class was designed to be a car that normal people can drive without really thinking or doing, and sometimes that’s a good thing.

My time with the C-class included a couple of trips from west London to south-east London (only about 23 miles door to door, but up to three hours stuck in agonising traffic), plus a trip with snapper Jayson to take in a bit of countryside for the nice shots you see here.

‘In the C-class, slagging matches and bad driving went over my head. It was just me and my Mercedes…’

It was during my extended time stuck in traffic (seriously, central London is an odious place to drive in) that I first grew to like the Mercedes. Sure, any car with an auto ‘box is a blessing in London (#LongLiveTheManual), as are high-profile tyres and softish suspension, but the C-class is on another level in terms of comfort and serenity; where I’d normally start to feel my skin crawling with hatred towards the London road network, I remained calm and relaxed in the Mercedes.

The reason for this was that the C-class is so well insulated from the outside world, that you barely hear other cars, nor do you get battered by the sound waves of multiple radio stations. But the best thing? That was the feeling of complete safety. In London (especially in the less well-to-do parts like Woolwich) people are - and I’m talking from experience here - quick to get into a shouting match and happy to engage in road rage. In the C-class, slagging matches and bad driving went over my head. It was just me and my Mercedes and I may as well have been on a quiet country road, such was the feeling of calm.

The other thing I realised when driving the Mercedes, is that other road users are less likely to try to make your life difficult than, say, if you were driving a BMW or Audi. I guess we’re all predisposed - because of common stereotypes and jokes - to think of the latter marques as being owned by fat-cat show-offs or people with little compassion.

My time with the Mercedes C-class taught me this: it may not be the most exciting car in its class dynamically, nor will it make people look twice when you drive by. But what can’t be denied is that the C-class is a car that will lower your heart rate and, ultimately, will make you live longer.

The car works with you like a comfortable pair of shoes, and it’s for these reasons that I understand why Mercedes owners will always stay loyal to the brand.