Mercedes’ core sedan has begun its battery-enabled journey.

WITH sports utilities capturing far more registrations than sedans these days, the most important member of Mercedes’ now electric-embracing C-Class family here will be the GLC, set for third quarter arrival all going to plan.

However, in international and brand pride terms, the C-Class passenger car that has now revealed in its first time pure electric form and is conceivably scheduled as a 2027 entrant, but precise timing has yet to share, is the more vital if just because it is historically the more entrenched product.

So far Mercedes has just unveiled a C400 4Matic, a four-wheel-drive model, which gets two electric motors, with the rear one having its own two-speed gearbox for enhanced acceleration and more efficient high-speed cruising.

It has a combined 364kW and 800Nm and can accelerate from 0-100kmh in 4.0 seconds, plus 792 kilometres’ range on the WLTP. That’s less than the new BMW i3, which quotes 900km, but the Mercedes has a smaller battery - 94kWh compared to the BMW's 108kWh. Mercedes claims its unit is faster to recharge; in Europe it has an optional DC-to-DC convertor so that it can use regular old 400-volt charging stations, as well as the more modern and powerful 800-volt setups.

The C-Class and GLC both base on the new MB.EA platform, so the sedan has gets a massive wheelbase; at nearly three metres it is 97mm longer than that of the previous model,. Space in the back seats should be better. The boot holds 470 litres and there’s a 101 litre frunk. A car this size would logically look good in station wagon form, but Benz says it is planning one of those.

As with GLC, one of the big styling elements is a dramatically large grille, something of a throwback to the upright Mercedes grilles of the 1950s and 1960s. The new C-Class is 60mm taller overall than the old one, but the stylists have worked hard to disguise this. Many are suggesting the rear makes the C-Class look almost like a fastback.

The cabin revealed last week to be much like that in the GLC, just set down a little bit lower. There's the same choice of 'Hyperscreen' or 'Superscreen' layouts for the dashboard, with the high-end option lending a full metre of screen running, unbroken, across the width of the cabin, with separate sections built into it for the driver's instruments, the main infotainment and whatever the passenger wants to do.

Mercedes has rethought its dedication to steering wheel haptic pads and brought back proper buttons and roller switches, but that’s where the biggest count of buttons is found. There's an optional Burmester '4D' surround sound stereo, which features speakers built into the seats, not only in the headrests for making phone calls and the likes, but also in the seatbacks. The optional electric-dimming glass roof can be studded with as many as 162 glowing Mercedes stars.

An on-screen app store allows download igextra content, including games (and you can wirelessly connect gaming controllers for fun while charging) and streaming services such as Disney Plus.

There are 'Energising Comfort' settings for the climate control and seat massage, Google Maps navigation that can work out how much of an impact on range any steep hills on your route will have and an augmented-reality head-up display. Mercedes says the heating and ventilation system will bring the cabin up or down to temp twice as fast as a conventional car. It uses a compact heat pump which uses only half the energy that a combustion car would need.

There's optional Airmatic air suspension, which Mercedes claims gives the C-Class a ride that matches that of the big S-Class sedan. A rear-wheel-steering system that can turn the back axle through 4.5 degrees for tighter urban turns can be specified.

The air springs can recognise what kind of road the car s tackling and will drop the bodywork down to a low cruising height for maximum efficiency when possible while the front electric motor also declutches itself when cruising, and only cuts back in again when needed, further boosting efficiency.

Although there won't be a hybrid version of this C-Class, as there is with the new Mercedes CLA, the existing C-Class, in hybrid, petrol and diesel forms, will be staying on sale.