Mercedes C-Class Electric driven: Can battery power improve one of Britain's favourite saloon cars?

It’s one of the toughest challenges facing carmakers over the next decade.

Take your best-known models, reinvent them for the electric age and then convince customers they're every bit as good as, if not better than, the petrol-powered car they’ve been buying for years.

Mercedes is going through this process right now with arguably its most important car.

While the C-Class is no longer the firm's biggest seller (that title now belongs to the GLC SUV) its bloodline dates back to the 190 Series more than 40 years ago and it remains the benchmark by which the German giant is judged.

Because when the compact executive saloon leads the segment, Mercedes is usually thriving. But when rivals overtake it, alarm bells tend to ring. 

That means there's enormous pressure on this new C-Class Electric to set the tone for the Mercedes brand. 

But not only does it need to outperform its battery-powered rivals, it also has to live up to the standards set by the combustion-engined C-Classes that came before it.

I've been driving the new C-Class Electric on UK roads to find out whether it can persuade motorists that it’s time to hang up the petrol pump for good.

One of Mercedes-Benz's longest-running nameplates has gone electric. Has switching to battery power improved the C-Class and will it be the standout EV compact executive saloon?

What’s new?

This isn't simply a C-Class with its engine ripped out and a battery stuffed beneath the floor. Far from it, in fact. 

It sits on an entirely new electric-only platform.

As a result, it's 13cm longer than the petrol C-Class that's been in showrooms since 2021. It's also fractionally taller and wider, which is good news for passenger comfort, though perhaps less reassuring for drivers attempting to squeeze it into a single garage or a crowded supermarket car park.

Mercedes claims there's an extra 1.2cm of front legroom and 2.2cm more headroom inside. Rear-seat passengers also benefit from an additional 1.1cm of space overhead, meaning the electric C-Class promises to be the most spacious version yet.

The first variant to arrive in the UK, and the model I've been driving, is the range-topping C 400 4Matic.

Prices start from just under £58,000, so around £11,000 dearer than the entry-level petrol C-Class.

More affordable versions will join the line-up later, bringing the starting price closer to that of the combustion-engined cars.

Mercedes C-Class Electric specs

On sale: now

First UK deliveries: end of 2026

Price: from £57,995 for C 400 variants (cheaper models will follow)

Price of car tested: £75,495 (Premium Edition with Refinement Package and 22kW AC charging converter)

DIMENSIONS

Length: 4,883mm

Width: 2,066mm

Height: 1,503mm

Wheelbase: 2,962mm

Kerb weight: 2,460 kg

Boot capacity: 470l + 101l frunk

PERFORMANCE

Battery: 94kWh

Power: 493bhp

Drive: All wheel drive

Transmission: Single speed auto

0-62mph: 4.0 seconds

Top speed: 130mph

Official WLTP range: 452 miles

CHARGING

Max DC charging speed: 330 kW

10-80% charge time: 22 minutes

The C400 comes with a 94kWh battery, dual-motor set-up and four-wheel drive. On paper, it offers a claimed range of 452 miles.

That's more than enough - in theory - to travel from London to Edinburgh and still have charge to spare. 

However, it already leaves the Mercedes at a distinct disadvantage against its biggest rival.

BMW's new i3 50 xDrive – which costs around the same as the C-Class Electric – claims up to 566 miles from a full charge of its 108.7kWh battery pack. In practical terms, that equates to roughly five additional days of driving before you need to charge it up.

But Mercedes says there will be C-Class Electric models with a single electric motor driving just the rear wheels that can will hit the 500-mile marker on a single charge. We'll just need to wait a few months for them to arrive.

Across the board, that should see it better the Tesla Model 3 Long Range, which offers 410 miles in all-wheel-drive guise and 466 miles of range if choosing the RWD option. Though the Tesla is around £8,000 cheaper.

The C-Class Electric is underpinned by an 800-volt electrical architecture and can charge at rates of up to 330kW, provided you can find a suitably powerful charger.

In theory, that means you can add around 200 miles of range in just ten minutes.

A DC converter capable of accepting up to 400kW charging from ultra-rapid devices is included as standard at no extra cost, unlike on some other Mercedes EVs.

An AMG-tuned performance flagship is also on the way, with Mercedes suggesting it will produce more than 600bhp.

The C-Class Electric uses an entirely different architecture to its petrol brethren that's been on sale since 2021. That means its bigger across all dimensions

Up front, the C-Class Electric features Mercedes's new signature array of 1,050 LED light. It looks more gaudy than genuinely classy

The black strip incorporating the rear brake lights and Mercedes emblem also make the rear of the car fussier than it needed to be

It’s not a looker

I usually reserve judgment on a car's looks because, as the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

But there are elements to the styling of the C-Class Electric I struggle to warm to.

The narrower grille is far too snout-like for my liking. And its array of 1,050 LED lights, which perform an elaborate welcome display whenever you set off, feel more gaudy than genuinely classy.

