The new C-Class is wider and longer than the outgoing model, a tauter, sportier design, addressing complaints that it was just too small for many Americans. With an overall length of 180.4 inches, the sedan is more almost four inches longer than its predecessor. Body width has increased more than an inch and a half to 69.7 inches, overall height increased almost one and a half inches, and the wheelbase has increased 1.8 inches to 108.4 inches.

Two completely fresh grilles are used, one for the Luxury model with the traditional horizontal bars and hood-mounted star, one for the Sport version with a large, surrounded star in the grille. The Sport will have six- or seven-spoke alloy wheels and staggered tires (the rears larger than the fronts), and will carry a decklid spoiler. The Luxury version will have the same size tires all around, riding on five-spoke alloy wheels.

The bold new front ends are amplified by a striking, rising line in the bodyside sheetmetal from front to back, flowing directly into a set of new and more aerodynamic taillamps. Even in this larger size, the drag coefficient of the new C-Class is a mere 0.27, among the best in the world.

Improved safety comes via the new bodyshell, 70 percent of which is high-strength and ultra high-strength steel. Compared to the previous series, Mercedes-Benz has larger deformation zones and improved energy flows. The front-end structure of the new C-Class has four independently acting impact zones, which enable forces to be distributed over a wide area around the passenger cell. The hood, fenders, and decklid are aluminum.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the static weight balance of the new C-Class is 52 percent front and 48 percent rear, awfully close to the magic 50/50 spread. The body is 13 percent stiffer in torsion and 12 percent stiffer in bending than the old car, and the chassis features a new rear axle and suspension design.

The 2008 C-Class is the first car in history to be designed, engineered, developed, and tested on Mercedes-Benz's proprietary virtual and digital design and engineering system. That includes every single part, component, and system in the car as well as the interior and exterior design, the complete powertrain, and the chassis. The time saved in development on the computer was devoted to additional real-world testing, to the tune of 24 million kilometers, three times more than the previous model had accumulated. So these cars should be fully sorted.