There are now two distinct versions of the car. The first is a sports model in Avantgarde-level trim to attract the 30plus buyers. It has the same style grille as the CLS with the big three-pointed star built in and a more coupe design. It is selling alongside the Elegance version which normally attracts the more mature driver. Mercedes Benz says this is the "Diversity Concept" in action . . . one model with two different faces for two distinctly different customer bases. The new marketing strategy is geared to getting drivers out of BMW 3-Series, Audi A4 and Lexus IS250 models into the new CClass.

The Presafe safety pack, which was once exclusive to the top-of-the-range SClass, is now standard on the C-Class.

The system uses sensors to detect if a manoeuvre may cause an accident and adjusts seats to the safest position, pretensions seat belts and closes the sunroof and windows, making the car crashready to give a better chance of avoiding serious injury. Electronic Stability Control is standard as is a new Neckpro system, which adjusts head restraints to the best position to avoid whiplash.

Prices for the new model rise by 1.5-2%.

The C200 Kompressor is priced at 46,420 and the C220 CDi at 51,425.

These models are on sale now but the bestsellers . . . the C180 at 43,240 and the C200 CDi at 47,750 . . . will not arrive until September.