Sorry folks, it's time to update your vocabulary. And I'm not talking about shapes of cars like SUV's or MPV's, or safety technologies like ABS or EBD. Nope, this is new territory; blue territory if you like.
It's Mercedes-Benz's approach to the environment and words you're going to have to start getting used to include BlueEfficiency, BlueTec, BlueHybrid, BlueTec Hybrid, F-Cell and Diesotto.
These are all part of Stuttgart's approach to saving the planet and fall under their TrueBlue Solutions banner (true, because Merc believe they are, blue because they're designed with the blue planet in mind and solutions because they're aimed at the long term and aren't just visions).
Each technology works differently and recently the C180K BlueEfficiency replaced the previous C180K in South Africa.
In first-world markets BlueEfficiency denotes a package that can reduce fuel consumption by as much as 12 percent through mods that include special aerodynamics, an Eco start/stop function and tyres with low rolling resistance.
In our market, however, it means engine and aerodynamic tweaks - the biggest being reducing the four-pot engine's size from 1.8 to 1.6-litres (sneaky of them to still call it a C180), remapping the engine, and tweaking the supercharger.
Power output, at 115kW and 230Nm, is identical to that of the outgoing C180 except that maximum torque is now 200rpm higher.
For the C180 BlueEfficiency sits 15mm nearer the road to reduce air resisitance, the joints between the bonnet and headlights are sealed, underbody panelling is smoother and the grille has been partially blanked off, all of which reduce drag coefficient from 0.28 to 0.25Cd.
The car is available with either a six-speed manual or five-speed auto transmission. The manual will tell you when to change gears for best consumption but the auto simply gets a longer final-drive gear ratio (why didn't they just go for the 7G-Tronic box?)
And about 30kg was apparently shed through using lighter soundproofing material in non-critical areas.
Our test car was dark blue (funny, that) with large BlueEfficiency stickers sprawled along the sides - and I do mean large. I looked like a salesman driving around Joburg and got curious stares from drivers and pedestrians alike - yet nobody asked what the branding meant.
Stickers aside though, there's very little chance you'd know a Blue Merc if you saw one. There's no BlueEfficiency badging at the rear, just two small badges on the front fenders. And all the visual stuff mentioned earlier is virtually invisible - there's no way you're going to spot 15mm less ride height or a seal between bonnet and headlamp.
The C180 is great for the daily commute though. I've always found the new C-class easy to drive in most respects. The seating position is good, the feel of the steering positive and the directness of the handling reassuring.
Noise levels of the BlueEfficiency version are low and do not betray the fact that there's less noise damping material.
A COUPLE OF ISSUES
The five-speed automatic gearbox offers comfort and sport settings. The supercharger makes sure there's ample oomph (considering the engine has only 1597cc) to keep the scenery moving fairly briskly.
But I do have a couple of issues with maker's BlueEfficiency claims. Firstly: the fuel consumption claim of 0.7 litres less fuel per 100km than the regular C180K, with the press release promising 7.1litres/100km for the auto we had on test.
The Ed drove the auto at the local launch, where the trip data computer showed 8.4.
I managed an unflattering 10.2 litres/100km, including acceleration testing and more urban than freeway driving - which is nowhere near the 7.1 claim. The run-of-the-mill C180K we tested in 2008 burnt 10.3 litres/100km, making the claimed reduction even more unrealistic. Strike one.
Carbon emissions: the BlueEfficiency Benz is supposed to emit less carbon but when I checked how much less it's actually insignificant.
The discontinued C180K auto had a maximum CO2 emission listing of 180g/km while the BlueEfficiency auto is listed as between 169 and 183g/km. Strike two.
Then there's the weight saving, which I called apparent earlier for a reason. And I didn't even talk about things like the special, lighter windscreen etc - but after all these efforts the new C180K is only 20kg lighter than the old. Strike three.
VERDICT
Perhaps you're reading this and thinking that I'm being a bit harsh. The thing for me is that none of the major claims in terms of the BlueEfficiency technology bore any fruit.
The plusses are that pricing hasn't changed and the 9.9sec 0-100 claimed time for the 1.6 is the same as claimed for the 1.8 (at the coast); our 11 seconds at the reef wasn't bad.
The minus is that no mattter what your driving style, don't expect a miraculous saving at the fuel pump.
And don't exaggerate the contribution you're making to the environment in terms of the BlueEfficiency carbon claims for this model.