So, game on. After BMW wowed us all with its game-changing iX3 and followed it up with the lovely i3 sedan, it’s Stuttgart-based rival has hit back: After the GLC Electric comes this, the first-ever battery-powered Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
And the headline stat for many of you will be its range, because… it still falls short of the BMW. Mercedes quotes up to 762km available from a single charge of its 94kWh battery, which keen electric car enthusiasts will note is smaller than the battery Munich has stuffed inside the i3.
The headline for the rest of you? How it looks. This electric C-Class carries the latest iteration of Merc’s design language, its “coupe-like silhouette” and “expressive GT rear” resulting in “elegance with impressive charisma.”
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It’s certainly aerodynamic, and there’s a familial resemblance, too, because it basically looks like a shrunken, swoopier GLC Electric. Merc has always leaned into its technology, of course, and visually, that’s represented by no fewer than 1,050 illuminated dots dominating that new grille.
Inside, the (optional) MBUX Hyperscreen absolutely dominates the interior, largely because it’s...large. Massive, in fact: lo less than a 39.1-inch high-res whopper spanning the entire width of the cabin, with backlighting and 1,000+ LEDs. It’s the largest screen ever fitted inside a C-Class and, yep, we agree.
Another option is the MBUX Superscreen, a comparatively puny setup that glues three screens together under a glass surface. Of course, it can be adjusted more than you’ll ever need in any lifetime, and at least there’s permanent access to temperature control.
AI will have permanent access to you. Much like the rest of the world, Mercedes has never seen The Terminator and has decided to bundle in ChatGPT-4o, Microsoft Bing, and Google Gemini inside the new C in a “multi-agent approach.” It said three AI services are better able to adapt to your every need, making it much easier for it to request your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle.
Saying that, a cool bit of welcome tech is the 3D augmented-reality satnav pinched from the S-Class and the EQS. Elsewhere, there’s distance control as standard, a phalanx of sensors and cameras (27 in total), and the option of lane-change and drive assistance (a bit of self-driving help, basically).
Oh, right, driving. It’s a car, after all, not a chromed-out tablet with a three-pointed-star badge. As with the GLC, Merc boasts “S-Class-like ride comfort,” though it also said this new electric C-Class is no less than the sportiest C-Class ever built. There’s a version with a single electric motor on the rear axle and a new two-speed gearbox, and a version featuring two electric motors, where the front one acts as a booster and disengages when not needed.
Powerful brakes, too, with Merc claiming you can slow it down in pretty much any scenario—including when the ABS has been triggered—using only recuperation, at up to 300kW. “In principle,” said the carmaker, “the all-new electric C-Class can even brake electrically to a standstill, thus recovering kinetic energy.”
There’s a standard passive suspension setup—using “fast-acting amplitude-selective” dampers—or the ‘Airmatic’ adaptive air suspension. Both claim “outstanding” ride comfort, and if it’s anywhere near as good as the setup on the GLC, it’ll be an exceedingly comfortable car.
And fast when you want it to be. The C400 4Matic is the range-topper, with 483hp, a 0-100kph time of 4sec, and that headline 762km of range. Find a 330kW charger, and you can hose in 325km in just 10 minutes thanks to the new C’s 800V tech.
So, still short of the i3... though Mercedes-Benz might not let BMW off the hook that easily. Because next year, it will reveal more iterations of the electric C-Class with more battery options, including a rear-wheel-drive version that sets the “benchmark in the electric midsize sedan segment.”
That car will come with “approximately 800km” of range. That’s...oh, right, still short of the i3. But a huge amount of driving, regardless. Game on.
More photos of the electric Mercedes-Benz C-Class 2027:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
