The Morning Call and Mcall.com's view

These are challenging times for a luxury automaker. Although the zero percent financing boom is luring buyers into the showroom, continued layoffs make future sales seem less of a sure thing.

That’s why many automakers have fielded “entry-level” luxury cars. Usually compact in size, they start in the low 30s and include the BMW 3-Series, the Jaguar X-Type, the Lexus IS and ES series, the Infiniti G-20 and the Mercedes Benz C-Class.

With such intense competition, it’s little wonder that Mercedes- Benz is pulling out all the stops in expanding its C-Class line to appeal to more buyers. This year sees the introduction of the C230 Sport Coupe and the C320 Wagon.

Do they have the movie to enhance or detract from the C-Class line?

C230 Sport Coupe

The Sport Coupe (that’s Mercedes speak for hatchback) is the C- Class sedan with 7 inches lopped off. That means the front end still has the soft, sultry look of the rest of the Mercedes line. But the back is rather truncated. With a sloping rear backlight and stubby rear overhang, it’s not as graceful as it could be. Its looks are improved by the optional Panorama Sliding Sunroof. The large smoked glass blends seamlessly with the rear hatch, giving the vehicle a more unified look. The biggest problem is the lack of a rear wiper or washer, resulting in the rear glass becoming fouled with dirt rather quickly.

But that stubby rear also causes other trade-offs.

Handling in the rear-drive coupe is fun, but the lack of weight at the rear causes the back end to lose traction easily, even in mildly damp weather. This is not a problem with the C-Class sedan, which can easily handle even snowy weather. The steering is precise and has a weighty feel.

Power comes from the 2.3-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine that last saw duty in the SLK230 sports car. This intercooled engine provides 192-horsepower, plenty to motivate this little car to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds with the 6-speed manual, and 7.8 seconds with the 5- speed automatic transmission.

The power is strong enough, but there’s little hiding that this is a four-cylinder engine. Mercedes has left a good deal of raucousness intact. Rev and it snarls with style, although some may find that out of character for a Mercedes. Ditto the vibration that makes its way into the shifter.

Also out of character is the somewhat downscaled nature of the interior. The materials aren’t as fine a quality as pricier models. Leather seats are an option, but the cloth seats have a funky design that blends well with the more expressive design of the dashboard.

But whether this feels like a real Mercedes or not will bother only Mercedes enthusiasts. Most folks will love the fact that they can buy a car with the three-pointed star at a $24,950 base price. That’s less than the base price of a Hy undai XG-350 L Sedan.

And for many buyers, that’s all that matters.

Still, it begs a question that many luxury automakers don’t want to answer. Will the person who can afford to spend $70,000 on a car want to buy the same brand that can be had for almost one-third of the price?

In the 1940s, Packard failed to answer that question, and by the 1950s, its status as a premier automaker was tarnished beyond repair.

Now that Daimler-Benz is running Chrysler and Mitsubishi, why do they need a C230 Sports Coupe at all?

Just wondering.

C320 Station Wagon

On the other hand, the Mercedes Benz C-Class wagon is a welcome addition in the luxury station wagon wars. With every European automaker reintroducing station wagons to their line-ups, its no surprise to see a C-Class wagon.

While the wagon shares its face with its C-Class siblings, the rest of the vehicle is a stylish departure, with long lines th t artfully blend into the wagon’s curved back end. That stylish back hinders cargo carrying ability, since there isn’t a large square shape to fit cargo into. But this vehicle is as much about looking good as it is about cargo carrying ability.

Like the hatchback, the wagon allows for a bit more noise than the C-Class sedan, but it’s subdued enough for the class. The interior was covered in a black leather that looked alluring.

The seats were hard, flat and painful in the best Mercedes tradition. A little more give in the seats would be appreciated. Despite the car’s $44,860 as tested price, seat heaters were still an option. This is unforgivable given the car’s bottom line and that they are standard on some cars half this price.

Where all that money goes is evident in the center console, a nightmarish collection of buttons arranged around a screen. Like too many navigation systems, this one is distracting. The buttons are difficult to figure out, and navigating a series of menus while driving is just plain dangerous.

There are a lot of features here, including a handy 5-button recall destination setting. Still, all the space taken by the navigation system necessitates making other controls smaller, such as the built-in cell-phone keypad or climate controls.

But the performance matches that of the regular C-Class sedan. Unlike the hatchback — er — sport coupe, the wagon is powered by a 3.2-liter V-6 that also resides in the sedan. Power is sure and strong, in the Mercedes tradition. Body lean is minimal and the ride is very firm, yet absorbent. Braking is sure and confident. Overall handling is enhanced by Mercedes ESP Stability Program, first introduced in 1996. If there’s a difference between driver input and the car’s response, the program kicks in to maintain proper control.

The driver-adaptive five-speed automatic transmission adapts its shift points to the operator’s driving style. If you drive with gusto, the transmission will delay shifting. If you’d rather shift for yourself, the transmission allows for sequential manual shifting through all five speeds.

The EPA rates this vehicle at 19 mpg city, 25 highway. A mixed driving loop returned 20 mpg on premium fuel.

The C-Class wagon starts at $38,450. Our test vehicle’s options included “Bordeaux Red” paint at $640, a navigation system at $2,080, integrated cellphone, CD changer at $1,795 and a Value Package for $1,250 that included a rain sensor that automatically activates the wipers and a glass sunroof. The bottom line is $44,860.

This is comparable to other luxury sport wagons, none of which wear the prestigious three-pointed star.

Both of these vehicles offer the stylish panache expected of Mercedes-Benz, but the C230 Sports Coupe feels less like the real thing than the C320 Sports Wagon. But to most buyers, that won’t matter.

What matters is the name on the sheetmetal and the image it represents. Still, the C-Class wagon offers the movie to back-up the image. That should help Mercedes-Benz through the tough times.