This hotly contested segment has a clear benchmark; it is the Acura TL (and its 2-door cousin Acura CL). The TL succeeds in blending comfort, style, luxury, and sport into an efficient package at an affordable price. If you are leaning more toward the luxury scale, the Lexus ES 300 might be a more practical purchase.

We also recommend the sporty and Euro-flavored Audi A6, the comfortable Buick Park Avenue, the affordable and fast Infiniti I30.

The C-Class line attracted exactly 34,600 buyers in calendar 2000, a year-to-year gain of 16.2 percent. And that was with mainly old-design models, not the new 2001s.

Mercedes has already announced three new C-Class variations for 2002: the C320 wagon, equipped like the counterpart sedan; the 190-hp C230 Sports Coupe, a hatchback sharing a supercharged 4-cyl engine with the base SLK roadster; and the C32 AMG, a high-performance limited-edition sedan packing the same 349-hp supercharged 3.2 V6 that powers the 2002 SLK32 AMG, a hot-rod version of the little roadster. The C320 wagon marks the first time Mercedes has sold this C-Class model in the U.S. It's a rival for BMW's 3-Series models, but also competes with other upscale compact Euro wagons like Audi A4, Saab 9-5, and VW Passat.

With these additions, the C-Class line should take a breather for the next year or three, though M-B will doubtless add some new features along the way. And there may yet be more variations on this newborn basic design. Among the most likely prospects: an SUV-flavored C320 sport wagon with M-B's 4-Matic all-wheel drive, and V6 and supercharged V6 Sports Coupes.