What's the news?
Mercedes' stylish new C-Class - codenamed W205 - moves closer to its UK launch with the announcement of prices and specs, with the C 200 SE manual kicking us off at £26,855. The first cars should be delivered to customers in June.
Exterior
As to its shapely looks, take a peek at our official reveal of the new C-Class back in December. The news now is the announcement of trim lines, which should be fairly familiar to Merc byers - SE, Sport and AMG Line. On the SE 16-inch alloys are standard, but opting for Sport ratchets the premium-ness up a notch with 17-inch rims, LED headlights, lowered 'comfort' suspension and chrome exterior trim. The AMG Line goes an inch bigger again on the wheels, plus it includes AMG body styling and sports suspension.
Interior
As well as those exterior goodies, the Sport comes with Garmin Map Pilot navigation, while the AMG Line chucks in an AMG steering wheel and an Artico finish to the upper dashboard as well.
But even in standard format, Mercedes is claiming the new C-Class will be among the best-equipped cars in class. The SEs get a touchpad control for the entertainment functions shown on the centrally-mounted seven-inch colour display. Buyers will also luxuriate in split-zone air conditioning, Artico upholstery and a media interface in the central storage compartment.
Even better is that some top-line tech will filter into the C-Class, so SE customers won't feel left out as they will benefit from Speedtronic cruise control, a reversing camera and rain-sensing wipers, plus safety-related kit such as Attention Assist, Collision Prevention Assist Plus and a tyre-pressure monitoring system. There are heated windscreen washer jets, too; snazzy. Finally, there's an 'Agility Select' system - very similar to Drive Performance Control on a BMW - in that it lets you switch between Comfort, Eco, Sport and Sport+ modes of vehicle behaviour, with a further Individual mode allowing you to tailor your favourite suite of settings.
There will be competitively-priced options packs too - an example being the £995 Executive Pack for the SE, which includes Garmin Map Pilot navigation, heated front seats and split folding rear seats. Various tech highlights of other packages include Airmatic suspension, keyless-go, a panoramic sunroof, Comand Online and a 590W Burmester surround sound system, among many other luxuries.
Mechanicals
There are just two engines at launch - a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol unit in the C 200 and the proven 2.1-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel for the C 220 BlueTec. Both of them can be mated to either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic gearbox.
The C 200 makes 184hp and 300Nm, is capable of 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds (7.3 seconds auto) and 147mph (146mph for the auto), with CO2 figures ranging from 123- to 128g/km and combined economy of 53.3mpg in SE trim. The C 220 makes 170hp with 400Nm, can hit 62mph from rest in 7.7 seconds and goes on to 145mph. It can achieve 70.6mpg (65.7mpg auto) as an SE and emits between 103- and 113g/km CO2 throughout the line-up.
One note, though - the auto looks like it has a negative impact on both the CO2 emissions and economy of the diesel engine throughout, whereas the only impact it makes on the C 200 is to improve the CO2 figure by 1g/km on the AMG Line.
Anything else?
The C 200 petrol line-up runs from £26,855 for the SE manual to £31,845 for the AMG Line auto; the diesel begins at £29,365 for the manual SE and culminates at £34,355 for the auto AMG Line. Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) rates are 16 per cent for the C 220 manual in either SE or Sport spec, rising to 18 per cent for either transmission in the C 200 AMG Line and the automatic versions of the C 220 Sport and AMG Line models.
Further models will follow throughout 2014: the C 200 BlueTec; the C 250 BlueTec; and the C 300 BlueTec hybrid.
Matt Robinson - 7 Feb 2014
