Mercedes is aiming to tempt more buyers than ever into its new all-new C-Class by emphasizing two distinct lines, a comfort-oriented series and a more sporting version with stiffer suspension, different seating and a body kit.

The car has a distinctly wedgy outline, and uses the similar taut surfacing as the S-Class. But it's not just a scaled-down version. The decklid is more integrated and the fender flares are concentric with the axles, as opposed to the S-Class, where they splay out towards the bumpers to highlight the S-Class's length. A rising crease along the C-Class's doors also emphasizes its compact, sporty nature.

Overall it's a more evolutionary design step than occurred with the S-Class's redesign, but then the C has to please a lot of customers: the outgoing car was Mercedes' biggest seller worldwide, with 1.4 million copies of the sedan sold over seven years in addition to 330,000 of the wagon variant and 300,000 of the Sportscoupe three-door hatch, both of which are primarily sold in European markets.

For the U.S., expect the engine range to be the C280 V-6 (228 horsepower), C350 V-6 (268 horsepower) and the C550 V-8 (380 horsepower), all with the automaker's seven-speed automatic. After a year a C55 AMG is expected. If the current German horsepower war continues, there's room under the hood for a C63 AMG, ready to out-gun even the upcoming V-8-engined BMW M3.

The new C-Class uses front strut suspension with two lower-arms, and a multi-link rear axle - familiar Benz principles. The main chassis innovation is a new type of amplitude-dependent damper, able to provide extra compliance over small bumps for ride comfort but stiffening up during bigger movements caused by sharp steering maneuvers. The system is entirely hydraulic - there's no electronic intervention.

The bodyshell is a claimed 13 percent more torsionally rigid than before, enhancing comfort by reducing vibration, as well as giving the potential for more precise handling. Around 70 percent of the new body is high-strength steel, which improves the strength-to-weight ratio. There is no significant aluminum in the body, and less in the suspension than competitors use.

The optional Thermotronic a/c climate control system is the first use of three separate temperature zones in this size of car.

Mercedes recognizes that its image as a builder of trustworthy and long-lived vehicles has taken a knock, so the new car has done more test mileage than any Mercedes model before it, according to the automaker. Some 280 prototypes covered a total of 140 million test miles worldwide.

Before those prototypes were even built, Mercedes constructed a 'virtual prototype' of the car, made up of some 2130 Gigabytes of data. The model was run through 5,500 crash test simulations, plus ride and handling analysis, NVH tuning, aerodynamics tests -- even climate-control simulation. Mercedes engineers claim the first driveable prototypes felt, sounded and behaved almost exactly as predicted.

If only the Mercedes could create a 'virtual sales prototype' to see exactly how many copies of the new C-Class they will sell. Who knows, maybe they have.

Mercedes recognizes that its image as a builder of trustworthy and long-lived vehicles has taken a knock, so the new car has done more test mileage than any Mercedes model before it, according to the automaker. Some 280 prototypes covered a total of 140 million test miles worldwide.