This audience may be a little biased. Most of the readers of this board know how to maintain a car, and will probably get a long life out of any model. It's the common user that will have trouble. Creating an "entry level" car which is targeted at 20-somethings, that most likely don't even know where the dipstick is, is a formula for failure.

David, you will probably have little trouble with YOUR C class, but I will bet that that is due, in no small part, to YOU, and not the car.