Melbourne, Jan 22: Leaving behind the Audi A5, BMWs, Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan X-Trai and other 16 top models, Mercedes Benz C-class has bagged the 2007 Wheels Car of the Year award.

According to the Wheels Editor, Ged Bulmer, the C-class, with an entry price of less than 60,000 dollars has outshined its competition with an impressive combination of standard safety features, electronic driver aids, excellent dynamic ability, ride comfort, build quality and attractive design.

"What got the C-class over the line was it's an excellent vehicle in every key area," News. com. au quoted Bulmer, as saying.

"It has a very good range of engines, four different engine options and it's got outstanding fuel efficiency across the range,” said Bulmer, adding, “ Mercedes has done a good job in containing costs and presenting a real value proposition in what is a luxury car set.”

Talking about the most impressive thing of the Mercedes, he said it is not just a good drive and so polished in so many areas, “but the price has been kept to a very reasonable level.”

The Ford Mondeo and the 17,000 dollars Mazda 2 were there in the top three.

“The Ford Mondeo is another excellent vehicle and you could make the case that it was unfortunate not to win,” said Bulmer, adding, “It's a terrific new offering from Ford and deserves to sell.”

He further said that the Wheels was not giving awards because “we felt there weren't enough cars around to warrant it but that wasn't the case this year.”

All four C-Class models, two of which have diesel engines, were driven in the weeklong tests undertaken by Wheels judges. (ANI)