Mercedes-Benz took the wraps off its updated C-class sedan at the Geneva motor show this year, and we’ve now learnt that it will be launched in India just seven months later, in October 2018. The facelift brings minor exterior cosmetic changes, a few interior updates, but quite a number of changes under the skin. The final details for India haven’t been confirmed, but here are a few bits of information we have so far.
The body styles
As ever, the mainstay of the C-class range will be the sedan version, and no, unlike the E-class, there are no plans to do a long-wheelbase version for our market. In addition to the sedan, as with today, a cabriolet will likely be offered as a niche product, but the good news is that Mercedes is strongly considering bringing in the coupé variant as well, but likely only in high-performance a 43 AMG or 63 AMG guise.
The engines
It will start with the C 200, but it’s not the same 2.0-litre turbo-petrol motor as in the current car, but instead a new 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine. Don’t worry about the downsizing, however, because the outputs are really close, with the same 184hp power output as before and a torque rating of 280Nm, which is just 20 shy of the previous engine.
The diesel will be the all-new 2.0-litre, four-cylinder unit first seen in the E 220d (code: OM654), but as with today’s C-class, it will be offered in two outputs. The C 220d will have the same 194hp and 400Nm as the E 220d, while the twin-turbo C 250d will be replaced by a C 300d, a twin-turbo version of the 2.0-litre OM654 which will produce close to 245hp! As per Mercedes’ recent commitment, both these diesel engines will be BS-VI compatible.
Additionally, all versions of the C-class will now come with the new new, far superior 9G-Tronic unit, rather than the old 7G-Tronic that the C-class was launched with.
Niche versions
The C 300 four-cylinder petrol engine will, once again, likely be reserved for the cabriolet, and it is rated at 258hp and 370Nm (a 13hp jump but torque is the same). The 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 AMG C 43 4Matic sedan will return too, and its power output has jumped from 367hp to 390hp, with torque remaining the same at 520Nm. And there’s likely to be a C 63 S with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 too further down the line, the power outputs for which stay the same, but it will use the new 9-speed MCT gearbox seen in the E 63 S. As mentioned before, these AMG versions could also likely be offered in the coupé body style.
Other changes
On the outside, there are a few differences to the bumpers and wheels, but for the most part, it’s the C-class you already know so well. There are two variants of full-LED headlamps (the more advanced of which features a really cool-looking diode signature) and a new LED pattern for the tail-lamps. On the inside, you now get the option of digital dials and a 10.25-inch high-resolution screen for the COMAND infotainment unit, but no word on whether either of these will be offered in India; we might get analogue dials and a smaller screen. And finally, the new-design steering wheels get the dual touchpad control system we’ve already seen on the E-class and S-class facelift.
The changes may not seem much at first, but they all do their bit to modernise the C-class a bit more. The new and updated engines are the bigger news, and while we will get a chance to drive most of them soon, we’ll just have to wait for October to see what they’re like in India spec.