Sadly, it's no better at the rear. A contrasting black panel splashed across the tailgate only serves to clutter the design and spoil the overall look.

Mercedes has also turned the C-Class Electric into something of a rolling billboard for its famous badge. The three-pointed motif is embedded in the headlights and all four rear brake lights and you even get 163 illuminated stars twinkling in the panoramic roof in top-spec models.

This thing has more stars than Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Mercedes has turned its C-Class Electric into a rolling billboard for its famous badge...

The three-point logo appears in the headlights and the roof lining inside. There's more stars here than on Hollywood's Walk of Fame

What’s it like inside?

My test car is the range-topping Premium Edition. That means the cabin is dominated by Mercedes' vast MBUX Hyperscreen, which stretches a whopping 39.1 inches across the dashboard. 

Clamber inside and it feels more IMAX cinema than electric car cockpit.

I'll come back to the technology shortly, but in terms of perceived quality, the C-Class Electric makes an excellent first impression. Everything feels solid, well assembled and reassuringly robust. As every Mercedes should.

Buyers can choose from a range of interior finishes, from open-pore wood trims that will appeal to traditionalists to animal-free materials approved by the Vegan Society that will tick boxes for those who are environmentally minded.

My range-topping test car, which tipped the scales at £75,495 with options, wasn't entirely free of disappointments, however.

The flashy star-pattern air vents flanking the Hyperscreen feel a bit cheap and some of the steering wheel controls are unnecessarily fiddly to use on the move.

My test car was the range-topping Premium Edition and featured Mercedes's MBUX Hyperscreen. The 239.1-inch display stretches across the entire dashboard

The rear seats offer lots of headroom. However, due to the front seats bolted low to the floor, passengers have limited space to put their feet, which will be an issue for taller people

For those sitting up front, heated and electrically adjustable seats come as standard. 

My test car featured upgraded ventilation, massage, memory settings and adjustable lumbar support. Yet despite all that kit, I never quite found a driving position that felt genuinely comfortable. Given more time and experimentation, I'm sure I'd eventually discover the sweet spot for longer journeys.

Large doors that open wide make access to the second row easy, also when installing a child seat and buckling a toddler into it. And thanks to the panoramic roof's recessed cut-out in the headlining, there's ample headroom for six-foot passengers despite its sloped rear window.

Sadly, the front seats are mounted so low to the floor that rear occupants can't slide their feet underneath them. As a result, taller passengers are forced into a more knees-up position than they'd probably like.

One of the C-Class Electric's biggest strengths, though, is practicality.

It boasts a 470-litre boot and a 101-litre front storage compartment, or 'frunk', which is the ideal place to stash charging cables.

The boot alone is 15 litres larger than that of the petrol C-Class. It also comfortably beats the BMW i3, which offers 420 litres of boot space and a comparatively tiny 31-litre frunk.

Not all rivals are beaten, however.

The Tesla Model 3 still comes out on top for outright luggage capacity, with a cavernous 682 litres of storage.

With a 470-litre boot, the C-Class Electric has more rear luggage space than its petrol sibling

The addition of a 101-litre 'frunk' means there's space to keep the car's charging cables so you don't need to take up usable loading capacity in the boot

Genuinely impressive tech

As distracting as a 39.1-inch dashboard-spanning display might sound, Mercedes's system includes technology that truly enhances the everyday driving experience.

Take the Google Maps-powered navigation system. It provides one of the most detailed and visually impressive bird's eye views of your surroundings, thanks to a high-definition backlit display featuring more than 1,000 LEDs.

Its navigation guidance is particularly impressive. As you approach a junction, a live camera feed of the road ahead appears on the screen, with augmented-reality arrows overlaid on the image to show exactly where you need to go. The head-up display beamed onto the windscreen in front of you is just as good.

The package is so accomplished that it's one of the rare occasions where I chose to stick with the car's native operating system rather than defaulting to the familiar smartphone-style interface of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The enormous touchscreen is undoubtedly a major distraction. But its detail and some of the features are truly impressive...

We really rate Mercedes' self-parking system, which is incredibly user-friendly to operate and takes all the pain out of squeezing into tight bays and busy supermarkets car parks

The self-parking system is also the best I've experienced to date.

Pull into a car park, select reverse and the C-Class Electric identifies every available parking space around you. Simply hold the brake pedal, choose your preferred bay on the touchscreen, and the car takes complete control of the steering, throttle and brakes to neatly slot itself into place.

There's also a cloud-based connectivity system that allows Mercedes vehicles to share information with one another to surprisingly useful effect.

For example, when enough cars identify a particularly severe pothole, its location is automatically added to the database and beamed into the electronic brain of other connected Mercedes models to warn drivers of its whereabouts ten seconds in advance.

That's technology serving a genuine purpose rather than existing simply for the sake of it. But while all of this is undeniably clever and deeply impressive, I did find myself wondering whether we really need quite so much screen distracting us from the job at hand.

Fortunately, the latest 'Hey Mercedes' AI-driven voice assistant responds well to complex, conversational requests you ask of it, meaning you can change tracks on Spotify or find the closest public charging point without needing to prod at the expansive display.

