New Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe: Some Facts

Some Facts of Interest

1. There are at least two airbags for each person in the C-Class Coupe, and the driver gets three. With seating for four, there are nine airbags in total; dual front airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, one in each door to protect your body in a side crash, and side curtain airbags to protect heads in a side impact.

2. While it looks a lot sleeker and more compact than the C-Class sedan, the Coupe is exactly the same length and width, and the distance between the front and rear wheels (wheelbase) is also identical. The only difference in exterior dimensions is the height; at 1442mm high the sedan is 37mm taller than the Coupe.

3. The front seats in the Coupe sit 14mm lower compared with those in the sedan. It’s all part of the more sports-focused driving experience in the two-door.

4. All C-Class Coupes run on runflat tyres, which can be driven on for short distances (usually a few hundred kilometres) after a puncture. However, if you drive on them when flat you’ll almost certainly have to replace the tyre rather than get it repaired.

5. All C-Class Coupes get a slightly firmer AMG-tuned suspension set up. It makes the cars bumpier but ensures it sits flatter in corners.

6. The C200 and C250d Coupes are about $5000 more than the C-Class sedans using the same engines. While they have two fewer doors, they do get more equipment, including a memory function for the electrically-adjusting front seats, four cameras to help with parking, “black ash” wood trim and a fake leather dashboard.

7. The main visual differentiator between sedan and coupe at the front of the car is the Coupe’s “diamond grille”. It includes dozens of chrome-finished blobs to give the grille a more elegant 3D appearance.

8. Despite being smaller, the C-Class Coupe weighs about 60kg more than the C-Class sedan.

9. This new model (codenamed C205) is the second generation C-Class Coupe. Prior to that Mercedes-Benz’s most affordable coupe was known as the CLK.

10. Mercedes-Benz has no plans to copy BMW and Audi by producing a four-door “coupe”. The 4-Series GT and A5 Sportback have been successful models, but Benz appears happy with its broad – and broadening – model range for now.