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By Jonathan Crouch

The C-Class Electric aims to re-set the segment standard. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 38

The C-Class Electric delivers everything Mercedes currently knows about EVs in one divisively styled but thoughtfully engineered package. If you want a premium-badged lower-mid-sized saloon of this sort, it's never been easier to make the switch to EV.

Backgroundword count: 142

The C-Class is arguably the most important model Mercedes makes. So the introduction of an all-electric version could hardly be more significant. The C-Class Electric doesn't replace combustion-powered C-Class models, but it does set a fresh and rather divisive styling template that the continuing fuelled C-Class models also have to adopt. That's due to a change in Mercedes policy that now sees EV models designed to look similar to their combustion counterparts. This C-Class Electric is the second car the brand has launched on its latest MB.EA electric platform; the first was the GLC Electric SUV, which donates all the engineering on show here. That GLC model's existence is the reason why this C-Class Electric comes only in saloon form. With opposition of the calibre of the BMW i3 and the forthcoming Audi A4 e-tron, it'll have to be good. Is it?

Driving Experienceword count: 424

You might not think a near 2.5-tonne kerb weight a very promising start for creating 'the sportiest C-Class ever' but that's nevertheless what we're being promised here. The C-Class Electric is certainly the fastest mainstream C-Class ever - or at least it is in its C400 4MATIC twin motor launch spec. Here, there's a prodigious 489hp, good enough to hurl this heavy piece of Stuttgart real estate to 62mph in just 4.0s. To give you some perspective, that's as quick as the old V8-powered Mercedes-AMG C 63 super saloon. This is also slightly more power than this model's arch-rival BMW i3 can offer in equivalent xDrive50 form. But crucially, the C400 4MATIC's claimed EV range figure (up to 452 miles) is some way off the impressive 559 mile stat of that Munich competitor. Mainly because this Mercedes uses a smaller (though still pretty substantial) 94.5kWh underfloor battery pack (the BMW's pack is 108kWh in size). If you want to get closer to the 500 mile range figure in a C-Class Electric, you'll need to look to the single motor rear-driven version you can ask your dealer about. Even the twin motor variant is basically rear-driven; the 4MATIC system adds a front axle-mounted additional motor, but that's usually disconnected, only kicking in when needed (dependent on drive mode and throttle load) to give full power. All the MB.EA-platform engineering hardware here is borrowed from the GLC Electric SUV, which means that it's very sophisticated indeed. So instead of the usual single-speed EV transmission, there's a Porsche Taycan-like 2-speed gearbox on the rear axle, supposed to punch the car away from rest more quickly yet maintain higher efficiency at cruising speeds. Avoid base trim and you can order your car with a 'Refinement Package' that gives you air suspension and rear-axle steering, the latter turning the back wheels by up to 4.5-degrees in either direction. All of this is overseen by four integrated electronic 'brains' which streamline functionality. Expect particularly fine ride quality, not only because of the air springs but also thanks to a combined Google Maps and Car-2-X system that uses data sharing so that the car will know in advance what kind of road surface is coming up and pre-adapt its dampers accordingly. There's also a superbly smooth regenerative braking set-up incorporating the option of one-pedal driving. Regen braking is nearly always used for stopping and is controllable via four settings - 'D-' (maximum), 'D', 'D+' and 'D auto'. Plus you can add a subtly synthesised drivetrain noise if you should want it.

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