New Mercedes-Benz C-Class diesel to be launched on February 11

Mercedes-Benz will launch the diesel C-Class on February 11. The C-Class diesel will be available in the C220 CDI variant that houses a 2.1-litre four cylinder engine developing 170PS of power and 400Nm of torque. The diesel C-Class will get a 7-speed automatic gearbox as well. The C220 CDI going by Mercedes’ recent launch strategy will come in as a CBU initially followed by local assembly at the Pune plant.

Mercedes has high sales expectations from the diesel C-Class terming it the volume model in its portfolio. The company wanted to launch the diesel variant of the new C-Class much earlier but the engine was being tuned to the latest EU emission norms and the India launch of the C-Class couldn’t be held back. Now that it is here, the C-Class has the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A4 set firmly in its sights.

On the equipment front, expect the diesel C-Class to come in the top of the line variant only. That means features like electric seat adjustment with memory for both the front seats, a TFT touch screen with 3D navigation and a 13 speaker Burmester surround sound system should be standard fitment. Parking camera with park assist, seven airbags, ESP with curve dynamic assist, ABS, ARS (traction control) and brake assist will also be included. In addition to these features, the C-Class diesel should also get Hill Start Assist and a fuel saving Start/Stop function as featured in the petrol variant. Expect the C-Class diesel to be priced around the Rs 42 lakh mark.