Smartest in the class
NOW it’s possible to check who’s in your house, turn up the heating, prepare the TV, turn on a smart oven, dim the lights, shut the blinds and more, all from the comfort of your car when on the move. Mercedes-Benz’s Alexa-style Smart Home technology is at the heart of its new-generation C-Class saloon and estate — the ‘bread and butter’ Benz for the aspiring middle classes — which had its global premiere this week.
As the 21 plate kicks in from Monday, the range is so packed with technology and upmarket features that it is being hailed as the ‘baby SClass’, yet it’s half the price of MB’s flagship limousine.
Bosch and Samsung are the first to adapt their equipment to be controlled remotely by the Merc, with others set to follow.
Any driver or passenger can check their home and run appliances using voice commands.
It is part of the wider high-tech Mercedes-Benz User Experience or ‘MBUX’ digital assistant system which, it says, has turned the car into a mobile control centre that can be linked to motion detectors and window sensors in your home.
Some homeowners may, however, be nervous about the implications of what is essentially an in-car surveillance system.
You’ll pay from £38,000 for the saloon and £39,000 for the estate —around half the £78,000 of the S-Class. Top-range C-Class models will be about £50,000. There are four trim levels: Sport; AMG Line; Premium and AMG Line Premium Plus. It goes on sale from early summer with August or September deliveries.
The upmarket dashboard mirrors that of the S-Class with a large, free-standing screen. A colour display is an option.
The UK will initially see four engine options — two petrol and two diesel, with frugal petrol and diesel plug-in hybrids to follow from about £45,000.
The C200 mild hybrids powered by a 1.5-litre, 204 hp petrol engine can go from rest to 62 mph in just over 7 seconds.
More powerful C300 mild hybrids feature a 2.0-litre 258hp petrol engines, with the C220D and C300D mild hybrids powered by 2-litre diesels.