Circa-$100k price for Mercedes-AMG C43

MERCEDES-AMG has released pricing for its range of warmed-over C43 variants and they are pitched squarely in Jaguar XE S and Audi S4 territory.

The range will soon expand with the arrival of the Cabriolet version before the year is out, but for now the C43 sedan, Estate and Coupe are available to order now with deliveries starting in October this year.

Pricing for the C43 sedan kicks off at $101,900 plus on-road costs and the Estate wagon attracts a $2500 premium with a $104,400 pricetag.

The leap from the priciest non-AMG C-Class – the $74,900 C300h hybrid – is $27,000, but the C43 sedan is a cool $52,610 cheaper than the full-fat C63 S four-door that starts at $154,510.

The C43 sits in line with other hot mid-sizers, including Jaguar’s supercharged V6-powered XE S that starts at $105,350 and the outgoing Audi S4 that is $106,110 for the sedan and $109,610 for the Avant.

BMW does not offer a direct M-badged rival to the C43 but its 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder 340i sedan has comparable performance and starts from $89,900.

In Coupe form, the C43 is priced from $105,615, a $22,215 lift over the C300 Coupe but $56,785 less than the C63 two-door.

It undercuts the soon-to-be-replaced Audi S5 Coupe by close to $14k and is a shade under $6000 more than the BMW 440i coupe.

Under the bonnet of all C43s is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 producing 270kW/520Nm, paired with a 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic transmission driving all four wheels via Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel-drive system.

Australian fuel economy figures are yet to be announced but the Coupe consumes about 8.0 litres per 100km on the European combined cycle.

Zero to 100km/h times range from about 4.9 seconds for the sedan to 4.7s for the Coupe.

Mercedes says the transmission was modified “to meet the demands” of the C43.

Through a software application, AMG engineers reduced the shift times, while multiple downshifts make for faster short bursts of speed.

The engine is part of Benz’s BlueDirect engine family and features advances such as a modified boost pressure helped increase the power and torque output.

The friction-reducing Nanoslide coating of the engine cylinders is also used in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One engines, according to Benz.

Standard gear on all variants includes an LED Intelligent Light System, AMG Night Package, AMG 19-inch wheels, AMG Ride-Control sports suspension, sports exhaust system, a head-up display, panoramic glass sunroof, Burmester surround sound system and Comand Online navigation and infotainment, as well as heated front seats.

Safety features offered as standard include nine airbags, Collision Prevention Assist Plus with semi-autonomous braking, Driver Assistance Package PLUS, Active Lane Keeping, Pre-Safe, Attention Assist, an Active Bonnet, blind spot assist, tyre pressure monitoring and a 360-degree camera.

Mercedes-AMG GmbH chairman Tobias Moers said the C43 variants have the DNA of other more powerful AMG models.

“The ‘43’ models boast the characteristic AMG genes, which are also included in our GT and ‘63’ vehicles, and thus consistently interpret our brand essence of ‘Driving Performance’ in their segment,” he said.

2016 Mercedes-AMG C43 pricing*

Sedan (a)	$101,900
Estate (a)	$104,400
Coupe (a)	$105,615

*Excludes on-road costs