The first official pictures of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class EV – shown just days before its unveiling – reveal that it will adopt the same digital-heavy interior as the larger GLC EV.
The C-Class with EQ Technology, as it’s expected to be officially known, will be unwrapped at an event in South Korea on Monday and go on sale this summer as a rival to the new BMW i3 saloon.
The first electric variant of the hugely popular C-Class – which we took a ride in last month – will share most of its technical makeup with the electric GLC.
This includes its 800V MB.EA platform, which will allow it to offer a range of more than 450 miles, and its dashboard-spanning, 39.1in MBUX Hyperscreen.
On the centre console below the Hyperscreen sits two wireless phone chargers and a smattering of physical controls for functions including the parking camera, drive modes and audio volume.
Mercedes claims the new C-Class “sets new benchmarks” in the segment for interior quality. It will be offered with a wide range of materials, including Nappa leather and, for only the second time in a Mercedes, vegan leather. Shiny metals, which adorn key touchpoints and vents, are said to “enrich” the cabin.
New seats also feature which are said to be more comfortable over longer distances than those in today’s car. This, according to the firm, is down to their ‘electro-pneumatic’ lumbar support which “adapts the backrest to the natural curvature of the spine”. The seats also feature heating, venting and massage capabilities.
As with the GLC, top-end models will feature a Burmester 4D Surround Sound System that adds transducers (which Mercedes calls “exciters”) into the seats that transmit bass so passengers “feel” the music.
Mercedes also claims that the C-Class EV (a test mule pictured below) will be “exceptionally quiet” on the move having been “engineered to the highest standards of acoustic comfort”.
It points to elements such as the laminated side windows, “specially refined” electric motors, and a new air-conditioning unit as key to this claim.
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