The test of the new Mercedes C300 and Plug-in hybrid Station Wagon. Since its debut & egrave; liked by many, including us at HDmotori, but this time there are two more reasons; to prove it: & egrave; a station wagon . Undoubtedly today SUV and Crossover dictate the law in the market but, until a few years ago, the family members were the most important; you want; still today for & ograve; c & rsquo; & egrave; those who prefer wagons, with a low seat, with a driving pleasure that is certainly superior, capable of combining comfort, versatility; and, in this case, also elegance. This petrol plug-in hybrid promises more & ugrave; of 100 km in mode & agrave; electric .
- TECHNICAL SHEET Mercedes C300 and Plug-in hybrid SW
- TEST Mercedes C300 and Plug-in hybrid SW
- ADAS AND SAFETY
- DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS
- HABITABILITY & # 39; AND INTERIORS
- TECHNOLOGY ON BOARD
- EQUIPMENT AND PRICES
- ALTERNATIVES
- VIDEO
TECHNICAL SHEET MERCEDES C300 AND PLUG-IN HYBRID SW
TECHNICAL
- ENGINE: 4 cylinders in line 1.999 cc EURO 6D-ISC-FCM
- DRIVEN BY NEW DRIVERS: No
- POWER: 204 HP (150 kW) at 6,100 rpm
- TORQUE: 320 Nm between 2,000 and 4,000 rpm
- ELECTRIC ENGINE: 95 kW (129 HP) and 330 Nm
- TOTAL: up to 230 kW (313 HP) and 440 Nm
- DRIVE: rear
- GEARBOX : automatic 9G-TRONIC
- SUSPENSIONS: four-link front axle, multilink rear axle
DIMENSIONS
- LENGTH: 4,751 mm
- WIDTH: 1,820 mm (2,033 with mirrors)
- HEIGHT: 1,458 mm
- WHEELBASE: 2,865 mm
- CAPACITY & rsquo; TANK: 50 Liters
- WHEELS: 18 & quot; AMG light alloy 5-spoke
- TIRES: front 225/45 R18 and rear 245/40 R18
- WEIGHT: 2,120 kg (in running order)
- BATTERY: 25 , 4 kWh
< li> BOOT volume min – max: 360 – 1.375 Liters
PERFORMANCE
- SPEED & rsquo; MAXIMUM: 240 km/h
- ACCELERATION 0-100 Km/h: 6.2 seconds
- CONSUMPTION: 0.6 & ndash; 0.8 l/100 km (combined WLTP)
- 18.3 – 20.3 kWh/100 km (combined WLTP)
- CO2 EMISSIONS: 14 & ndash; 19 grams per km (WLTP)
- RECHARGE: 2 hours (AC)
- ELECTRIC AUTONOMY: up to 107 km
- STEERING DIAMETER: 11.07 meters
PRICE: from 59.155 Euro
TEST MERCEDES C300 AND PLUG-IN HYBRID SW 
This is; the C300 and Plug-in hybrid : a 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder petrol engine (like all the rest of the range) with 204 hp , a synchronous electric motor of 95 kW for a total power of up to 313 cv. 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive and a 25.4 kWh battery.
Charging it with a public charging station with a maximum of 11 kW takes less than two hours. Among the optional you can & ograve; have the direct current charging system : costs 610 Euro, offers a speed; charging at 55 kW which in fast charging stations, such as IONITY, allows you to & ldquo; fill up & rdquo; in a little more; 20 minutes.
With the gear shift paddles at the wheel & egrave; It is possible to manually set the intensity; of energy recovery in the release phase, in the modalities; Hybrid, Battery Hold and, as in our first test in urban traffic, electric: in D the recovery & egrave; normal, in D + no c & rsquo; & egrave; no recovery and in D- & egrave; instead very intense and the driving becomes practically with only one pedal. I put in D, it's hot outside (30 degrees, around lunchtime), climate on, temperature around 21 & deg ;. With zero emissions they say it can & ograve; reach a speed maximum of 140 km/h and promises a range of 107 km.
The result? I traveled 110 km (!) between urban and suburban roads, driving normally and not like my aunt … finally a serious plug-in. With these performances it becomes really interesting even for those who do more; kilometers every day, to move from the city & agrave; to nearby areas, or vice versa. In the test & ldquo; normal & rdquo; I put, as always, in Hybrid leaving to the advanced system of our C-Class the task of optimally managing the internal combustion engine and the electric one.
The sophisticated system, derived from that of the S-Class, is; capable of managing the battery charge by itself, with the navigator and connectivity, it can also estimate traffic and speed limits; to never remain without any electric reserve, especially if you have a little foot; heavy. The mode Battery Hold & egrave; always very useful, because & eacute; it imposes a precise value of residual charge below which you never go down: ideal when our itinerary foresees the arrival in the city; with ZTL.
