GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Mercedes C-Class powers up, downsizes
Entry-level Mercedes-Benz C 200 gets 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine for 2018 faceliftA 1.5-litre four-cylinder mild-hybrid turbo-petrol engine will be the entry-level powertrain for the facelifted Mercedes-Benz C-Class when it goes on sale in Australia in August.
Powering the base C 200, it is the smallest engine to be seen in the top-selling C-Class through its four generations.
While most of the updates for the four-year-old W205 were released in February, the powertrain line-up was held back because the results of tougher new real-world European efficiency tests were still to be certified.
But at the Geneva show Mercedes-Benz announced most of the line-up, leading off with the C 200, which makes 135kW and 280Nm, supplemented by up to 10kW and 160Nm at low revs courtesy of a 48-volt onboard network and the EQ Boost integrated starter-generator.
Driving its rear wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission, the C 200 sedan is claimed to consume 6.0L/100km, emit 136g/km of CO2 and hit 100km/h in 7.7sec and a top speed of 239km/h.
The 4MATIC all-wheel drive version - which is unlikely for Australia -- is fractionally thirstier, dirtier and slower, as is the 2018 C 200 Estate.
The current 2.0-litre C 200 makes 135kW and 300Nm, averages 6.5L/100km and emits 146g/km.
Also confirmed by Benz at the Geneva show was C 220d 2.0-litre turbo-diesel and the upgraded 3.0-litre V6 turbo-petrol C 43 4MATIC, which we covered separately here.
The new 2.0-litre C 220d now makes 143kW/400Nm and averages 4.4L/100km and 117g/km without mild-hybrid boosting.
The old 2.1-litre diesel made 125kW/400Nm and averaged 4.7L/100km and 121g/km.
Benz has revealed that further variants of the C-Class are on the way, including a new-generation 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that could whack out as much as 220kW and 400Nm, and its first turbo-diesel plug-in hybrid.
The former is very likely for Australia, the latter unlikely. Instead, a new-generation petrol-electric plug-in is expected to join the Australian line-up, replacing the existing C 350e sedan.
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