Autogefühl has driven the new electric Mercedes C-Class in Finland and run a first range test, and efficiency is the headline rather than the styling. At 100 km/h the channel measured 15 kWh per 100 km, which it converts to roughly 630 km of real world range. At 120 km/h consumption rose only to 16.5 kWh per 100 km, or about 570 km. The car tested was a C 400 4MATIC with the 94.5 kWh net battery, quoted at 4 seconds to 100 km/h, fitted with air suspension and rear axle steering. Pricing, according to the video, starts below 63,000 euros with the smaller 85 kWh battery and 67,000 euros with the larger one, while a fully specified example reaches 95,000 euros.
Two caveats are worth holding onto before treating 630 km as a number you will see. The test ran at 24 to 25 degrees Celsius at a steady motorway speed, which is close to a best case for any EV. Cold weather, elevation, traffic and short trips all push consumption up, and a February figure will look different from a July one. The second is that the C-Class is now two different cars sharing a name. The video says the combustion version continues on its existing platform and is due a facelift, so a buyer walking into a showroom is choosing between two vehicles with almost nothing in common underneath. On charging, the video quotes a 330 kW DC peak and 22 minutes from 10 to 80 percent, which sits at the quick end of what is currently advertised in this segment, and matters slightly less than usual in a car that appears to use this little energy in the first place.
The rest of the video is a long walk through where the money goes. Autogefühl credits the efficiency to a combination of the sedan body, air suspension that lowers the car at speed, and a two speed gearbox that shifts up somewhere around 80 to 100 km/h. Rear axle steering turns up to 4.5 degrees and is packaged together with the air suspension. The channel rates ride comfort above the BMW i3 it keeps comparing against, but rates the i3 higher on seat comfort and on assistance systems, noting BMW already offers a hands-off motorway function while the C-Class version is not yet orderable and will need hardware that cannot be retrofitted later. Practical notes include a usable frunk that opens by pressing the grille badge, 470 litres of boot space, and a car that is longer than the CLA without offering more rear legroom.
The sedan body pays off against its own showroom rival too. Autogefühl says the C-Class used roughly 3 kWh per 100 km less than the GLC Electric at 100 km/h despite sharing most of its hardware, and that the gap widens with speed. The host, at 1.89 m, is blunt about the trade for that: the battery floor sits the feet high relative to the knees, and he says the GLC suits tall drivers better in both rows. Elsewhere the video rates the optional Burmester 3D system among the best it has heard in a car, notes laminated acoustic glass is available for the front windows, and flags an odd configuration gap where the conventional door handles currently come without keyless entry, which means using the fob or a phone every time.
Bottom line: If most of your driving is motorway, this is the interesting Mercedes right now, because a car that only loses 1.5 kWh per 100 km between 100 and 120 km/h is doing something genuinely useful with its aerodynamics and gearing. The problem is the price ladder. A fully loaded C-Class is quoted at 20,000 euros over a fully loaded CLA, and the things you get for it are comfort features rather than capability. Buy it for the air suspension and the quiet, not the badge. If you are tall, sit in the back before you sign anything.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.