MERCEDES-BENZ has commenced a staggered roll-out of its all-important new-generation C-Class in Australia, starting with its mainstream four-cylinder petrol and diesel sedans.

This time imported from Mercedes’ South African plant, the C-Class sedan is new from the ground up, sitting on the German company’s much-vaunted new MRA (Mercedes Rear-drive Architecture) platform that will form the basis of all large cars bearing the three-pointed star in future.

It is possibly the biggest overhaul ever inflicted on Stuttgart’s favourite car, aimed at taking the four-door, five-seat sedan well towards the middle of this century.

More C-Class variants, including hybrid, AMG – possibly including a bi-turbo V6 – and an all-new coupe, are also in the C-Class pipeline for launch over the next year or so.

At launch, the C-Class starts with the base C200 petrol, C250 petrol and C250 BlueTEC diesel sedans, which collectively will form the backbone of C-Class – traditionally Mercedes-Benz’s top-selling model and long-time luxury car sales champion in Australia.

In recent times, arch rival BMW’s new 3 Series has closed the sales gap as the superseded C-Class exits stage left. The question is whether the new C-Class has what it takes to reassert its dominance …

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