2015 Lexus IS 350 Vs Mercedes-Benz C 400

Style, luxury and performance. That’s the aspirational trifecta for a compact luxury car.

It’s needed to separate such a car from the usual fray of automotive appliances. Compact luxury shows the world that you’re well on your way to “making it.” Historically, this meant grabbing a small sedan from Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz, but not too long ago, a batch of newcomers burst on the scene looking to level the playing field. Today, speaking about a Cadillac ATS, Infiniti Q50 or Lexus IS in the same breath as the 3 Series or C-Class is the norm.

So the era of German luxury brand dominance is over, right? Nein! For 2015, Mercedes-Benz sent the C-Class to the makeover chamber and it emerged with more style, more luxury and more performance. This is just what the doctor ordered for the baby Benz, but is it enough to hold off the hordes of competitors crowding the compact luxury segment?

To find out, we grabbed a 2015 Lexus IS 350 AWD F Sport. Totally redesigned two years ago, the IS 350 F Sport occupies the top rung in Lexus’ compact sedan family. It packs a 3.5-liter V6 that produces 306 hp and 277 lb-ft. of torque. Because this IS is AWD, it sticks with an older six-speed automatic transmission instead of the rear-wheel-drive-only eight-speed auto.

SEE ALSO: Five-Point Inspection: 2015 Mercedes-Benz C 400

The Mercedes-Benz C 400 4Matic matches up against the Lexus in the compact car hierarchy. Using a new 3.0-liter turbocharged V6, the Benz makes 329 hp and a whopping 354 lb-ft. of torque. Like the IS 350, the C 400 sends power to all four wheels, but does have an extra gear in its seven-speed automatic transmission.

With more power and more gears, it’s no surprise that the C 400 is a half second faster in the 0-60 mph sprint, clocking a time of 5.2 seconds versus the Lexus’ time of 5.7 seconds. The C 400 isn’t an absolute torque monster like the numbers suggest, though. There’s always plenty more power on tap compared to the IS 350, but the C 400 doesn’t pull as hard as we expected from 354 lb-ft. From a dead stop, the C 400 does launch harder, but as speed builds, the Mercedes’s power advantage is less obvious.

Even with more power and a turbocharger, the C 400 is the more fuel efficient vehicle of the duo. Officially rated at 21 mpg city and 29 mpg highway, the Mercedes holds a 2 mpg advantage in the city and 3 mpg advantage on the highway compared to the Lexus. During real-world testing, our observed averages reflected this with the IS 350 returning 20.3 mpg compared to C 400’s 22.8 mpg average.

Even though it’s less efficient, all of the IS 350’s primary controls operate in a smoother, more fluid way than the C 400, making it an easier car to drive. And the IS 350 sounds better the higher the rpms build, thanks to the F Sport’s intake sound tube.

But the F Sport package is about more than just making the IS sound fast. It adds style, luxury and performance. Items like an adaptive suspension, staggered 18-inch wheels, upgraded brake pads, LED headlights and a unique front fascia are all included. Inside, various trim bits are altered and the front seats are replaced by 10-way driver performance seats that oddly lose their memory function but are heated and ventilated.

The C 400 does include a memory seat feature, but did not include a cooling function as equipped. It was also missing another feature found in the IS 350, adaptive cruise control, but the Mercedes countered with two items not found in the Lexus – a panoramic sunroof and power tilt/telescopic steering wheel.

In isolation, the IS has a nicely finished interior, but when put side-by-side with the Mercedes, it looks tired, busy and less premium. It’s the same deal when behind the wheel. The IS 350 feels quiet and refined, but once compared to the C 400, it’s obvious how much more road noise penetrates its way into the Lexus’ cabin. On the plus side, the IS does include the better, more comfortable driving position for drivers of different sizes.

SEE ALSO: 2014 Lexus IS 350 F Sport Review

With more legroom and more headroom, the C 400 has a minor size advantage when it comes to the rear seating area, but neither car is overly spacious. The IS 350’s rear seat is the more comfortable one to sit on and the trunk of the Lexus offers more space.

Both cars come with adjustable suspensions that firm up in Sport+ mode and relax in comfort/normal modes. With more adjustability, the C 400 doubles as a serene highway cruiser that floats down the road like a car twice its size and weight. The suspension soaks up bumps in a way that the IS 350’s coil suspension can’t.