That was quick. Eight months have actually passed since the world premiere of the latest all-new W206 Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Back then, only information on the petrol engine models was shared. Mercedes-Benz has now made the C 300 e plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model available for immediate sales in its home country of Germany.
Unlike the predecessor model that briefly included the EQ Power name and ‘350’, the PHEV variant of the new C-Class is simply known as the Mercedes-Benz C 300 e. Under the hood, the new Mercedes-Benz C 300 e employs the new M254 1,999 cc turbocharged engine from the regular C 300, now detuned from 258 hp/400 Nm to 204 hp/320 Nm.
The electric portion of the plug-in hybrid sees a powerful electric motor with 129 hp and 440 Nm of torque, powered by a 25-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. This results in a combined figure of 313 hp and a turbodiesel-like 550 Nm of torque! Compared to the outgoing W205 Mercedes-Benz EQ Power C 350 e, the new PHEV system is 34 hp higher but 50 Nm lower.
The benchmark acceleration from standstill to 100 km/h is also slightly slower at 6.1 seconds.
However, the more powerful electric motor and much larger battery allow significantly better range in electric driving, with Mercedes-Benz quoting between 99 km to 111 km, more than three times better than the old car. Recuperation is also much higher, to the tune of 100 kW with the driver able to select the degree of energy recuperation in three stages via rocker switches on the steering wheel. This also allows controlling the speed with just the accelerator pedal, like a “one-pedal feeling”.
The positioning of the battery in the vehicle brings advantages on a day-to-day basis compared with the previous model, increasing to 360 litres. Numerally a higher value, but practically, there is no longer a step in the boot and through-loading is now possible.
Regular C 300
As for topping up ‘juice’ for the large battery, Mercedes-Benz says 20 minutes is all it’s needed to reach 80% charge level with a high speed 110 kW DC charger.
Intelligent route guidance and selection have also been included into the navigation system of the new Mercedes-Benz C 300 e. Whenever possible, taking into account the speed limits and traffic conditions, the engine will be shut off and the electric portion taking over for high levels of zero local emission driving.
The new Mercedes-Benz C 300 e is priced from EUR47,200 (approx. RM227k) before adding the 19% VAT and the green car incentive of up to EUR5,625 (approx. RM27k) in Germany. The company also plans to include the plug-in hybrid hardware on diesel engines in the future.
GALLERY
2021 Mercedes-Benz C-Class (W206)
