The W206 generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a transitional car for one of the world’s founding automakers, yet it remains singularly important. It will be the first C-Class not to offer multi-cylinder combustion engines, for example, but also one of the last new full-series Mercedes models not designed for all-electric power.
Needless to say, that doesn’t mean it won’t be “electrified”. In fact, Stuttgart is aiming to attract significant attention and win over key European fleet markets, with the first of two C-Class plug-in hybrid models it will offer. A diesel-electric PHEV will follow later, but for now tax-conscious corporate drivers are tempted by the subject of this week’s test drive: the new C300e.
This car fits into a range of UK models to a level that makes it more expensive than some derivatives, but clearly no top-end halo models. Its mechanical makeup, which we’ll explore shortly, will be familiar to current C300e owners.
There’s a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine at the front of the car mated to a usefully powerful electric drive motor upstream of the gearbox and, as before, a drive battery is located underneath. the trunk floor. But it’s that battery’s energy density that promises the transformative leap here, which comes in a package that’s clearly technologically advanced in some ways, but could also represent Mercedes at its laid-back traditional best in others. respects.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-05-13 07:01:23
