Mercedes have released details of their all new 2014 C-Class ahead of its official unveiling at the Detroit Motor Show in January.
And its seems they aren’t playing around, as their biggest selling model and the rival to the 3-Series, the luxury car maker have beefed up the C-Class compared to the outgoing model, with an 8cm increase in wheelbase, while overall the vehicle is 9.5cm longer and 4cm wider. This will apparently offer more room for rear passengers and create more boot space. Yet despite the size increase the car boasts an impressive weight loss with its robust and innovative aluminum bodyshell it sheds 100kg, benefitting the cars fuel consumption.
The midrange baby saloon looks more like something from their S-Class than the previous C-Class we’ve come to know and that’s not surprising considering it borrows much of the new S-Class’s ‘intelligent driving’ tech, allowing the the car to scan for danger ahead and brake autonomously from 125mph. At speeds under 37mph, the C-Class will follow the car in front at a safe distance and with its EALKA system, it will prevent you from veering overing the lines. The improvements don’t stop there, the stylish interior includes a touchpad that recognizes gestures similar to those used on smartphones and in addition to their high tech nav system you get an 8.4-inch central display screen. That’s a lot of tech for a car that is expected to sell for roughly £30,000 when it goes on sale in the UK in spring 2014.
Three engine variants are available at the market launch – a diesel in the guise of the C 220 BlueTEC, offering 70.6mpg and 103g/km CO2 and the two petrol models, C 180 and C 200, the latter of which will be capable of 62mph in 7.5 seconds. After launch Mercedes is set to expand the engine range to include a 1.6-litre diesel engine and furthermore a plug-in hybrid is also due to be released. More interestingly though is the AMG version which is expected to use a new bi-turbo V8 engine capable of making at least 450bhp.
On paper this car looks very promising and with all things considered, a worthy adversary of the 3-series.
Have Mercedes got it right? Will bigger mean better in the battle of the luxury mid-range saloon car?
What do you think of the new C-Class? Leave a comment below.
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