Two Years on From its Wheels Car of the Year Win the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Continues its Winning Ways
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MULGRAVE, AUSTRALIA – March 16, 2010: Mercedes-Benz has celebrated the sale of its 15,000th W204-model C-Class in Australia by announcing a number of significant upgrades to the award-winning range.
The car that won Wheels magazine’s coveted car of the year award now gains a number of important enhancements - which include direct-injection turbocharged power and substantial standard equipment additions.
The result of ongoing customer feedback and the federal government’s import duty reduction for 2010, these enhancements cover the complete C-Class model line-up - including the fire-breathing C 63 AMG.
The Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mr Horst von Sanden said “In outselling its nearest rival by more than 17 percent since launch and maintaining that sales scorecard during 2009’s challenging market is a fine achievement for our brand.
“Our C-Class Estate has established itself with a very comfortable niche in the market and the two-model bahn-storming C 63 AMG range outsold its rival’s range of three models by 28 percent in 2009.
“For 2010 we have added $3,000 worth of new standard equipment right across the four-cylinder C-Class with no price increase – but with significant improvements in power, emissions and fuel economy. The six-cylinder C-Class gains almost $8,000 worth of equipment in addition to new nomenclature,” said von Sanden.
First shipments of the value-rich 2010 C-Class have now arrived in Australia.
All upgrades to each model in the C-Class range are detailed below.
Mercedes-Benz C 200 CGI Sedan and Estate
The Australian
Mercedes-Benz C-Class now starts with the new C 200 CGI. This
petrol-powered model (available in both Sedan and Estate) replaces the
well-known entry-level C 200 KOMPRESSOR.
The major powertrain-related differences are:
At Mercedes-Benz, CGI denotes direct in-cylinder fuel injection. This process of fuel delivery achieves much higher thermodynamic efficiency. The CGI engine’s ability to achieve near-total combustion of the fuel delivered for each power stroke means less fuel is required to achieve the same output of an engine using conventional fuel injection.
The resulting performance differences are significant. Not only does the maximum torque increase by eight percent, combined-cycle fuel consumption is improved by almost nine percent and exhaust emissions fall by just under ten percent.
The new C 200 CGI Sedan has the same Manufacturer’s List Price (MLP) as the outgoing C 200 KOMPRESSOR - $57,900; but, compared to the outgoing C 200 KOMPRESSOR, the new C 200 CGI gains the following equipment as standard.
Combined, these additional features amount to more than $3,000. And given the car’s price remains the same, it clearly represents great value for Australian customers.
The C 200 KOMPRESSOR Estate is replaced by the new C 200 CGI Estate, which retains the same price of $59,790 (MLP). Like the Sedan, it gains the same new standard equipment, listed above.
The popular C 220 CDI Sedan and Estate (four-cylinder turbo-diesel) also receive the same new standard equipment (listed above) and their prices, too, remain unchanged – $61,400 (Sedan MLP) and $62,805 (Estate MLP).
Mercedes-Benz C 250 CGI
This is an all-new model in the
C-Class. Its addition has been the result of customers seeking a little
more from the dynamic and efficient C 200 but without having to move up to
a V6-powred model. It is available in both Sedan and Estate.
The C 250 CGI uses the same fuel-efficient turbocharged direct-petrol-injection engine as the C 200 CGI but its more powerful tune offers higher performance.
This all-new model is also more efficient than the outgoing C 200 KOMPRESSOR – almost four percent more fuel efficient with around five percent lower CO2 output – yet with eleven percent more power and an impressive 24 percent more torque.
The all-new C 250 CGI has an MLP of $65,900 for the sedan and $67,790 for the estate. It comes fitted with the following standard features:
C 300 Sedan and C 350 CDI Sedan
The V6-powered models in the
2010 C-Class (C 300 – petrol; C 350 CDI – turbo-diesel) also
come with even greater value.
Their prices remain unchanged but they both receive more than $7,900 in additional standard equipment, listed below:
