Mercedes-Benz C250 2014 News

Hornsby’s fledgling Mercedes dealership has won the car maker's metropolitan dealership of the year award for the past two years.Greg Stewart, the dealership's principal, who has worked on Hornsby's north shore Auto Alley on the Pacific Highway for more than 20 years, credited local customers with his business's success.“We're a good community here Hornsby's a really nice place to sell cars,” he said. “There's a great bunch of people on the upper north shore.”The national award is based on a sales target and customer service feedback. “We have worked very hard on looking after our customers,” Mr Stewart said.The dealership has been in its present location for two-and-a-half years and the C-Class is the locals' favourite Merc. 

It's the clear sign that this is the next all-new Benz compact, taking over from the C-Class that already leads the field in Australia after a massive recent makeover.The next C-Class picks up the styling direction of the CLS, which is too brutal for many, with the promise of a miserly three-cylinder engine to open the action. Here in 2014 at a similar price to the current one. 

...under giant plastic camouflage panels.The new C Class is expected to follow the styling direction of the CLS, with more aggression and attitude, but with a four-door body that's much the same as today in size despite increases to cabin space. 

...during testing at the Nurburgring.The new look is hidden under plastic classing but it's safe to expect a chunkier new body, with looks more like the CLS coupe than the current C. The car should be a little higher and wider, but the big change will be in more efficient engines - including a baby four that switches back to two cylinders at cruising speeds. Here early in 2014 priced slightly less than today's. 

And Carparazzi artists have been busy on this sneak peak.They have stripped the camouflage away to show a car with a much bolder nose, in keeping with Benz's latest styling direction. But the new C also promises much more refinement and more cabin equipment to battle BMW and Audi. Here late 2013 at around $60,000. 

...and this com-gen by Carparazzi shows the way.The new CLS provides the clues to the cues, which work a treat on the CLS.

The good news is that the cars of the future are not boring electric "golf carts" but sleek and sexy machines.Take for example the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, or even the updated Toyota Prius C. Just as smart, but also featuring powertrain technology that is much further down the line, is the Hyundai Blue2 Concept, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, or the Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV with a plug-in hybrid system that extends the use of the vehicle in electric mode.Here is a sample of the green vehicles on the stands at this year’s show:BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept: Making its Australian debut, this is the concept for the coming BMW i8. A conventional 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-diesel mated to a pair of electric motors powers this four-wheel-drive 2+2 sports car. The hybrid combination pumps out 265kW of power and 800Nm of torque, and can run on electric power alone for up to 50km, diesel only for 645km or a combination of both. The lithium-ion battery packs charge in just 2.5 hours from AC mains or 44 minutes on quick charge.Ford: The new Liquefied Phase Injection LPG technology in the Ford Falcon EcoLPi has improved power and torque and decreased fuel consumption (12.5L/100km) and CO2 emissions (203g/km). Ford will also show its long-awaited diesel Territory with a 2.7-litre V6 boasting fuel economy of 8.2L/100km.Holden: The Ecoline Series II Cruze range with a new generation 2.0-litre turbo diesel (5.6L/100km) is Australia’s most fuel-efficient locally-built car. The stand will also feature the Cruze 1.4-litre intelligent turbo induction (1.4 iTi) petrol engine (6.4L/100km manual) and other Ecoline models, including the Commodore E85 flex-fuel and Spark Ignition Direct Injection V6 powered Commodores and Captivas.Honda hybrids: Honda will show the stylish Honda CR-Z coupe petrol-electric hybrid that arrives here later this year, as well as its second-generation Insight hybrid.Hyundai Blue2 Concept: This is the Korean company’s first sedan-style Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) powered by hydrogen. It delivers power of 90kW and fuel economy of 2.8L/100km. Being a concept car, it comes with a host of future electronic aids, such as an automatic opening door system, roof and side cameras to replace mirrors, and a motion sensor-operated infotainment system.Lexus LF-Gh Concept: This concept features the hybrid system already in the Lexus fleet, but is the first time the spindle-shaped grille that will become a feature of future designs will be seen here, and hints at a future grand touring sedan. Lexus Australia chief executive Tony Cramb says the LF-Gh reaffirms that hybrids can be sleek and stylish.Mazda Minagi: This is a crossover concept specifically engineered to be the first with frugal SKYACTIV technology diesel and petrol engines and transmission. The car is an insight into the coming CX-5.Mercedes-Benz C-Class: The range now includes the updated 7G-Tronic Plus seven-speed automatic transmission for improved economy. Diesel models come with the ECO start/stop function as standard, and the C250 diesel coupe boasts economy of 5.1L/100km. At the top end of the Benz range, the S350 diesel BlueTec luxury saloon has economy figures of 7L/100km.Mitsubishi ?i-Miev-based electric vehicle concepts: The i-MiEV is about to hit the showrooms and Mitsubishi already has an SUV variant, which will be on its stand. The Concept PX-MiEV has a plug-in hybrid system with fuel economy better than 2L/100km. It is powered by two permanent magnet synchronous motors and a 1.6-litre MIVEC engine. The PX-MiEV also features Smart Grid technology that allows the battery to power home appliances during a blackout or at peak times when electricity tariffs are high.Nissan Leaf: The all-electric Leaf hits showrooms next year. The World Car of the Year features a satnav system linked to the "Global Data Centre’’ in Japan so you just press a button to find the closest recharging stations.Toyota Prius C concept & Prius V: The latest in the Prius family are a funky coupe concept (C) and a people mover (V). The Prius C concept shows how stylish the Prius can be and the V shows how spacious it can be. The V also features a lightweight-resin panoramic moon roof, weighing about 40 per cent less than a regular glass roof of the same size. It will be the first to feature Toyota’s new Entune multimedia system with mobile internet and Microsoft’s Bing search engine. The system will offer live weather and traffic updates, along with monitoring the best fuel prices in town.Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion: The BlueMotion has the same 1.6-litre engine with the same output at 77kW and 250Nm as the 77TDI, but its fuel use is just 3.8L/100km compared with 5.12L/100km (77TDI) and CO2 of 99g/km (133g/km 77TDI). The gains are made from a lower idle speed, stop/start technology, aerodynamics and low rolling resistance tyres.Volvo V60 diesel plug-in hybrid: The world’s first diesel hybrid plug-in goes into production next year. The driver can choose from three modes: Pure, which is all-electric with a range of up to 50km, Hybrid with an average fuel consumption of 1.9L/100km and CO2 of 49g/km, and Power, which boosts total diesel and electric power to 200kW and 640Nm of torque with acceleration to 100km/h in 6.9 seconds. The turbodiesel drives the front wheels and an electric motor drives the rear axle. It can be recharged via a regular power socket in 4.5 hours on 10A charge.PLUS: There will also be displays by infrastructure companies including Better Place EV, which has announced plans to begin rolling out infrastructure in Canberra this year.

German magazine Autobild put out pictures that offer the first view of the new version without any kind of camouflage. The 2011 version of Merc's mainstay has a new front fascia, with LED daytime running lights, LED indicators, a new front grille, and a slightly re-designed rear section. There will certainly be interior upgrades too.As ever, it's a case of visual evolution, not revolution, the main changes being mechanical, not least in the iconic C 63 AMG. The 6.2-litre V8 is likely to be superseded by Merc's 5.5-litre biturbo unit whose possible power of 380kW exceeds even the output of the one-off Jaffa special made for the Australian International Motor Show.Petrol and diesel V6s are also up for power increases, to some 225kW and 195kW respectively. Elsewhere, the ever pressing need to lower the fleet consumption and emission average will see new BluTec diesel powertrains and engine stop-start systems, as well as more direct-injected models and the possible end of the five speed auto in those models that retain it for seven-speed transmissions. Rumours persist of the first C-Class hybrid. The 2011 C-Class is expected to have its global premiere in January, going on sale later in the year.Though it starts just south of $60,000 here, last month the C-Class was Australia's best-selling midsize import, leaving behind not only obvious prestige rivals such as BMW's 3 Series and Audi's A4, but quality offerings from Japan and elsewhere in Europe that start as much as 50 per cent under the tristar car.

Incredibly it’s time for Mercedes-Benz to update the C-Class – where did that three years go?  Our pics capture the car a great deal less disguised than seen so far, revealing a new look including headlights, front bumper and bonnet. The rear is expected to feature a new set of lights and some modifications to the bumper.Some engine upgrades will be on offer while the interior should receive minor changes, too. Current models include the C220 CDI with 170 hp and 400Nm, and the fire-breathing C63 AMG worth 457 hp. Installed technologies include the AGILITY Control Pack, the COMAND system with Linguatronic voice control and the NECK PRO safety system.Mercedes-Benz did away with the CLK, replacing it with the E-class Coupe . The same will happen when the CL changes to the S-Class Coupe. It follows that the C-Class could also get its own Coupe model to sit above the CLC.The updated C-Class will go on sale in the new year, just months before the all-new BMW 3 Series and the facelifted B8 series Audi A4.