MERCEDES-BENZ C220D AMG LINE

Electric may be the future, but Mercedes' baby S-Class 220d represents the best of diesel in the world right now...

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We wasted no time in putting Mercedes' diesel cruiser to work.

Straight out into the Karoo on its second day to find a backroad route to Kleinbrak River, tarred, of course; up the West Coast to test its long legs and rediscover a couple of hidden dorpies; and finally, a sortie down the touristheavy coastal loop to Cape Point and Glencairn. All in a couple of weeks and good for slaying a few holy cows, notably a) sedans are lousy holiday cars in the age of SUVS, b) you need a dirt-roader to get the best out of South Africa's platteland, and c) diesel's day has passed.

A quick contextualisation. The new C-Class - built in East London and introduced in Augus last year - is available in 1,5 or 2,0-litre turbopetrol or 2.0-litre turbodiesel guise... ours was the 147 kW and 440 N.m oil-burner.