The driving seat & egrave; comfortable, proof of any size. The session is; rather low, as I like it, and very comfortable; the seats are enveloping and not too soft, the ergonomics & egrave; good. You just need to get used to it a little; to all the technology that c & rsquo; & egrave; on board. From the first contact the idea is of a car capable of offering great comfort: & egrave; very quiet, you can barely hear the engine, the 9-speed automatic gearbox, in great harmony with the 4-cylinder, can be very sweet, imperceptible when shifting.
In the city , even if it is not in its ideal environment, given its size, it still puts you at ease. The click at each restart & egrave; remarkable (the thrust of the electric never disappoints), but it also knows how to be very sweet and comfortable. When needed, the perimeter sensors are of great help, so & igrave; like the reversing camera, which boasts excellent resolution. If you can choose between the optional rear axle steering: in maneuvers and at speeds; more low will become; much more; handy.
L & rsquo; auto & egrave; pleasant to drive, because & eacute; & egrave; always ready at the bottom, the thrust never fails and, even when the battery is now; at the flicker, the petrol-powered two thousand has enough power and torque to move the pi & ugrave without too much effort; heavy plug-in (the curb weight is 2,120 kg, 410 more than the C200 Mild hybrid and in any case 285 compared to the C300 d Mild hybrid ). That extra weight it feels and between the curves it is not & egrave; maybe as agile as the other & ldquo; sisters & rdquo; normal but still instills confidence and security. It never breaks down too much; the suspension also manages to keep the roll under control, when you push a bit & rsquo; more & ugrave ;. The self-leveling rear ones are standard for both sedan and station wagon of the plug-in hybrid version.
With 19 or 20 inch wheels it would certainly be even more; beautiful and probably more & ugrave; precise when driving a little & rsquo; quick, but these 18 & rdquo; AMG are a good compromise: aesthetically and also for comfort on board. Although there are no active suspensions here, it absorbs irregularities quite well; and potholes in the road.
If I told you that & egrave; a fun car to drive, I'd tell you a lie: it certainly wasn't born with that purpose. Maybe it won't have; the temperament of a Series 3, but I assure you that I put it to the test on corners that I know well and yes & egrave; behaved as I hoped: precise, it is not & egrave; decomposed and maintained the trajectories with great confidence. There are other cars of the Stella that I have tried that unfortunately did not give me the same result & hellip ;.
When & egrave; all the power of the powertrain is available, however the thrust is; tanta: more & ugrave; of 310 horses, can & ograve; do from 0 to 100 in 6.2 seconds and, if you can, can do it; reach a speed maximum of 240 km per hour . Put it in Sport and try to push: the determination, if needed, is not lacking at all.
On the motorway you will certainly appreciate it: for the acoustic insulation, for the automatic gearbox 9G-Tronic nine-speed that makes the engine run very low while keeping fuel consumption and capacity at bay; to grind kilometers without getting tired; & egrave; just a great traveler. The braking system & egrave; good, suitable for weight and performance; on this c & rsquo; & egrave; the AMG Line package, with larger front brake discs.
The company declares consumption combined between 0.6 and 0.8 liters per 100 km. In real life, in the city suffers a little & rsquo; weight; on the extra-urban roads you travel that & egrave; a pleasure with a little gas; on the motorway, at speed; by code, thanks to the automatic gearbox and also to the very accurate aerodynamics, it can be; get good results. The result is; an average of about 4 liters per 100 kilometers ; all thanks to the efficiency of the EQ Power system. Even with a flat battery, consumption remains interesting: in the city & agrave; in traffic about 6 liters per 100 km, which becomes 5.4 in extra-urban roads; on the highway 6.4 liters per 100 kilometers. Among the optional , and it costs nothing, c & rsquo; & egrave; the 66-liter oversized tank that you can & ograve; help improve autonomy.
ADAS AND SECURITY 
The new C-Class & egrave; very safe: you already have; seen in the C-Class preview video as Luigi put the ADAS to the test, reaching level 2 and the intervention thresholds of the devices are effective and not too invasive. The system, which bears the signature of LG Electronics, includes automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, traffic sign recognition, intelligent control headlights and adaptive cruise control. The latter, for example, boasts a rather gentle braking. Much & egrave; standard, but wanting c & rsquo; & egrave; the Plus driving assistance package, which costs a little more; of 2,000 euros but, at that point, nothing is missing.
I honestly don't like the active anti-skid system very much: & egrave; impossible to deactivate it permanently, at each start it must be deactivated through the menu settings which requires some steps. I find it a bit & rsquo; invasive and often intervenes too decisively and sometimes too early. For the rest, nothing to say, safety is welcome, but braking assistance is; a little & rsquo; too active: it often happens that you consider your pressure on the brake pedal insufficient and, for example, on the motorway, it intervenes with too much force when you are close to the car in front of you.
DESIGN E DIMENSIONS 
Inside the new C-Class & egrave; really well done: the passenger compartment can & ograve; be enriched and customized with various choices between materials and inserts. The dashboard has an unmistakable design, which satisfies even the most advanced; demanding, for & ograve; the plastics used for the central part can be improved and could enhance it with more materials; soft. Even the quality & agrave; of the door panel coverings & egrave; good for & ograve; the lower pockets are not lined. & Egrave; It is clear that technology reigns supreme: between the large 12.3-inch vertical touch display of the second generation MBUX multimedia system and the digital instrumentation with 11.9 ”display.
Habitability speaking, with the wagon, compared to the sedan, behind c & rsquo; & egrave; a little & rsquo; more of head room for those more & ugrave; tall. For & ograve; legroom could be more generous: beyond; of the numbers, I assure you that comparing it with a competitor like the 3 Series Touring, behind BMW it offers more, even if there is me so much; tall sitting in front.
Four, of normal height, travel well. In five, the shape of the rear sofa and the considerable bulk of the tunnel do not help at all. The presence of the battery reduces the capacity; load of the trunk , which drops to 360 liters compared to the 490 of the other sisters, while folding down the rear seats, it can be; reach 1,375 and not 1,510 like the normal ones.
ON-BOARD TECHNOLOGY 
MBUX & egrave; certainly a source of pride for the Casa della Stella. It continues to improve and, with this vertical layout, improves its ergonomics; & egrave; customizable and oriented towards the driver. It boasts a great fluidity, a remarkable resolution and a simple and clear operating logic: you just need to get used to it. The navigator, tried in different situations, is; great. Android Auto and Apple Carplay are wireless .
In addition to the touch display, there are voice commands to distract you less. quite accurate. The touch buttons of the beautiful multifunction steering wheel have not convinced me at all: they are not always precise and to make sure you have given the right input you can & ograve; distract.
The dual-zone automatic climate controls are digital but on the touch display they are easy to identify, you don't have to make too many steps and you don't have to do it; a problem to use them even while driving. You can also use the fingerprint sensor to access your profile; you can customize the digital instrumentation, in the layout and in the information to be shown. Fortunately c & rsquo; & egrave; wireless charging for the smartphone: you just have to do a little & rsquo; the & ldquo; treasure hunt & rdquo; to find it and, perhaps for the position, often if the internal temperatures are very high, the phone overheats and cannot; be reloaded. Honestly, the USB sockets for the rear seats should be standard.
EQUIPMENT AND PRICES 
The price list of the C-Class Station Wagon hybrid plug-in petrol starts from 59.155 Euro for the Sport version and reaches 68.931 for the most expensive; rich Premium Pro. You can choose between five versions : Sport, Premium, Sport Plus, Premium Plus and Premium Pro. In addition to the rich standard equipment , common to all versions, the entry level one for the plug-in hybrid & egrave; the Sport: LED headlights and full LED rear lights, navigator, parking package, Blind Spot Assist, heated front seats and much more. And many interesting options do not include the surcharge. L & rsquo; sample under test & egrave; a basic version with very few optional extras for a fee such as light eco-leather interiors and glossy brown ash inserts.
For those who still want to travel in a station wagon, Mercedes offers the best Class C ever , and more & ugrave; here c & rsquo; & egrave; the added value of a plug-in hybrid, the pi & ugrave; innovative of the range, really very convincing thanks to the pi & ugrave; advanced EQ Power system. Charge it every time it is; necessary and will repay you; with many kilometers with zero emissions. More ahead will come also a new diesel plug-in C-Class, and that I guess will be; the top, given the results already; achieved with other models of the House.
ONLINE CONFIGURATOR MERCEDES CLASSE C SW
THE ALTERNATIVES 
The alternatives are for sure l & rsquo; A4Serie 3 Touring and also the V60 . In the case of the Audi model must be & agrave; for & ograve; wait for the new generation that should arrive in 2023: today there is no plug-in hybrid; & egrave; but in the future it will launch; certainly the challenge to the C-Class.
At BMW the 3 Series offers 320e and 330e with the latter that promises over 60 km of electric autonomy: it will not be able to; compete with Mercedes but will probably be & agrave; a little & rsquo; more fun to drive.
The Volvo V60 Recharge is; offered with two power steps, 350 and 455 hp, with an electric range of almost 90 km: the Swedish promises to be interesting. Which one to choose? But above all, could this new plug-in hybrid C-Class change your mind about cars on tap?
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