Mercedes - C Class, Mercedes, C Class, Silver, 2006,

I'm not sure whether it's just me but Mercedes saloon cars have always had a very masculine air to them. It's something I've long felt about BMWs but not Audis. That's why I'd never been hugely drawn to the Mercedes C-Class in the past. It looked tidy, functional but never seemed possessed of much in the way of flair. The latest car is undeniably handsome but I fully expected that trend to continue. Our test car was a C220 CDI diesel and I began to harbour images of those cream-coloured taxis you walk out of German airports into but when it arrived it was finished in a very attractive garnet red colour with a decent set of alloy wheels that looked anything but utilitarian. I began to see why Janis Joplin wanted a Mercedes-Benz quite so badly.