New Mercedes C-Class and THAT Tesla

... plus our advice when it comes to cheap seven-seaters

By Cam Tait / Tuesday, 27 October 2026 / Loading comments

Mercedes hasn’t had it easy on the PH forums over the last couple of years. While Audi and BMW are slowly moving away from bold (i.e. garish) designs that have attracted no end of ridicule, Mercedes has doubled down on looks that continue to challenge one’s retinas. The thing is, as difficult as they are to look at, Mercedes has been putting out some strong cars of late. The CLA, for instance, is arguably the firm’s best EV, despite resembling a creature from the deepest depths of the Atlantic. Can the new petrol C-Class, which is hardly a looker either, follow in its footsteps? Sam Sheehan’s been behind the wheel, so that’s where we’re kicking off this week’s episode of The Gassing Station.

The new combustion-engined C-Class may wear a new face, one that’s a lot more prominent than before, but it’s actually a heavily facelifted version of the car that came before. Rather than build a new combustion platform from scratch, Mercedes has instead decided to go over the C-Class with a fine-tooth comb, smoothing some of the rough edges (like ditching the touch controls on the steering wheel for physical buttons) in what the firm’s calling its most comprehensive model refresh to date. But is it enough to take on the new BMW 3 Series? The familiar design and interior would suggest it’ll struggle against the G50, especially with no six or eight-cylinder power in the lineup yet - although Sam’s convinced Merc’s got another cracking saloon on its hands nonetheless.

But what if you’re after something considerably larger and cheaper than a C-Class? Well, PHer smallzoo has £6,000 (which we’ve upped to £7,000 to open up a few more options) to spend on a seven-seater people carrier, with bonus points for anything with sliding doors. With that in mind, this Seat Alhambra fits the bill perfectly, with just 68,000 miles on the clock and a fresh service to go with it. Then I found this Audi Q7, which has nearly double the mileage but costs £1,000 less than the Seat. It also packs a stonking 240hp and looks considerably more plush inside. Sam, however, has found a real gem with this Land Rover Discovery 3. Not only does it come in a fiver under the original budget, but it’s covered just 79,000 miles and has had just one owner from new. Three superb cars to choose from, but if you think you can do better you can always pop your own suggestions in the topic here.

That is, if you can tear yourself away from the Tesla Roadster discussion that’s still going strong weeks after the car’s announcement. In case you haven’t seen it yet, the ‘new’ Tesla Roadster, which was announced back in 2017 before falling into obscurity, was shown driving upside down, flying and flipping over mid-air during its grand reveal a couple of weeks ago. As amazing as it looked, the PH community wasn’t about to be dazzled by an elaborate marketing stunt. We pick out some of our favourite responses to read out on the show, though some of the best responses are probably better left unspoken…

Listen here