This will be the last year you’ll be able to buy a Mercedes C-Class sedan with an engine – at least, for awhile. Next year, the C-Class sedan will come only with a battery (and electric motors) – at least for awhile.
Sometime after the new, battery-powered C-Class appears for the 2027 model year, Mercedes will offer its entry-level small sedan with an engine again.
This year will be the last year the C-Class comes only with an engine – and in its current configuration.
What It Is
The C-Class is Mercedes’ entry level small sedan. It broke convention when it was last redesigned back in 2023, when it switched from a rear-drive to a front-drive layout. It was a risky move, because FWD is generally the way lower-priced, less-prestigious cars such as Toyotas and Hondas are laid out. Not that there is anything wrong with front-drive. Among other benefits, you’re less likely to get stuck in the snow in a FWD car – because traction is better with the engine’s weight on top of the primary drive wheels – and also because you have more traction when the front wheels are pulling rather than the rear wheels pushing – but (again) it is less prestigious because it’s the layout you get in Toyota and Hondas and pretty much all other non-luxury brand vehicles.
On the other hand, Audi has had not had any trouble selling its FWD-based vehicles and the same goes for Lexus. Mercedes saw this and decided to run the risk – and it paid off. The FWD/AWD C-Class has been a success for Mercedes – and part of the reason probably has to do with it being FWD, because the layout makes it possible to carve out more interior space (because most of the drivetrain is up front rather than under the floorpans) which matters a lot in the case of a small car.
Prices start at $49,650 for the C300, which is FWD as it comes but can be had with AWD – which Mercedes calls 4Matic – which bumps the price up to $59,650. With – or without – the 4Motion AWD, you get a turbocharged 2.0 liter engine paired with a nine-speed automatic. Plus a sunroof, dual zone climate control, rain sensing wipers, wireless phone charger, seat heaters up front and a dual-screen main instrument cluster and secondary infotaiment screen.
You can opt for an Exclusive Package ($2,250) that adds a Burmester premium audio system and integrated navigation. A $4,150 Pinnace Package adds an even better 15 speaker, 3D surround sound Burmester system, plus acoustic side glass, LED projector headlights and other upgrades.
If you want more performance, the $64,150 C43 AMG comes with a much more powerful version of the 2.0 liter engine, standard AWD, sport tuned suspensions, sport buckets and a rear-wheel steering system.
Mercedes also offers a C63 iteration of the C-Class. The “C63” designation once meant a massive V8. It now means a massively powerful, plug-in-hybrid augmented version of the 2.0 four that makes almost three times as much horsepower as the base 2.0 liter four and an astounding 752 ft.-lbs. of tire-roasting torque. This model also gets a four-wheel torque distribution system with Drift mode that lets you wag the car’s tail in the curves. High -performance Brembo brakes are also included.
What’s New For 2026
Other than minor trim shuffling, the C-Class enters its last year before the big makeover that’s coming next year pretty much the same as it was last year.
What’s Good
Still has an engine – for now.
Roomy in both rows.
Optional turbo fours make V8 (and V12) power.
What’s Not So Good
Tiny trunk (11.6 cubic feet).
Pricey – especially relative to rivals such as the Genesis G70 sedan, which stickers for just $43,450 and is rear-drive and comes standard with a larger (2.5 liter) much stronger engine, too.
As powerful as the C63’s four is, it’s still a four.
Under The Hood
Every C-Class sedan comes with a turbocharged 2.0 liter engine – but in three different configurations. The version that powers the C300 and C300 4Matic is paired with a mild-hybrid system that’s mostly there to allow the engine to be shut down when possible to increase gas mileage and (more important, for the manufacturer) reduce CO2 coming out of the tailpipe. The hybrid side powers accessories when the engine has been cycled off. It automatically cycles back on as needed. The main upside – for the owner – of the mild hybrid setup is that the frequent engine re-starts are hardly noticeable, due to the higher torque of the starter system.
Power is pegged at 255 horsepower and 295 ft.-lbs. of torque, which is enough to get the C300 to 60 in about 6 seconds. Gas mileage is 25 city, 35 highway – close to economy car gas mileage in a luxury sport sedan. A nine speed automatic is standard and – as already mentioned – you can go FWD or (optionally) 4Matic AWD.
