MARSEILLE, France – How’s this for great timing? Mercedes-Benz is spending this year launching an all-new generation of its C-Class compact sedan — the German automaker’s biggest seller worldwide. Sandwiched between the recent premiere of the latest BMW 3 Series and the expected launch in 2015 of an all-new Audi A4, the new, fifth-generation 2015 C-Class should have the spotlight all to itself for the next few months or so. And based on a brief drive here in the south of France, any attention the small four-door ‘Benz gets is richly deserved.
To keep up with its Teutonic competition (and strong upstarts like the Cadillac ATS, Infiniti Q50 and Lexus IS) Mercedes-Benz has been uncharacteristically adventurous with its new family of rear- and all-wheel-drive C-Class sedans. In short, the new C comes with the looks, features and hardware normally associated with the larger (and more expensive) fullsize S-Class sedans.
For example, the new 2015 C-Class is a bit bigger than its predecessor (which has been on-sale since 2007) inside and out and is up to 100 kilograms lighter to make it sip less fuel and behave more lively on the road. The S-Class mimicry continues inside as well. In what is becoming a Mercedes-Benz interior design theme, large circular vents split a sweeping, well-organized centre console topped by an iPad-like colour display screen.