Mild-tweaks all round for the compact saloon benchmark.
Blink and you’ll miss it. That’s the best way we’d surmise how Mercedes-Benz has updated the C-Class compact saloon has been updated for the new model year, refreshing a car that this writer certainly didn’t realise had been on the market for some 4 years already.
Up front you’ll find a more aggressive fascia with a bumper that not-so-long-ago would have been relegated to the AMG parts bin, while AMG-Line models get a ‘diamond-stud’ grille as standard. Flanking that chintzy new grille are a pair of revised headlights, which can be specced up to Multibeam LED units replete with 84-diodes and beam adaptation.
At the rear, there are new LED taillights replete with a C-shaped guide light motif, ensuring that there won’t be an awful many people wondering which Mercedes saloon you’re driving.
Inside, the changes are more substantial. The C-Class has nicked the widescreen infotainment system from the S-Class, which can be specced up to a 12.3-inch drivers’ instrumentation display and a complementing 10.25-inch central infotainment screen (though analogue dials and a marginally smaller central screen are expected on less plush models). Interestingly, Mercedes-Benz’s well-received new infotainment system, MBUX, will not feature on the new C-Class (despite being standard fitment in the new A-Class hatch).
The steering wheel is also new, and now incorporates dual touchpads on them, just like the bigger E- and S-Class. The new C-Class also utilises cruise control buttons mounted on the steering wheel for the first time; Unless very much mistaken, this might be the first mainstream Mercedes-Benz model to do so since cruise control was brought to the lineup many, many years ago.
Semi-autonomous and advanced driver assistance (ADAS) systems have also been borrowed from the bigger Mercs. As such, the new C-Class will come with things like Distronic cruise control with GPS adaptation (which adjusts the set cruising speed based on coordinate data), slowing down for corners and junctions. Active Lane Change Assist and Active Emergency Stop Assist have also been tacked on, which theoretically gives the C-Class semi-autonomous driving capability.
Powertrains are a bit of a mystery at this time. No technical details or even allusions to the engines were provided, sans Mercedes-Benz saying that there will be a new-generation of mills under the bonnet. As such, we’d expect to see the same five engine offerings as we currently do, bookended by the C200 and the C350e, but with the added punch that comes with a new 48V ‘EQ Boost’ mild-hybrid system.
The 2018 Mercedes-Benz C-Class is confirmed for local introduction in the third quarter of this year, so stay tuned to CarShowroom as we bring you more updates as they come.
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