The high-performance C43 gets a more powerful iteration of the C300’s drivetrain. Horsepower jumps to 416 and torque goes up to 369 ft.-lbs. These numbers are on par with what you’d expect to get out of a 5.7 liter V8 – and so is the performance. This version of the C-Class sedan can get to 60 in 4.3 seconds. It still manages to tout 19 city, 27 highway.
AWD is standard with the C43.
Then there’s the C63. As mentioned earlier, this designation used to mean a big V8 in a small sedan. Now it means a small four that’s much stronger than the big V8 you used to get. Paired with a plug-in hybrid adjunct, the 2.0 liter four is capable of producing 671 horsepower and 752 ft.-lbs. of torque. This thing can get to 60 in 2.9 seconds, making it just about the quickest new car you can buy – at any price.
Though gas mileage is probably not a factor when you’re spending $88k on a car, the C63 posts 19 city, 22 highway – which is much better mileage than the old V8 C63 managed.
Both the C43 and C63’s engines come signed by the guy who assembled them on the AMG line.
The C63’s engine is also almost pornographically displayed. As such things ought to be. Because they are worth looking at.
On The Road
The C feels bigger than it is, chiefly because there’s more room inside than you might expect to have inside a car this size. It also does not feel front-drive, which matters a lot in a car this expensive.
Mercedes did a lot of work to make it not feel like a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla (which are about the same size). Torque steer – the tendency of the front wheels to jerk left-right during hard acceleration from a standstill – is muted completely by the electronic controls. 4Matic (AWD) equipped models obviously haven’t got any torque steer worries at all because power is routed to all four wheels, so that none slip or jerk.
In this Mercedes, a 2.0 liter four is not at all out-of-place.
More precisely, out-of-price. It arguably is in the mid-sized (and nearly $20k more expensive-to-start E-Class sedan, which used to come standard with a 3.5 liter V6. The current (2026) model comes standard with the same 2.0 liter four that comes standard in the C300. That means you get the same engine – and better performance, due to the C being smaller than the E – for that much less, which is inarguably good for the C buyer but a bit disappointing if you are an E buyer.
The nine-speed automatic is a key differentiator vs. four cylinder-powered/FWD non-luxury-brand small sedans that mostly (there are few exceptions) come standard with CVT automatics, which feel “slippy” sometimes and often sound not-so-great, too.
The C43 is a sleeper.
It does not look like it can out-accelerate a muscle car – but it can. The C63 can outrun just about anything, including the quickest EVs such as the Tesla S plaid. And it goes farther than any of them, because it carries around a tank of gas as well as an engine that can charge up its batteries while you drive.
The one detraction – if it is one – is the car’s firm ride. “Firm” is of course subjective and that’s why it’s not necessarily a detraction. It all depends on whether you like “firm.” Some will – some won’t. The only way to know is to spend some seat time in the car and see for yourself.
At The Curb
The C-Class sedan is (per above) impressively roomy inside given its compact-sized dimensions. It is 187 inches long – so only a few inches longer than a Toyota Corolla – but it has mid-sized car rearseat legroom (36 inches) which makes it comfortable for four adults and viable for five (three in back). The third person in back doesn’t have to scrunch up his legs into the fetal position, either – because the centerline hump in this car is not as high as it is in rear-drive cars, to accommodate the driveshaft that runs from the engine up front to the rear wheels out back.
However, this small car has a very small (11.6 cubic foot) trunk and that impinges on its practicality. As a point of comparison, the Corolla has nearly 14 cubic feet of space in its trunk.
That small issue aside, the C offers – comes standard with – luxuries befitting its price and while some of these (such as the big LCD touchscreens, the smartphone charger pad, the sunroof and the adjustable ambient interior lighting) have become standard or at least available in most non-luxury-brand sedans, there are still things you can get in this Benz that you can’t in the non-luxury-brand sedans, such as the available 15 speaker, 3D surround-sound Burmester audio system, the acoustic side glass (which greatly lessens outside/road noise intrusion) and the augmented reality map overlay for the nav system.
You can also get some of the AMG (C43 and C63) looks as well as some of the goods without buying the more powerful (and much more expensive) drivetrains. The AMG Line package ($2,750) includes special black-anodized wheels, sport-tuned suspension and more aggressive steering feel, plus painted calipers and vented brake rotors, sport buckets and brushed aluminum pedals, among other upgrades.
