[suneet_ag]

This is certainly in the A6 territory. At Rs. 40.9 lakhs ex-showroom, the on road in Bangalore will translate close to 50 lakhs on road. I have a friend who recently got the A6 Technology variant for around 52 lakhs on road. The list price is 67, but they got a discount of close to 15 lakhs owing to a group buy!!

For sure the C is treading uncharted waters.

[ramb]

Pricing seems to be on the higher side. Almost venturing into the E class territory. On road prices are to be expected in the 50 lakhs bracket. Not sure if this is a sensible move by Mercedes. Still the prices of the diesel model are unknown.

When I spoke with the sales executive of BMW, he informed me that BMW will be differentiating itself from Audi by clearly pricing their models a notch above their competitors so as to keep their exclusivity factor. Thats why the on road price of their Base model 320d is priced 42 lakhs. Just feel that Mercedes has done outdone BMW in this factor

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I wouldn't be surprised if you can get a 520d for the same price after discounts.

At the moment probably not as the 5 series price went up a lot with the facelift. However, I did get a pre-facelift 520d last year just when the facelift came out for 38 lakhs ex-showroom since dealers were keen to clear pre-facelift stock.

[RohanDheman]

As someone who bought a C200 Avantgarde in Febraury 2014, here is my reaction:

(since only two are allowed).

Should have waited for this!!!

Yes my C was a bargain at 33 lacs (almost 11 lacs cheaper than the W205) but my god the W205 looks absolutely mind boggingly gorgeous in that shade of blue!

A big DAMN! once again!

Rohan

[amit]

Originally Posted by fine69

And is it just me who hates the rear styling of the car?

I am with you on this. I don't like the way the new C looks and the rear design has a major role to play in that.

50L on road Mumbai is close to full price BMW 320D Sport/Luxury line isn't it? I understand the petrol 320 is about 6-7 lakhs more.

[StarScream]

Pricey but this car is much nicer looking than the version it replaces. I remember the previous one had a stripped down diesel that was offered for about 33 lakhs.

[GKR9900]

Originally Posted by Autolock123

Could it be that premium players are trying to position their earlier entry level sedans (Mercedes C class, BMW 3 series and Audi A4) a bit higher in price with launch of other smaller models siting below 40 lakhs.

Would be keen to hear out the thoughts of other members.

That's exactly what's happening. From the looks of it, its not gonna end with Mercedes alone. Upcoming Audi A4, facelifted BMW 3-er all are going to follow suit. Earlier, they used to be the entry level models for their respective brands.Now they have 2-3 models occupying the 25-40L price range. Wonder how Jag will position the XE though, they don't have any other model below it. But given Jags have always been more expensive than their German peers, it could be on the higher side.

A big let down for those who were hoping to upgrade to the 30-40L segment within a few years. C,A4,3 were good products that offered a glimpse of their respective brands in an all-round package. But the current entry level models(CLA,A3,2) seem to have compromises in some area or the other. For example, consider a current Jetta owner who wants to upgrade to a luxury brand. Considering everything that the Jetta provides,his logical choices now lie 2 segments higher. He might not prefer an A3 for the lack of space, or the CLA for the lack of grunt and space. And of course this being India, there will always be takers,no matter what.

The new C is a smashing car, no doubt. But the current price is exorbitant. At least they should've provided an air suspension at this price. Even with CKD routes, this segment has its bar raised,from a price perspective.

[reppy]

And to think, just a year and a half back this segment started prices at 23.9 lacs with the Volvo S60!

[GKR9900]

Originally Posted by reppy

And to think, just a year and a half back this segment started prices at 23.9 lacs with the Volvo S60!

Those were the days! Sigh!
At least I hope folks at Volvo seize this opportunity and NOT increase their prices, so that they provide a very competent alternative to the Germans. Even the upcoming Passat will make a lot of sense now.

[deetjohn]

The pricing is not bad when we consider its the launch edition made of aluminum mostly and how the luxury car prices are nowadays right?

Originally Posted by fine69

And is it just me who hates the rear styling of the car?

I think its a totally wrong picture to attach along with that question. To me, the new C looks absolutely gorgeous inside out.

There was some news on mix and match variants right? Sport interior + Luxury exterior and vice versa. Wonder what happened to that plan.

[amansanc]

Originally Posted by Sahil

At the moment probably not as the 5 series price went up a lot with the facelift. However, I did get a pre-facelift 520d last year just when the facelift came out for 38 lakhs ex-showroom since dealers were keen to clear pre-facelift stock.

Someone I know managed to get a hefty discount on the 5 series facelift Luxury line. The car costed them close to 53 lakhs OTR. If i recall correctly, the OTR price is close to 62 lakhs without discounts. That translates to a 9 lakh discount.
A 520D for just 3 lakhs over a C200 sounds like a bargain. I however love the C-Class.


Cheers
amansanc

[apurva512]

Since this is CBU, registration charges will also be much higher than other ckd cars. I was told the OTR Mumbai registration would be ~55l. They are offering the E250 at 52l on road company registration!!!

[sandeep108]

Mercedes is pricing the Petrol C which seems fully loaded against the BMW 328i (also fully loaded) which also has a similar ex-showroom price. However being a CBU, on road would be much higher than the 328i. The 328i was within a short throw from the 520d pricing anyway and so is the new C as compared to the E200.

The 328i 2.0L petrol makes about 250 bhp and 350 nm of torque with a superb ZF 8 speed AT as against 181 BHP and 300 nm of the C200 with a 7 speed. Unfortunately neither BMW nor Mercedes are bringing in their 335i (3.0L V6) or C300 (2L 4 pot with 240 bhp) /400 (3L V6) to India. So Mercedes should have ideally brought in the C300 at this price to be fair to Indian customers and to compete with the 328i. Bringing C200 at this price point seems to make no sense except to lure in / dupe early clutch of buyers.

Since not many went for the 328i, I do not think many will go for the new C either. In fact with this pricing, it may result possibly in increase in sales of the 328i, which still remains a very good drivers car. But with the Indian penchant for bling, maybe Mercedes may beat the other 2 Germans, yet. The C200 once when made in India with a few less options and say 10L cheaper will finally sell more units like the current C200.

320d/A4 2.0TDi are very much lower priced and will still sell in much larger numbers and sensibly Mercedes is not bringing in the C diesel as a CBU as it will have no takers at pricing of 10-12L+ over the competition.

[ramb]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

Mercedes is pricing the Petrol C which seems fully loaded against the BMW 328i (also fully loaded) which also has a similar ex-showroom price. However being a CBU, on road would be much higher than the 328i. The 328i was within a short throw from the 520d pricing anyway and so is the new C as compared to the E200.

I think the 328i is also a CBU. Correct me if I am wrong.

I feel Mercedes is doing a big service in increasing the sales of BMW 3 series, S60 and the A4 by keeping by pricing the C class exorbitantly

[Mad Max]

Good looking car indeed. On the pricing, this is their top of the line model, right? We need to wait till they get their diesels in and that's where the price war lies. I am sure Merc will have competitive numbers to keep up with the segment.

India is a tricky market for all of them. If they price it even slightly over the affordability of an aspirational buyer, the buyer would either wait or move on to something else.