The quality of the audio inside the C-Class Electric is equally impressive. 

My top-spec test vehicle came with a Burmester system with Dolby Atmos surround sound, including two transducers embedded in the front seats. The effect is hugely immersive. Crank up the volume and bass, however, and the backrest vibrations can quickly start to rearrange the contents of your stomach.

Elsewhere, the standard Distronic adaptive cruise control system can steer, brake and even change lanes on your behalf. Drivers still need to keep their hands on the wheel at all times, though.

And the extensive suite of safety technology includes up to 27 cameras and sensors, as well as 11 airbags.

The C-Class has traditionally been tuned for comfort over outright driving dynamics. And that's very much still the formula for the EV model

The steering is nicely weighted and, combined with rear-wheel steering, makes the C-Class Electric feel surprisingly agile for a car that weighs the best part of 2.5 tons 

How does it drive?

If you're buying a Mercedes-Benz, you expect a plush ride. And the C 400 delivers that in abundance.

That owes much to the optional £2,500 Refinement Package fitted to my test car, which upgrades the standard comfort suspension with adaptive Airmatic air suspension and four-wheel steering.

The result is a level of comfort and composure you'd normally associate with Mercedes' flagship S-Class.

It doesn't completely iron out Britain's pothole-ravaged roads by floating over every crack and scar in the tarmac. Instead, it glides along with an impressive sense of poise while still giving the driver a feel for the surface beneath.

That occasionally allows a little suspension chatter to make its way into the cabin, though it's only noticeable because wind and powertrain noise are suppressed so effectively.

This is thanks to some extensive insulation like its double-glazed front side glass that makes the C-Class a cossetting place to be on long trips. It's even more impressive given there's no active noise cancelling piped through the cabin speakers.

The steering is nicely weighted and, combined with rear-wheel steering that can turn by up to 4.5 degrees, makes the C-Class Electric feel surprisingly agile for a car that weighs the best part of 2.5 tons and has been engineered with comfort rather than outright driver engagement in mind.

It's unlikely to be the most entertaining EV in its class, but it responds willingly whenever you're in a hurry.

With 483bhp and 800Nm supplied by its twin-motor powertrain, the C 400 can sprint from 0-62mph in just four seconds before topping out at 130mph.

Our test car had the optional £2,500 Refinement Package, which upgrades the standard comfort suspension with adaptive Airmatic air suspension. It's impressively comfortable

The Mercedes C-Class Electric's acceleration can feel abrupt from low speeds as it unleashes the bulk of its torque with immediate effect

However, it does lack a little finesse in the way it delivers that performance.

Plant your right foot and the Mercedes unleashes almost all of its potency in one hit rather than building speed through smooth, progressive surge of acceleration. As a result, it can feel a tad uncouth, even in Comfort mode.

This is largely due to a two-speed transmission mounted on the rear axle.

While the lower ratio provides this abrupt acceleration from lower speeds, a leggier second gear automatically engages when you're driving on the motorway to maximise efficiency and extend range. The front motor can also be disconnected when it's not required, reducing drag and helping eke out a few additional miles between charging stops.

In terms of stopping power, there's three-stage regenerative braking, controlled via paddles behind the steering wheel. In its most aggressive setting, it delivers genuine one-pedal driving, slowing the car forcefully as soon as you lift off the accelerator and even bringing it smoothly to a halt in traffic with a chauffeur-like level of refinement.

What sort of range can you really expect? 

As for real-world efficiency, an extended test route covering a mix of road types on a cool October afternoon saw the powertrain returning 3.8 miles per kWh.

That equates to a realistic range of around 360 miles in autumn conditions with two occupants aboard. 

Still, that’s over 90 miles short of the ‘official’ 452-mile figure.

Electrification has only enhanced the very best features of the C-Class, including its comfort and refinement. But its biggest problem will be the BMW i3, which is longer legged in terms of range and is expected to be more engaging to drive

The Cars & Motoring verdict

Successfully transitioning a well-established model from the combustion era to the electric age is a tough ask.

However, electrification plays directly to the C-Class's existing strengths.

Buyers of Mercedes' compact executive saloon have traditionally prioritised comfort, refinement and luxury above all else. And on those fronts, the C-Class Electric delivers in spades. 

Its cabin is wonderfully quiet, the ride is impressively composed and the interior feels every bit as premium as you'd hope.

You could make the case that some of the technology is a step too far. But many of the features genuinely enhance the driving experience rather than being showroom gimmicks.

Unfortunately, an overload of branding and some questionable styling flourishes do undermine the sense of class I expect from Mercedes' junior executive model.

Its biggest problem, though, will be the competition.

The new BMW i3 promises a longer range for the same price and, if BMW's track record is anything to go by, is likely to be a more engaging experience from behind the wheel.

I'll be driving the new BMW next month, so soon I'll be able to tell you exactly which premium compact electric saloon deserves your money.