Power boost for Benz wagons

MERCEDES-Benz will introduce a series of new engines to the C-Class wagon range from September in Germany to boost performance.

With the new series sedan already on the market in Europe, Benz has enhanced the wagon range by giving the entry level C180 a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine instead of the previous 1.8-litre, but the real performance comes through a supercharged version and a bigger capacity V6.

With a belt-driven supercharger fitted, the 2.0-litre engine's output jumps to 120kW with 230Nm of torque available from 2500rpm through to 4800rpm.

This is 21 per cent more than the previous C200 model, enabling the wagon to accelerate from rest to 100km/h in just 9.3 seconds.

Despite the increased performance, fuel consumption of the new Kompressor model matches that of the previous normally aspirated C200 and exceeds the stringent emission standards being introduced in Europe.

This engine effectively replaces the 2.3-litre supercharged engine which has not been available in the Australian model wagon, but is seen here fitted to the sporty SLK230 and CLK230 models.

The C240's 2.4-litre V6 engine has been pushed out to 2.6-litres but power output remains at 125kW.

However, the bigger engine has achieved a 7 per cent increase in torque to 240Nm.

This not only makes the C240 Estate more agile and flexible at lower engine speeds, it also improves performance with the 0-100km/h time coming down from 9.5 seconds to 9.0 seconds.

The range-topping C280, which is not available in Australia in wagon form, remains unchanged.