Mercedes C-Class – a Mini S-Class? (First test drive)

June 22, 2021 Fiona Smith

When you get into the C-Class for the first time, there is an immediate déjà-vu experience, did you make a mistake and accidentally step into an S-Class? The entire cockpit looks 1: 1 like the S-Class, only with a little less space in the interior, of course.

At the invitation of Mercedes, I had two days to test the C-Class over several 100 km on roads in the Black Forest, and I was able to test the Hybird version of the C-Class on and around the Mercedes test site in Immendingen and myself with its Entertain developers.

In this article I would like to concentrate primarily on the technical features of the C-Class in general and my impression of the C300 e Hybrid in particular.

In the press release on the C-Class, Mercedes focuses on the following points as the greatest special features:

the C-Class was the highest-volume model from Mercedes-Benz in the past decade? Since the introduction of the current generation in 2014, over 2.5 million units of the sedan and T model have been sold. In total, over 10.5 million Mercedes-Benz cars in this class have been sold to customers since 1982.
the C-Class takes another big step in the interior in terms of digitality and high quality? The interior adopts highlights from the new S-Class such as the display and operating concept and interprets them in a sporty way. The driver orientation contributes to this: the dashboard and the central display are inclined slightly towards it by six degrees.
can building technology and household appliances be controlled with the “Hey Mercedes” voice assistant from MBUX? Thanks to the smart home function, they can be networked with the vehicle and operated remotely.
the light in every DIGITAL LIGHT headlamp is refracted and directed with the help of 1.3 million micromirrors? The resolution per vehicle is therefore over 2.6 million pixels. DIGITAL LIGHT is available with a projection function on request. This system projects guide lines, symbols and animations onto the road and can make driving safer.
Does the turning circle with rear-axle steering reduce by more than 40 centimeters to less than eleven meters? With this option, the steering angle on the rear axle is 2.5 degrees.

MBUX 2.0 in the C-Class – summer update on board

At first glance, the optionally larger 11.9 ” display is very reminiscent of that of the S-Class. The slight incline of 6 ° towards the driver is only noticeable on closer inspection. A small downer is that it is not an OLED display, which should certainly not surprise anyone given the price difference between the C and S-Class.

The mode of operation of the MBUX 2.0 is the same as that of the familiar system in the S-Class. In our test report on the S-Class you can read again what we particularly liked about it back then:
What is special is that the C-Class has the latest software on board right from the start. In addition to Tidal, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music is now also directly supported.

Furthermore, the voice assistant in the MBUX has got a little more personality and occasionally addresses the driver with the name. Smaller “Easter Eggs” should now also be integrated in the system, which can be switched off again if you don’t have a sense of humor (typically German).
Similar to what you are used to at Mercedes, the appearance of the screens can be customized with three display styles (classic, sporty, subtle) and three modes (navigation, assistance, service).

In “classic”, the driver is received by a familiar display world. The proven display with two tubes and changing content in between offers all driving-related information.
In “sporty” the color red dominates, the central rev counter is dynamically staged.
In “discreet” the content is reduced to the essentials. In addition, both screens with the ambient lighting can be displayed in seven color worlds. This ensures an impressive color experience in the interior.
In the new “assistance mode”, the traffic situation is mapped in real time and supplemented with important display information.

For the first time there is also a major change that has not yet been communicated in the summer update of the MBUX system. In the past, you could change the three areas in the driver’s display very individually from the display and thus had a variety of different display options. This system was certainly cool for geeks like me, but I can easily imagine that this could quickly lead to confusion and confusion for most customers. Therefore, there is now only the option to switch between different standard templates per view.

Technology Mercedes C-Class Hybrid

All models of the C-Class come as standard as mild hybrid vehicles with a 48V on-board network and an integrated starter generator (ISG) for greater efficiency. But I was particularly excited about the hybrid model of the C-Class.

With a purely electric range of over 100 km according to WLTP and DC fast charging options, I can very well imagine that the C-Class could become a kind of e-mobility entry-level drug for Mercedes customers.

Thanks to an output of 129 PS that drives purely electrically up to a speed of 140 km / h, most customers should have the opportunity to drive completely purely electrically in everyday life.

When I talked to the developers in Immendigen, they were particularly proud at Mercedes that the power electronics could now be placed directly under the transmission. In addition to higher efficiency thanks to shorter cables, this also paves the way for hybrid technology to be easily incorporated into other series.

At this point, too, the technology in the C-Class is an almost direct transfer from the S-Class. Only the battery has shrunk to 25.4 kWh due to its smaller size, but otherwise uses the same pouch cells as its big brother.

I found it interesting that the DC connection with a charging capacity of 55 kW is an optional extra on the hybrid vehicle. I would have liked to see this as the standard version. In this context, it is also noteworthy that if you really want to charge with 55 kW, this must be set explicitly. In my opinion, however, this will not cause any problems in practice, as the process is represented very simply and transparently in the MBUX.

First driving impression of the Mercedes C-Class

In my video above about the C-Class you can get a good impression of my driving experience with the C-Class.

To be honest, I was very positively surprised by the driving experience in the C-Class. For me personally it was the first time in a C-Class. The current model is technically at such a high level that the overall experience was very good for me. The journey in the station wagon (T-model) seemed to me personally a little more comfortable than the sedan. Thanks to the different modes in the Drive Select switch, every driver should find a mode that suits them (or create an individual mode according to personal preference).

The C-Class benefits fully from the technology transfer from the S-Class and my personal favorite is the hybrid, which I will try to get as a test car as soon as possible.