drive
New C-Class a belle of the ball
The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205's Stop&Go Pilot feature lets the car drive by itself at traffic jams up to 60 kph. – October 9, 2014.When a company sells 300,000 units a year of one model, that means it’s making serious money.
That about describes the outgoing, third generation Mercedes-Benz C-class (W204) which accounted for 2.2 million sales worldwide since it was launched in 2007.
The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205 was premiered to the world press in Marseilles where we were invited to test drive the car.
When we were there in March, the weather was still a bit not sure of summer and the sun peeked out shyly before the grey clouds dimmed the light.
Still, the car looked gorgeous with the backdrop of mountains on one side and the sea on the other side.
The C-Class has been described as the baby S-Class and it’s a fact that the car has grown in size, by inches all round.
That’s most memorable though is what I saw at the static demonstration of the intelligent driving system that’s available in the new car.
We’ve read a lot about the autonomous car, the car that can drive by itself.
We don’t have to wait because the new C-Class (W205) is about as close to an autonomous car as we would like for now.
Sure, we don’t want the fun of driving taken out of our lives. We like to enjoy the ride and handling, the power of overtaking, the sharpness of handling. We pay good money for the kind of performance.
But there’s precious little fun driving in traffic nudging along at 5km/h to 40km/h from Nilai to Seremban during balik kampung (festival season) type of peak traffic.
In this tailback condition and engaging the Distronic Plus with steering assist and Stop&Go Pilot, you can take your hands off the steering wheel for 10 seconds – enough time to grab the travel mug of coffee for a sip and then putting your hands lightly again on the steering wheel before the steering assist deactivates after another 5 seconds.
Then after a bit, you can take your hands off again. For another 10+ 5 seconds. The real magic is that the car practically drives by itself at traffic jams up to 60 kph.
In its near-autonomous driving mode, the C-Class uses three types of devices to assess the traffic situation to the front and to the sides: a pair of stereoscopic 3D cameras and a distance sensing laser system, both in a module on the windscreen behind the rear view mirror, and a variety of short range and long range radar sensors on the front bumper and all around the vehicle.
Automatic proximity control is achieved in combination with lane guidance and the car follows the slow-moving (up to 60kph)traffic with the Stop&Go Pilot. Pilot is the continental European term for driver.
Steering Assist moves the steering to keep the car in the middle of its lane. This feature depends on clear lane markings on both sides and when Steering Assist is working, the instrument cluster will show a green steering wheel symbol.
Stop&Go Pilot checks the car ahead when driving in a tailback up to 60km/h even when lane markings are missing.
The drive through villages up in the mountains and the highways of Provence was fun. The C250 we drove responded to the pedal with alacrity, merging well into the freeway and safely passing slower cars.
There are two faces available for the car: the AMG type big Mercedes-Benz star on the front grille, or the traditional three pointed star as an emblem on top of the bonnet.
There will be two C-Class variants for Malaysia: the C200 and the C250. Prices start from RM285,000 for the C200 and RM314,000 for the C250 for this initial batch of CBU imports. Locally assembled cars will roll out from next year.
Engine and performance C200; C250
Cylinder arrangement/number: I4; 4 in-line
Displacement (cc) 1991; 1991
Rated output (kW at rpm) 135/5500; 155/5500
Rated torque (Nm at rpm) 300/1.200–4000; 350/1200–4000
Acceleration 0-100 km/h (s) 7.5; 6.6
Top speed (km/h) 237; 250, electronically limited
Emission class Euro 6; Euro 6
Fuel and emissions
Fuel consumption combined (l/100km) 5.7-5.3; 5.6–5.3
CO2 emissions (g/km) combined 132-123; 131–123
Cd value 0.27; 0.27
Power transmission
Drive system: Rear-wheel drive; Rear-wheel drive
Transmissions 6-speed manual transmission; 7G-TRONIC
Suspension and steering
Front tyres/wheels 205/60 R 16; 205/60 R 16
Rear tyres/wheels 205/60 R 16; 205/60 R 16
Front brakes: Discs, internally vented; Discs, internally vented
Rear brakes: Solid Discs.
Quantity, dimensions & weights
Boot capacity (VDA) (I) 480; 480
Turning circle (m) 11.22; 11.22
Kerb weight/payload capacity (kg) [1] 1445/565; 480/565. – CBT Online, October 9, 2014.
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