The updated Mercedes C-Class gets a light-up grille, AI-powered interior and 62 miles of electric range
Car changing is a big deal
Hot on the heels of the new electric C-Class, Mercedes has given the combustion-engined model a major mid-life nip/tuck to keep it competitive with the BMW 3 Series and Audi A5
Mercedes has been on a bit of a model launch offensive of late with new all-electric versions of the GLC and C-Class alongside smaller models like the CLA, GLA and GLB – but now it’s the turn of the C-Class.
First launched in 2021, the existing C-Class has now been given a major mid-life facelift, bringing the styling more in line with its electric siblings and heavily updating the software and engine line-up.
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The exterior changes are the most noticeable. The grille is now similar to that on the C-Class Electric and CLA – it’s more upright, with an illuminated surround and a pattern of chromed stars within. In some markets, the Mercedes badge also lights up, but that’s usually not the case for the UK.
The headlights have been given a star-shaped motif too, and that extends to the rear lights on the saloon – though the estate model oddly doesn’t get them, with more boring LED strips instead.
The bumpers front and rear have been reshaped, and new alloy wheel designs range from 17- to 19-inches. Plus, there are two new colours called ‘Moody Sky Grey metallic’ and the rather fetching ‘Lavender Silver metallic’. A new purple is always something to be celebrated, and harks back to the ‘Bornite’ shade available on the first C-Class back in the 1990s.
Inside, changes are a bit more than skin-deep. The C-Class hasn’t inherited the vast full-screen dashboard of the C-Class Electric or GLC, instead retaining a separate 12.3-inch driver display and portrait-oriented 11.9-inch infotainment screen. While that’s undoubtedly less high-tech than the brand’s latest cars, it does look rather more stylish and user-friendly.
The bigger news is that the car’s software has been totally upgraded. The new operating system has an AI assistant that draws from ChatGPT, Bing and Google Gemini, depending on the situation. Are three AIs better than one? We’ll find out when we get behind the wheel/screen…
Mercedes says the big draw is that, once activated with ‘Hey Mercedes,’ you’re able to use conversation-style queries rather than having to hit specific voice triggers, and that the assistant can follow up on previous answers without treating each new entry as fully separate. It works with built-in Google Maps, too, so you can plan routes more naturally. The idea is that you can say something like “I want to drive from Stevenage to Newquay and get lunch at an Italian restaurant on the way”, rather than plumbing specific destinations in one by one.
A new steering wheel gains physical rocker switches for cruise control and volume, though it still has plenty of awkward capacitive touch buttons. The rest of the interior is pretty button-free as well, with climate controls found on the lower portion of the infotainment screen.
As far as engines go, there are six – though whether all of them make it to the UK is yet to be confirmed. There are three mild hybrid petrols, badged C200, C250 and C300 with 177hp, 218hp and 258hp, and they return around 45mpg.
Diesel may have disappeared from the BMW 3 Series model line-up, but it’s alive and kicking with the C-Class with the C200d and C250d – they have 163hp and 200hp and can return up to 64.2mpg.
Then there’s the new C400e plug-in hybrid, with a whopping 395hp – up from 313hp in the previous C300e. Electric range has reduced from the old car, though, with a 19.5kWh battery providing up to 62 miles of range. It’ll charge at up to 11kW from an AC charger or an unusually punchy 55kW from a DC rapid charger.
The old car had up to 68 miles of range, though, which is a useful extra chunk. The new 400e does have an extra 82hp, though, and unlike the 300e is four-wheel drive. Mercedes says a RWD version is on the way, though, which could have less power and an improved EV range.
Apart from the engines, Mercedes has also retuned the suspension for sharper handling, and added optional rear-wheel steering to give it a hatchback-sized turning circle of just 10.64m.
Does the newly updated C-Class have what it takes to beat the mighty BMW 3 Series or the high-tech Audi A5? Well, we’ll have to wait to find out exactly which versions are available in the UK, but it looks like the C-Class could offer a particularly broad choice of engines, especially compared with the petrol- and PHEV-only BMW 3 Series. Mercedes also tends to offer loads of different trim levels, so there should be something for everyone.
You can get a saloon or an estate, just like the 3 Series and A5, and high-powered AMG versions will inevitably follow to go up against BMW and Audi’s M and RS series models. Pricing hasn’t yet been revealed but you can expect it to be similar, or a slight uplift from, the existing C-Class and its £46,195 starting figure. We’ll update this story once we know more about pricing and specs for the UK market.
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