We automotive journalists call ourselves
the 'usual suspects'. Most of us attend the same press events, and drive the same
fleet of press test cars.
Some of us even like each other, even if we are competitors and don't always agree, on cars or anything else.
But once in while, I'll see that Dave or Graeme or somebody is driving a car I have already been in. I'll ask, "What do you think?" and I'll get an immediate thumbs-up.
One such car is the Mercedes-Benz C230 4Matic Sport, a brilliant red version of which is making the rounds as I type.
At Wheels, our policy is that whoever did the preview test of the vehicle at its launch (in this case, me) does not do the subsequent full road test, the objective being to give you the reader a broader range of opinion.
So I won't go into it in a lot of detail here.
But this particular model really seems to have nailed it, and my colleagues all seem to agree.
Despite the 230 part of the name, the engine is a 2.5 litre V6 (why do the marketing people keep doing this?) With 201 horsepower, 27 less than the 3.0, performance is still plenty brisk, yet fuel consumption is lower, admittedly marginally so, but still an increasingly important issue for Canadians.
4Matic - Mercedes' term for four-wheel drive - is likewise ideally suited to our market.
And, at $42,500, it is - by Mercedes' standards anyway - remarkably affordable, always a concern for us tight-fisted Canucks.
In fact, this configuration - 4Matic, 2.5 litre engine - is produced by Mercedes exclusively for Canada, a rare occurrence, especially in the luxury market.
How's it doing?
Gangbusters, according to Mercedes-Benz Canada.
Now, it is the consumers' opinion that car makers really care about.
But we like it too.
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