The Rest
Next year – 2027 – the C-Class will be remodeled and (initially) will come only with an electric drivetrain. Some may want to wait for that. Others may want to hurry down to their closest MB store to buy a current C-Class before the transition occurs.
Or, you could wait until later in 2027 (or early early 2028) when Mercedes will add an engine option to the roster.
The Bottom Line
Small luxury sedans have the merit of being sort-of affordable luxury sedans. If this one had a bigger trunk, it’d be an almost $20k alternative to a the mid-sized E-Class sedan. Given that the E sedan doesn’t have a much bigger trunk (just 12.7 cubic feet) or much more interior space – or a bigger engine – the C sedan kind of already is just that.
. . .
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If you can (i could have posted this on the „forever car“ article), get a diesel!!
Over here in germany almost nobody (well apart from the migrants…) chooses the overengineered big petrol versions although we could actually use the potential on the autobahn.
The merc 220/250 diesel was in taxi cabs for a reason
All V6 diesels from audi will outlast you.
Also, with these ,as they are not overtly complex, you don‘t have the crazy US maintenance costs.
Yes, some morons will make sneaky comments as diesel is an odd choice in the US, but you know better 😃
A Mercedes C Class has a 2.0 liter engine? WTF?
Hi Mark,
So does the E-Class, which is the outrageous thing in my book.
That IS outrageous!
My new Toyota has a 2.0L engine, which is to be expected. But in a C or E Class Mercedes? Something is VERY WRONG here!
No doubt this is a great car, but when you can find a lot of the same things in other cars that cost a lot less, it’s not really worth it. Plus, Mercedes Benz is, well, not what it used to be.
The technical achievements are amazing, for a 2L hybrid engined car, up to 671HP, and 752 ft/lb of torque???
And 2.9 seconds to 60, in a 4 door family mobile???
Wow…but the $88K price tag is just as breathtaking…
And with the economic crash that’s being intentionally created, and daily unfolding around us, a lot of possible customers are going to opt iut.
They’ll wait til it gets dropped drastically in price, or just forgo the expense altogether, having to pay food and housing costs with money that could’ve & would’ve, in the past, bought such an amazing ride.
I can see the Larry Silversteins and Zuckerbergs now, cackling and hand rubbing…”Oy Vey, dese Goyims will have der faces rubbed in it hard, before waking up to the shellacking (((we’re))) giving their shekels”….
YMMV….
I watced a bad movie when I was 19. Emasculation of Germany. In 1977 little towns were already filling with young men on 50cc mopeds. Blue smoke louder than current mopeds. Stench of diesel and buzzing two strokes. Cities were already swarming with “guest workers”. Older generation had worked its way to a Mercedes then plastered the trunk with mileage badges. Young men resigned themselves to obvious future decline. It was terrible to watch. Most were silenced by indoctrination and some hippy dippy pipe dream of “reunification IF” I had white haired family who had seen and lived thru the bad, the good and the nostalgia of emasculated 70s. They talked. I listened.
USA USA!
Those MB mileage badges you used to see on grills are a thing of the past. Who in their right mind would attempt to own one of these things past 100k miles?
What sort of strategic planning leads to a gap of up to a year when, ‘Whoops, we forgot to make engines’?
Again and again, auto makers demonstrate that they can’t even get the basics right; can’t maintain continuity in the models they offer. After production gaps of years, well-loved hokey-oldey halo models return for a second or third run, like aging rock stars kept afloat by Human Growth Hormone injections and auto-tune vocals to conceal their quavering pipes.
This is a particularly acute problem for the blockheaded krauts, whose energy Götterdämmerung erupted four years ago when ‘Joe Biden’ and his friends blew up the Nord Stream II pipeline, shutting off cheap Russian gas. Now Germany, strangled by high energy costs, is dying as a production platform.
We can view the C-series’ preposterous “sorry, no engine” interlude as an example of production sputtering to a halt, as the sun sets on the occupied NATO aggressors of Europe. Chancellor Merz barks fecklessly, but the mighty Chinese caravan rolls on. Here’s a fortune cookie for you, Fred:
The fortune you seek is in another cookie. 🙂