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Mercedes-Benz C-Class vs Tesla Model S

What's the difference?

VS
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Mercedes-Benz C-Class

$69,750 - $238,800

2023 price

Tesla Model S
Tesla Model S

$54,990 - $65,981

2017 price

Summary

2023 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
2017 Tesla Model S
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 1.5L

0.0L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded/Electric

Electric
Fuel Efficiency
6.9L/100km (combined)

0.0L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • On the compact side for size
  • Low-ground clearance may grind the teeth
  • Dynamic guidelines are trippy

  • Sadly, it's not a sports car
  • It's a lot of money
  • Lack of convenient charging
2023 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Summary

When it comes to choosing a family car, sedans are often overlooked for their long-legged wagon or beefy SUV cousins.

They're a bit of a forgotten hero but they'll always hold a piece of my heart for their practicality and (often) sexier kerb-side appeal.

If you can get used to your body cracking like a glow stick when you get in and out of them, the sedan may make a comeback!

The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class, in entry-level C200 form, has definitely tempted my family to consider a sedan in the future – it looks stately and refined but the driving experience also makes it fun.

Let's see what else it did right and if there was anything that could be improved.

Did I mention, I'm fond of sedans... ?

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2017 Tesla Model S Summary

If you have even a passing interest in the Tesla Model S, you'll have seen the endless internet videos where someone has lined up a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or another fast exotic car you could name, to race against it.

There's a long build-up, usually involving men who can't operate a baseball cap, a drag strip and idiotic words in the headline like "destroys" or "rips", or whatever. There's usually a bunch of honking bros with bad haircuts watching on, already planning their next viral video where they set a perfectly good mobile phone on fire.

It's facile and idiotic and doesn't give you any real clue as to the depth of whatever supercar it has "humiliated" or, just as importantly, the depth of the Model S and its spectacular engineering.

So, I won't be spending the next thousand words building up to the conclusion that the Model S P100D with Ludicrous Mode is up there with the world's fastest production cars from 0-100km/h, because I'll tell you now that it is, and it does it in a claimed 2.7 seconds.

Now that's out of the way, there's quite a bit more to the Model S than a "broken" Nissan GT-R owner weeping into their bento box.

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Deep dive comparison

2023 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 2017 Tesla Model S

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