Mercedes-Benz C-Class evolves

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is seeking to defend its position as Australia's top-selling luxury car with a host of upgrades including a fuel-saving entry-level 1.5-litre hybrid model.

There will be just four variants of the popular German mid-sizer (down from six) coming to Australia in August 2018 – C 200, C 300, C 220d and C 43 AMG – as Mercedes-Benz looks to reduce range complexity and fend off arch-rivals like the BMW 3 Series.

Pricing has not yet been released for what has been dubbed the "biggest update in the model's history," with around 6500 modified components being fitted, but Mercedes sources suggest all the new goodies will push the current $61,990 entry-level price for the C 200 up by around $1000.

That's because the entire range will get more goodies.

A fancy new 1920×720px resolution 12.3-inch customisable digital instrument cluster — similar to Audi’s ‘virtual cockpit’ — and a large 10-inch infotainment screen that are optional in overseas markets will be standard across the Aussie Mercedes-Benz C-Class range.

We've driven the Mercedes-Benz C-Class in Germany and will publish our first drive review and video when the embargo lifts later this week.

Deeper smartphone integration, ambient interior lighting with 64 colours and a new steering wheel pilfered from the S-Class and festooned with sleek new buttons are also standard across the C-Class range. The latter also means the end of the outmoded cruise control 'lever'.

All models will get lane-keeping assist as standard but adaptive cruise control will likely be optional on C 200 and C 220d models.

There's a new dynamic body control option expected to cost around $1500 and wireless phone charging is likely to be optional for a few hundred dollars.

The 2018 Mercedes-Benz C-Class exterior is virtually unchanged, with blink-and-you'll-miss-it front bumper changes and new headlight and brake light innards (new LEDs).

But Stuttgart is calling the improved C-Class a "trailblazing" vehicle that brings more advanced driving aids, safety features, interior tech and connectivity features.

It has sensors that are always 'on' and owners will be alerted if another car scrapes or crashes into it while parked, and if it gets stolen you can also track it via the new Mercedes ME app. Aussie cars will get this functionality from around April 2019 -- around nine months after the car lobs in Australia in August 2018.

"The packaging and the powertrain and safety systems of the new C 200, along with the new instrument cluster and new technology features — as an overall package — is a huge change," said Mercedes-Benz Australia's product communications boss Jerry Stamoulis.

He told motoring.com.au the C 200 and C 300 will account for the lion's share of sales once the new range is established in Australia, with only about 10 per cent of buyers expected to drive off in the 220d diesel model.

Despite allegations of emissions cheating and an ongoing investigation into certain diesel engines Germany, not to mention sales of diesel engines plummeting across many major global car markets, Stamoulis says diesel isn't dead in Australia.

Although he wouldn't comment on the emissions cheating charges, nor would any of the executives at the global launch in Europe, he did say: "I think diesel is important to C-Class. I think it will always be part of the product line-up."

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New engines, new autonomous tech

Four models will be available at launch in Australia, all paired with the Benz' nine-speed automatic transmission, kicking off with the new C 200 featuring a low-emissions 1.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid engine (135kW/280Nm), replacing the old 2.0-litre four-banger.

Next up is the C 220d, which gets a new 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine (143kW/400Nm). The C 300 comes with a high-output 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine (190kW/370Nm) and the only six-cylinder engine is the 3.0-litre turbo V6 of the C 43 AMG, which gets a bit more mumbo now (287kW/520Nm).

The hero model of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class mid-life upgrade is undoubtedly the Mercedes-AMG C 43.

It gets a new-look rear diffuser along with a pair of circular dual exhaust outlets to add a bit more menace. The raucous exhaust note and rifle-shot explosions between gear shifts are said to return and a bigger turbocharger pumping more boost (1.1bar) is fitted, as is tweaked suspension and slightly more power, up 17kW to 287kW. Torque is unchanged at 520Nm.

The all-wheel drive 3.0-litre V6 rips to 100km/h in just 4.7sec and is claimed to deliver a better all-round driving experience thanks to the chassis calibrations.

Get more details on the Mercedes-AMG C 43 here.

Whereas the twin-turbo AMG model is designed to win over the hearts of buyers, the new 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol unit found in the Mercedes-Benz C 200 is designed to appeal to the minds of new C-Class buyers.

Engineered with a mild-hybrid (48-volt) system supplied by Bosch and powered by a small 1kWh lithium-ion battery, it powers an integrated starter/alternator generator system that adds an extra 10kW/160Nm boost at low revs. It doesn't work at higher speeds, where the car relies on the combustion engine's 135kW/280Nm outputs.

The new Mercedes-Benz C 200 accelerates to 100km/h in 7.7sec and tops out at 239km/h should it be driven on German autobahns.

It's more efficient and cleaner burning than its 2.0-litre predecessor, with a claimed real-world (WLTP) fuel economy rating of 6.0L/100km and CO2 emissions of 136g/km -- down from its 2.0-litre predecessor's 6.5L/100km and 146g/km.

The Mercedes-Benz C 300 offers more poke, now 190kW, with a claimed fuel economy figure of 6.4L/100km and emissions of 147g/km.

The 200d, meanwhile, is a real fuel-sipper (4.1L/100km), its lightweight aluminium block replacing the heavier cast-iron unit of its predecessor and reducing emissions to 108g/km.

There are rear-drive and all-wheel drive versions of the new C-Class car but the latter won’t be offered in Oz, except in the C 43 AMG model.

Just as the C-Class borrows its new-look steering wheel from the S-Class, it also inherits its advanced sensor suite. It has the ability to scan the road up to 500 metres ahead while also scanning to both the side and behind.

The new luxury car can drive itself for longer periods of time and in more scenarios than before via lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control.

The C-Class also offers active lane-change assist, making it able to change lanes on highways autonomously when the indicator is flicked on.

"As well as the new C 200 which gives a high-tech entry-level model, at the other end of the model range the C 43 AMG has more power, full driver's assistance package plus multi-beam headlamps," said Stamoulis.

As the updated 2018 C-Class range rolls into Australia, there will also be a lot of interest around the refreshed Mercedes-AMG C 63 sports sedan – a fire-breathing twin-turbo V8 machine.

"The C 63 will come December," said Stamoulis, "I think what you will see here is the upgraded interior and technology but also chassis developments."

The C-Class is built in four factories – Germany, China, USA, and South Africa -- and the majority of Aussie models will come from the East London plant in South Africa.

In total four body styles are offered – sedan, wagon, coupe and convertible -- with our wagons and AMG models originating in Germany.

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class has been the German luxury brand's most popular model in recent years, finding more than 9.5 million homes since 1982 globally, including around 415,000 last year alone.

In Australia, Mercedes sold more than 8500 C-Class sedans and wagons in 2017 -- up more than 25 per cent on 2016 and almost double the number of A-Class and GLC vehicles sold – accounting for more than 38 per cent of the mid-size luxury car segment.

More importantly, it was more than three times more popular than its chief rivals – the BMW 3 Series (2584) and Audi A4 (2177) – and its closest competitor was Mercedes’ own CLA (3445).

Sales are down more than 23 per cent so far this year, but with 652 registrations to June the C-Class was still outsold the CLA and 3 Series by almost three to one.

Read all about our first drive of the upgraded Mercedes-Benz C-Class on Wednesday June 20.