It won’t be long before Mercedes-Benz unveils the fifth-generation C-Class, with the W206 set to make its debut on February 23. Previously, the German carmaker said that the new C-Class will only be offered with four-cylinder engines, and that unlike the outgoing W205, there will be no six- or eight-cylinder options.
This is certainly a big deal, but why did the company come to such a decision? According to Christian Früh, who is the chief engineer for the W206, there are a number of reasons for this, and it isn’t just to meet regulations.
Speaking to Automotive News Europe, Früh said that using an engine with more than four cylinders would have changed the original dimensions and dynamics planned for the W206. “With the 3.0 litre [straight-six] engine, the front end would have grown by 50 mm in length, not to mention the higher axle load and its impact on driving dynamics,” he explained.
However, while the C-Class won’t get a six-cylinder engine or a meaty V8 – the latter for the performance-focused C 63 variant – Früh is certain that with plug-in hybrid technology, the company’s four-cylinder engines will be more than capable. “Besides a slight increase in smoothness, these engines have significantly better efficiency,” he noted.
On the mention of electrification, the entire W206 range will have some form of it – mild hybrid or a plug-in hybrid – but there will be no provisions for an all-electric variant. This is because the upcoming C-Class will use the company’s MRA (Modular Rear-wheel-drive Architecture), which cannot be fully electrified without some significant changes.
These include repackaging the existing floor assembly to accommodate batteries, but also to increase wheel diameters and height, which is both costly and “distorts the DNA of the C-Class.” Früh added that the Electric Vehicle Architecture (EVA), which underpins the EQS and EQE, goes beyond the “dimensional concept and budget of the C-Class.” While not mentioned, the future Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) would be a better case for a fully electric C-Class.
Früh also commented on why the All-Terrain version of the C-Class won’t get Airmatic, explaining that the option wasn’t very popular among customers. “In 2020, unfortunately, only one in a hundred customers opted for the air suspension. That is not profitable. We cover the all-terrain requirements with an off-road chassis including appropriate tyres,” he said.
Rear-wheel steering will also be available for the W206, although not as extreme as the rear-axle steering system on flagship W223 S-Class, which has a steering angle of up to 10 degrees. Instead, the C-Class will have a rear maximum steering angle of 2.5 degrees, which is more than sufficient to drop the turning circle by 0.4 metres to 10.6 metres. “For larger angles, a steerable axle would have to be installed – there is neither space nor money for this,” said Früh.
We’ll only get complete details about the new W206 C-Class on February 23, although the design won’t be much of a surprise as official photos have been leaked prior to its debut. The sedan will look like a “mini S-Class” on the outside and inside, the latter featuring a large touchscreen covering almost the entire centre stack.
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Nice and it just offers all the features that I would love to have especially the rear wheel steering, good weight distribution on front and rear axles as well as the design of its interior!!!
This day cars 3cyl engine is enough
As always, Mercedes makes the best cars in the world
Copy paste: “Sehebat-hebat teknologi German yang digembar-gemburkan, mat salleh jugak yang diperlukan untuk mengurangkan keraguan pasal teknologi German ni. Terpaksa jugak gunakan nama mat salleh.”
Haha no wonder at one time our C300 had airmatic since they can’t sell enough of them in Europe so they sent some over to be sold here!
Also it’s the first time I heard a 4 cylinder engine being more smooth. BMW with their silky smooth sixers will have something to say about that.
Meh! I bet later you will say your Perodua 3 cyl engine is even smoother than both German brands.
Even the new BMW b48 4 cylinder is a very silky and smooth engine. Give it a try much better than the n20. They had it in the f30 facelift onwards
Gonna flop when compared to the BMW inline 6 m340i. What more their Amg variants come with 4 cylinders?? Sales are gonna take a hit. In Malaysia they’ll be fine as they only mainly sell 4 cylinders.
In other words, AMG don’t want to re-engineer the chassis too much for fast models. Also, if you compare engine bay of Mercedes W205 and BMW F30/G20, Merc is not as aggressive as BMW in pushing their engines back. While the argument that an inline 6 adds more length makes sense, a V8 is only slightly longer than an i4. There will be more bulk in front as its like having 2 banks of 4 cylinders. But most of the mass can still be kept behind the front axle. Or better still, a V6 is shorter than an i4.
v6 has shorter cranckshaft than 4 inline hence lower inertia mass and lower torque output. unless you go big displacement like Nissan 350Z or 370Z but if it engine size is small ie perdana v6 the performance will be lethargic.
BMW knows this too well, they will never go v6 route and was not keen on 4 cylinders as weĺl until it went turbo 8 speed where things like turbolag was easily overcome.
Four-cylinder engines with six- or eight-cylinder price
4 cylinder no worries. Just slap in a turbo
Cut cost…
they keep giving less for more, soon you only need 3 tyres, design getting worse and monotonous