Let me introduce myself properly, because a photo can only show you so much. I am the C200, and I have a few things to say before you decide whether we are right for each other.

First, the looks, since you have already noticed them. I wear a soft metallic grey that cannot decide whether it is pewter or champagne, so it changes its mind with the light. My grille is a field of tiny chrome diamonds around the three pointed star, my LED headlights sweep back with a slim amber signature, and my AMG alloys sit so snugly in the arches that the tyre shop could not have done it better. Walk around to my back and you will find wraparound tail lights, a chrome bar across the boot, and two sculpted exhaust trims that say I take my exits seriously. Above all of it sits a panoramic sunroof, because I believe passengers should be allowed to look at the sky.

Now, the part I am most proud of. Open my door. Black and brown, the way a great interior should be. My dashboard and door tops are deep black, and my seats are wrapped in rich brown leather with fine contrast stitching, so every time someone sits down, the cabin looks like it has been styled for a magazine shoot. The steering wheel is flat at the bottom and trimmed with perforated grips, the pedals are metal, and the driver display is fully digital. A wide screen stretches across my dashboard in one glossy sweep, three round brushed metal vents sit below it, and in the middle of everything is an analogue clock, because I believe in a little jewellery. A touchpad controller rests under your hand, a dashcam is already fitted, and parking sensors will keep my paint perfect. Sit in me for five minutes and the rest of your week starts to feel far away.

Let me tell you about my heart. I run a 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine, paired with a smooth automatic gearbox and rear wheel drive. People hear 1.5 and expect me to be shy. I am not. I move off the line with calm, quick authority and settle into a highway cruise like I have nowhere else to be. I am gentle on fuel, refined at every speed, and steady through every corner. I was built to make a journey feel like it mattered, and I take that job personally.

Let me also speak up for the people in the back, because they are rarely mentioned. My rear bench is wide and finished in the same brown leather, with deep stitching and plush headrests. Nobody sitting there will feel like cargo. They will feel like they are in a Mercedes, and they will tell you so.

Now, the honest bit. I have covered 55,087 kms. That is a young number for a 2020 Mercedes, and my leather, my cabin and my paint all agree with it. I have been looked after, and I look it.

Who am I for? The young executive who wants to arrive in style. The entrepreneur who knows a badge can open doors before a handshake does. The family that wants a premium saloon without the bulk of an SUV. And anyone who has been told they should wait a few more years for a Mercedes, and has quietly decided they have waited long enough.

I will not pretend I will be here forever. The good ones never are. So come and see me, press the start button, feel the cabin wake up, and take me for a drive. Fair warning, I make the next car you drive feel a little ordinary.