When the current generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class made its debut, almost everyone was disappointed by the news there won’t be engines with more than four cylinders. Even the range-topping AMG-developed C43 and C63 models have electrified 2.0-liter inline-four mills under the hood. That doesn’t mean they are slow, however, and a new video shows us the less powerful model in action on the Autobahn.
Let’s start with a quick reminder of the most important numbers. The C43 AMG has the said 2.0-liter turbocharged engine in a variant with 402 horsepower (296 kilowatts) and 369 pound-feet (500 Newton-meters). The power reaches all four wheels and in this wagon version, it is enough for a sprint from a standstill to 62 miles per hour (0-100 kilometers per hour) in just 4.7 seconds. The top speed with the optional AMG Driver's Package is 165 mph (265 kph) – but can it actually achieve it?
The answer is… well, almost. We don’t like to be too punctual but in this video from the Autobahn, the fast estate hits 163 mph (263 mph), which is just a smidge short of what the automaker promises. Even though the instrument cluster shows 172 mph (277 kph), the GPS speed tracker reveals the actual speed is significantly lower. Unfortunately, we can’t see the traffic ahead of the car but we assume the C43 AMG is likely able to reach 165 mph (265 kph) if the road conditions allow it.
Gallery: 2023 Mercedes-AMG C43 Estate
What about the 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) sprint? Well, the family vehicle from Stuttgart does that discipline surprisingly quickly and even beats what the factory numbers promise. In this video, the car registers a GPS-certified time of 4.57 seconds and this is notably better than the 4.7 seconds from the vehicle’s official datasheet. For the record, the 62-124 mph (100-200 kph) acceleration takes 12.83 seconds, but that’s not a figure Mercedes provides for us to compare with real-world data.
As a final note, the C43 in sedan and wagon forms is the world’s first mass-production model to feature an electric exhaust gas turbocharger adapted from Formula 1. We don’t get the wagon in the United States but the sporty sedan is sold here and we actually drove one in June last year.
