New Mercedes C-Class: official
Lighter, quicker and smarter than before, can the C-Class get one over on the 3 Series?
S-Class influence clear from outside...
This C-Class is larger than the last but also 100kg lighter too thanks to more aluminium in the body. An increase in overall length of 95mm comes predominantly through the 80mm longer wheelbase (now 2,840mm). Width is up 40mm too, and boot capacity is now at 480 litres.
That's all well and good for passengers, but what about the driver? Well the S-Class influence extends to the cabin also, with the new Comand controller and switchgear familiar. Mercedes is promising great interior refinement too, aided by a drag co-efficient as low as 0.24Cd.
... and inside too!
Of course in Britain the most popular C-Classes will be the diesels. The C220 Bluetec will fight for company car kudos with the 320d, and goes into battle slightly down on power (170hp plays 184) but ahead on those vital efficiency stats (103g/km and 70.6mpg against 120g/km and 61.4mpg).
Engines due to join the range later include are unsurprisingly focused on diesel; more powerful variants of the 2.2 will be offered, a 1.6 will be introduced and a diesel-electric C300 Bluetec hybrid promises 72mpg. A plug-in petrol hybrid will arrive eventually as well.
New C-Class 100kg lighter than old car
Mercifully, there's just the one steering option, an electromechanical 'Direct Steer' system with variable assistance and ratio. An 'agility select' switch allows the driver to toggle between Comfort, Eco, Sport, Sport+ and Individual modes for the car.
When's the AMG coming then?
Bizarrely given how keen Mercedes appears to remove all responsibility from the driver, the new C-Class will still be available with a six-speed manual if desired. Of course Mercedes' seven-speed auto will be specced in the majority of cases, now further refined for its latest installation.
The C-Class will debut at Geneva, with UK pricing and spec to be announced in due course.
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Interior looks rather nice & appears to have a better layout than the equivalent 3-series.
Not keen on the integrated tailpipes and the faux diffuser either having had a second look!
- 100kg lighter than before - huge achievement that benefits all buyers, whether PH-er or the buyer with no interest in the car - please market more heavily!
- Manual gearbox still available - hooray!
"The latest 'sensual clarity' design language of Mercedes has now made its way to the smallest saloon, giving it a very mature look." Where do they find these phrases? Just say that within time and money constraints your stylists did the best they could. To my eyes this current style of Mercedes nose, with the very visible panel gap at the leading edge of the bonnet, makes it look like the grill is detachable or has been added on as an after-thought. Sometimes I think it looks like it has had a broken nose or maybe some surgery done: not a good look. Bring back the old upright grill with the gunsight.
All the electronics rubbish - OMG, talk about overkill, surely just there to raise profit margins - and all the suspension options you can pay extra for; can we really be confident they have tried as hard as they can to engineer the basic steel suspension properly when they really want us to pay for the 'upgrade'.
I realise I am being inconsistent (I always think more choice is better, hence happiness at the ongoing availability of the manual gearbox) in moaning about the emphasis on all the irrelevant options, but this is a typical pre-launch article and the car companies rarely focus on the important stuff.
And as for 'configurability and individualisation' being key buzz words, why don't they just say that they are now able to offer more options than ever before, especially on the electronics side? This ain't new.
What I'd love to see is a Dacia marketeer let loose in a car co. with the resources of a BMW or a Mercedes. Imagine what they could do if they tried to offer the best possible car for the least money while still making a profit but cut out all the superfluous cr@p...
^^
I love that - not the electronics gubbins, but the interplay of the materials.
The matt aluminium finish coupled with the leather (think texture); and the interface of the slightly raised chrome with veneer (again, think texture). Then there's the change of the veneer to a facsimile of ply layers to give the impression that it's a real piece of thick ply. And also the fine grained knurling on the touch points of the knob and the rotary wheels.
The tactility of this - let's face it, part of the car that you do not want to be looking at as you interact with it - is just lovely.
Yes, it will be painted plastic rather than metal and the timber will likely be a laminate, but there's a certain /consideration/ that's at play there, and its rather nice.
It's sort of annoying that BMW have two 320d models with different power outputs, but they do...
^^
I love that - not the electronics gubbins, but the interplay of the materials.
The matt aluminium finish coupled with the leather (think texture); and the interface of the slightly raised chrome with veneer (again, think texture). Then there's the change of the veneer to a facsimile of ply layers to give the impression that it's a real piece of thick ply. And also the fine grained knurling on the touch points of the knob and the rotary wheels.
The tactility of this - let's face it, part of the car that you do not want to be looking at as you interact with it - is just lovely.
Yes, it will be painted plastic rather than metal and the timber will likely be a laminate, but there's a certain /consideration/ that's at play there, and its rather nice.
Performance and economy stats for the 1.6 C180 are impressive! Apologies if I missed it, but is that engine N/A? For most average people that's probably all the engine they'll ever need.
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