First price comparison Mercedes C 180 vs BMW 318i

How expensive is the new Mercedes C-Class? A first price comparison between the cheapest Mercedes C-Class, and the cheapest BMW 3 Series, 318i. Price comparison Mercedes C 180 vs BMW 318i.

After Mercedes announced the prices of the new Mercedes C-Class last week, we  present now the first price comparison between the cheapest Mercedes C-Class, C 180, and its rival BMW 318i.

The cheapest Mercedes C-Class, C 180, costs 41,138.30 euros and is powered by a 1.5 litre 4-cylinder turbo engine  with 170 HP/250 Nm assisted by a 48V mild hybrid system with integrated 20 HP starter generator. The 9G-Tronic 9-speed automatic transmission is standard.

By comparison, the BMW 318i costs 37,200 euros and is powered by a 2-liter 4-cylinder turbo engine that develops 156 HP/250 Nm, the propulsion system being classic.  Mild hybrid is available for 318d/320d/320d xDrive/330d/330d xDrive/M340i xDrive/M340d xDrive but not for 318i.

BMW 3 Series comes  also standard with the 8-speed Steptronic automatic transmission (exception 318d).

So, there is a difference of almost 4000 euros between the two models. Indeed, Mercedes offers an extra 14 HP and a mild hybrid system while the maximum torque of 250 Nm is identical for both models.

But let’s do an analysis of the standard features of the two models.
The Mercedes C 180 has standard 17-inch wheels with 225/50 R17 tires, while BMW comes standard with 16-inch turbine-design alloy wheels with 205/60 R16 tires.

Both models have standard full LED headlights (High Performance LED at C 180), automatic air conditioning with 1 zone (the one with 2 zones costs 297.50 euros for Mercedes).

Optionally you can order automatic air conditioning with 3 zones at BMW (730 euros) and Thermotronic with 4 zones at Mercedes (1,094.80 euros).

Both models come standard with multimedia systems without navigation: BMW LiveCockpit at BMW and MBUX at Mercedes. However, Mercedes is at an advantage because it offers standard digital instrument cluster on a 10.25-inch display while BMW has only analog instrument cluster and a 5.1-inch display between the dials.
The MBUX multi-media system has an 8.9-inch touch screen while BMW has a standard 8.8-inch touch screen.

Optionally, Mercedes offers three configurations for the multimedia system:
– Infotaiment (1,779.05 euro) which add navigation to the standard displays: 10.25 inch for the instrument cluster and 8.9 inch for the central display
– Advanced Infotainment (2,731.05 euros) which come with 12.3 inch instrument cluster and 11.9 inch central display
– High-End Infotainment (3,195.15 euros) which has additional MBUX Augmented Reality for navigation

The BMW 318i has only one option for navigation: the top BMW Live Cockpit Professional multimedia system with 12.3 inch cluster instrument and 10.25 inch touchscreen.

Mercedes offers two equipment lines in addition to the standard one:
– Avantgarde 952 euros
– AMG Line 3,094 euros

BMW comes with 4 model lines in addition to the standard one:
– Advantage 38,200 euros
Sport Line 40,500 euros
Luxury Line 42,500 euros
MSport 43,300 euros