An all-new Mercedes-Benz C-Class is coming next year. Auto Bild reveals new details about the middle class sedan, inluding how it will look like when it will go on sale in early 2021.
According to the German magazine, the all-new Mercedes-Benz C-Class is currently in the final stages of development, with its public reveal set for the 2020 Paris motor show and the commercial debut programmed for 2021.
Even if the C-Class is the most important single model of the entire Daimler group, Mercedes decided to be bold design-wise, as opposed to the conservative looking latest generation BMW 3 Series presented at the Paris Motor Show 2018. Nevertheless, the new C-Class is far from a revolution. Instead, Mercedes will continue the familiar styling path familiar from the new A-Class and GLE: fewer beads and edges, more chiseled surfaces.
AUTO BILD has published new photos showing the new C-Class during cold tests in northern Sweden. Unfortunately, Mercedes has covered the prototype with thick camouflage foil. Despite that it can be seen that the new C-Class sedan in the side view is very similar to the currently offered model. Only the tail does not seem to be so round – the top edge of the boot lid runs unusually straight. Since the front is almost completely covered with foil, there is not much to say about its design, except that the upcoming generation W 206 C-Class will clearly have standard LED headlights.
Exterior dimensions will remain almost identical to the current gen C-Class, since the mid-size sedan from Mercedes already has a large enough interior and the German company does not want to sacrifice the relative compactness of its bread-and-butter model. The cockpit also continues to develop and the A-Class already shows where the journey is headed: the MBUX infotainment system with a large dual-display (possibly one screen in super wide format), high-resolution and no more classic instruments. The almost perfect voice control “Hey Mercedes” will, of course, make buttons and switches redundant.
The Tesla success has pushed Mercedes to electrify the entire engine range of the next C-Class, helping the new model to meet future emissions standards. All versions will come with hybrid 48-volt technology, designed to reduce fuel consumption while improving performance. Even base models will come with the e-boost function delivering around 100 Newton meters when needed, making even the entry-level versions with small four-cylinder motors noticeably more agile than before. Of course, particularly hot AMG versions will still be offered for the 2021 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, including eight cylinder variants. Despite all progress, Mercedes remains true to one thing: the Stuttgart will continue to offer the mid-range model with six-cylinder. However, the V6 of the previous generation have served their purpose and are being replaced by the 3.0-liter straight-six known from the S-Class facelift.
Fine tuning will be all that Mercedes has in store for the chassis and suspension. Although the C-Class convinces with its compromise of comfort and agility even now, in the future, the next generation is expected to become a little more polished, a bit more comfortable. Mercedes will continue to offer the air suspension as an option, too.
As the next evolutionary stage of assistance systems (after the next S-Class), the 2021 Mercedes-Benz C-Class will offer Level 3 autonomy. As so, on the highway, the computer can control the car up to a speed of 130 km/h. For this, Mercedes has to make the electronics platform fit for the next decade, especially by integrating the necessary sensors for future upgrades to Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy- so fully autonomous – provided that the legislation will allow it.
