Mercedes C-Class kicks off at $63,400 BOCs

MERCEDES-BENZ Australia/Pacific has tweaked the prices of its top-selling passenger car, the C-Class, with the arrival in showrooms of the facelifted version that gets extensive changes across the sedan, wagon, coupe and cabriolet line-ups.

Entry level variants – the petrol C200 and diesel C220d – go up $1500 to compensate for new high-tech powerplants, while the Mercedes-AMG C43 variants, with their even more powerful twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, have been hiked between $5660 and $6060, depending on the body style.

But at the top of the range, the 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 C63S range – due in showrooms in January – comes down in price by between $1660 and $3060.

The company has held back pricing for the mid-range C300 variants, saying that it will be dished out in October.

The facelift for the five-year-old model is the most extensive in C-Class history, with more than 6500 new or modified parts going into the update.

The revamp cannot come soon enough for Mercedes-Benz in Australia where sales of C-Class sedan and estate have fallen almost 30 per cent, while coupe and cabriolet sales have slipped almost 37 per cent.

Mind you, these variants are still dominate their respective classes, with both accounting for about one-in-three sales in the two segments.

The C-Class range pricing now opens at $63,400 before on-road costs for the petrol C200 sedan that now gets a form of mild-hybrid powertrain – called EQ Boost - to cut fuel consumption while maintaining performance.

The powertrain employs a 135kW/280Nm 1.5-litre engine supplemented by a 10kW/160Nm 48-volt electric motor via a belt drive.

The electric motor kicks in instantaneously when the driver hits the accelerator, helping to fill the power void until the petrol engine’s turbo spools up.

Mercedes says the new C200 uses 6.4 litres per 100km on the combined fuel consumption cycle, 0.1L/100km less than the current 2.0-litre model.

The 2.0-litre diesel engine available in the 220d sedan and wagon is new, replacing the previous 2.2-litre engine, increasing power from 125kW to 143kW while maintaining torque at 400Nm. Fuel consumption remains the same at 4.7L/100km.

Although pricing for the C300 variants has not been announced, we know the 2.0-litre petrol turbo engine gets a 10kW power bump, to 190kW.

The Mercedes-AMG E43’s twin-turbo six-cylinder engine gets an extra 17KW, to 287kW, with it said to be good for 4.7 seconds on the 0-100km/h dash.

New to the C-Class is a digital instrument cluster that can be configured between three themes – classic, sport and progressive.

Steering wheel controls now can be operated with a swipe motion like that of a smartphone to navigate between digital displays.

The C43 gets multibeam LED headlights using 84 LEDs that adjusted automatically according to road conditions.

Mercedes’ interior ambient lighting is now standard across all C-Class variants, enabling the driver to switch between 64 colours.

Buyers of upper models can also tick the box for the optional Energizing Comfort Control system that combines music, temperature and fragrance for pre-set “moods”.

When it comes, the C63 S gets the latest nine-speed dual-clutch transmission with a wet start-off clutch for sharper response.

2018 Mercedes-Benz C-Class pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs

2018 Mercedes-AMG C43 pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs

2019 Mercedes-AMG C63 S pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs