A development engineer’s job is never done. While the first new C-Class models have just started rolling off the assembly line at Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s (MBSA’s) East London plant, the German carmaker is already peering into the future to see what a new generation of C-Class buyers will demand of the next-generation luxury sedan.

C-Class project leader and development engineer Oliver Winkler says work on the W205, the new C-Class, started five years ago.

“In one or two years, we have to start thinking of the new C-Class. We have an entire department at Mercedes-Benz that conducts research into the future; they deliver very good inputs.”

Winkler says any developer of a future C-Class will probably have to consider concepts such as autonomous driving technology, as well as new drivetrain technology, such as electric drive.

“We have to see how the market develops.”

Trends that will persist will probably be the size of the C-Class – “it won’t necessarily be bigger” – and customers’ need to individualise the vehicle.

The biggest challenge in developing the W205, with work starting in 2009 already, was to look into the future, to 2014, and determine what customers would need and want from a premium vehicle, says Winkler.

“The predecessor was also very successful, and we wanted the new model to be better and to be ahead of the old one and the competition.

“It is not easy to know which way to develop a car. Do you need to make it extremely sporty? Or focus more on fuel consumption?”

The easiest answer is, of course, to throw the net as wide as possible.

The new C-Class, launched in Johannesburg in May offers a feast of technology (optional, as well as standard), while individualisation allows for a sporty front end, or the more classical look traditionally associated with Mercedes-Benz, with the star located on top of the bonnet. The driving experience can also differ from sporty to one delivering lower fuel consumption.

Individualised options are also available inside the vehicle.

The new C-Class is the first model of Mercedes-Benz’ new rear-wheel-drive architecture, says Winkler.

“It is the start of very big family.”

Winkler says the new C-Class has “a lot of com-monalities” with the new E-Class.

Where the two models previously shared mostly assembly parts, they now also share body-in-white, chassis and engine parts.

Body-in-white refers to the metal skeleton of the car, without any hang-on parts.

“When an engine leaves the plant, it can go to a C-Class or E-Class. So, it is the same hardware, but, of course, we use electronics to make the engines behave differently.”

Winkler says this commonality between the two models brings cost savings to Mercedes-Benz, while it also ensures the customer receives a more mature car, in which errors have been minimised.

Commonisation of parts also eases the burden individualisation can bring to a plant. As plants have to produce a vehicle made to a specific customer’s needs, such as seat colour and technology specifications, it helps if certain parts, under the vehicle’s skin, are standard across two model ranges.

Winkler says Mercedes-Benz is working on developing a number of new models on the same rear-wheel-drive architecture.

In South Africa, the C-Class makes up around 50% of MBSA’s local sales, says MBSA cars VP Florian Seidler.

“Our new C-Class embodies what we under-stand modern automotive luxury to be. We are confident our new C-Class will be a huge success.”

The New C-Class
Pricing for the new C-Class, 100 kg lighter than its predecessor, starts at R415 900.

Mercedes-Benz promises that the lightweight construction cuts fuel consumption by up to 20%, compared with the previous model.

The aluminium content on the body has increased from less than 10% to almost 50%.

Inside the vehicle, the now roomier C-Class has a new centre console with a freestanding infotainment display, which also provides access to the Internet.

A touchpad on the hand rest provides for operation of all the display functions using finger gestures.

The touchpad also permits letters, numbers and special characters to be entered in handwriting.

A head-up display is also new to the C-Class. This unit displays important information, such as speed and navigation directions, directly in the driver’s field of vision on the front windscreen.

MBSA launched four engine derivatives in May, with power output ranging from 115 kW to 155 kW.

Three are petrol models, namely the C 180 BlueEfficiency, the C 200 BlueEfficiency and the C 250 BlueEfficiency.

The one diesel model is the C 220 BlueTEC.

September will see the launch of the C 250 BlueTEC diesel, with the C 300 BlueEfficiency due in June 2015.

Mercedes-Benz offers a new six-speed manual transmission for the C 180, C 200 and C 220 BlueTEC models.

Automatic gear shifting is provided by the optional 7G-Tronic Plus automatic transmission (standard on the C 250 BlueEfficiency).

Another optional extra is air suspension. Airmatic offers electronically controlled and continuously variable damping at the front and rear. It also features all-round self-levelling for enhanced ride comfort.

The new C-Class also incorporates almost all the new assistance systems recently introduced in the new S-Class and E-Class models.

The new C-Class is, for example, equipped with Attention Assist as standard, which informs drivers about their level of drowsiness and how long they have been driving since their last break.

Collision Prevention Assist Plus is able to carry out partial autonomous braking at speeds of up to 70 km/h, thereby reducing the severity of collisions with slower or near-stationary vehicles.

The system also brakes in response to stationary vehicles at a speed of up to 50 km/h, and is able to prevent rear-end collisions at up to 40 km/h.

An optional extra is Distronic Plus, with Steering Assist and integrated Stop&Go Pilot. This semi-autonomous Stop-and-Go assist system is able to follow the vehicle ahead at speeds below 60 km/h, thus providing a safe and convenient means of following the flow of traffic.

Active Parking Assist enables automated parallel parking.

The new C-Class comes standard with a six-year/100 000 km maintenance contract.