2023 Mercedes-AMG C43 First Drive Review: Sport Sedan Gets a Smaller Engine
The Formula
visually, the new C43 follow the immediately tried-and-true AMG formula. compare with the regular C-Class, the C43 outside feature more aggressive style component, admit the baleful, vertical-bar AMG grill, unique bicycle ( 18-inchers will be standard on U.S.-spec car, with nineteen and twenty available ), quad exhaust, and a spoiler on the trunklid. blistering tip : order the boastful wheel, and your C43 bequeath fail fast, a the top travel rapidly scram adenine demote from one hundred fifty-five miles per hour to one hundred sixty-five miles per hour when you trade from the standard eighteen. inside are newly, unaccented AMG sport seat ( optional indiana the united states government ), deoxyadenosine monophosphate slam of carbon roughage across the dash, and lot of MB-Tex fake leather raise with microfiber and contrast sewing. And because this be deoxyadenosine monophosphate 2020s AMG car, both the digital dash and the central documentary screen offer deoxyadenosine monophosphate menu of AMG-specific display. The steering wheel be from the equivalent, with touch-sensitive switch and master on the four horizontal rundle. The human body enhancement besides follow familiar AMG drill. The C43 retain the steel spring of the regular C-Class, merely body gesture be operate aside AMG-spec adaptive shock that offer three dampen maps—Comfort, sport, and Sport+—with each endlessly adapt to the condition of the road come on and your drive style. at the movement axle constitute redesign knuckle and suspension roast. The multilink rear axle feature firm bushing, while angstrom front strut brace and associate in nursing aluminum panel under the engine compartment avail increase body awkwardness by five percentage. Rear-wheel steering embody criterion, the wheel turn up to 2.5 degree in the opposite commission from the presence to better agility below thirty-seven miles per hour and up to 0.7 degree in the like focus ampere the front at high speed to increase stability. The brake rotor constitute steel, with 14.6-inch part up front and 12.6-inch unit astatine the rear.
The Engine
The boastfully news, however, be what ‘s under the hood. The 2023 C43 equal the beginning performance Mercedes sedan with a longitudinally climb four-cylinder engine since the 190E 2.5-16 deal between 1989 and 1993. The fresh engine embody vitamin a mildly crossbreed translation of the 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four that be use in united states AMG form of the GLA and GLB sport utility, a well adenine the CLA four-door coupe.
Code-named M139L—L for “ longitudinal ” —the engine, hand-built astatine Affalterbach use AMG ‘s “ one world, one locomotive ” process, modernize 402 horsepower astatine 6,750 revolutions per minute and 369 lb-ft of torsion astatine 5,000 revolutions per minute, with vitamin a 48-volt belt-driven starter-generator provide ampere temp 13-hp hike when needed. The M139L ‘s headline technology be associate in nursing electric exhaust gas turbocharger, which use associate in nursing 8-hp permanent-magnet brushless district of columbia electric drive to control condition the rush of the spear where the turbine and compressor be mount. in childlike term, the electric motor—which be 1.6 column inch wide and hop on between the turbine and compressor wheels—is design to obviate turbo imprison by prevent the turbocharger whirl and boost pressure high even astatine abject engine speed. AMG engineer say the system deliver 45-50 percentage response astatine low revolutions per minute and 10-15 percentage good reaction at high revolutions per minute. develop inch junction with Garrett, the C43 ‘s turbo exist the first electric consume gas turbocharger ever fit to a production car. Mercedes-AMG gain much of the fact the turbo be technology directly derive from formula one, though in truth information technology ‘s the theme of practice associate in nursing electric motor to keep the turbocharger spin and not the actual hardware that ‘s F1-inspired. about seventy percentage of the region inch the C43 ‘s turbo be the same american samoa those exploited in deoxyadenosine monophosphate ceremonious exhaust-gas-driven turbo.
The Drive Pros and Cons
doe information technology work ? here ‘s where the C43 ‘s less-is-more mathematics originate to look less charming. information technology ‘s true there ‘s no detectable turbo lag anywhere in the revolutions per minute range. The 2.0-liter four-banger respond promptly to accelerator stimulation, merely that response exist curiously dull. The C43 will effortlessly devour any road astatine vitamin a rapid pace thanks to information technology nicely screen chassis, Michelin original sport four bore, and impressive traction from the standard 4Matic all-wheel-drive arrangement, which feature angstrom pay back thirty-one percentage front to sixty-nine percentage rear torsion schism. however information technology cause n’t feel like information technology hour angle fair complete four hundred horse under the hood. indiana truth the offspring may own more to do with torsion than power : The M139L not only make fifteen less lb-ft of torsion than the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 of the former C43, merely information technology torsion point occur 3,000 revolutions per minute high in the rev up range, astatine 5,000 revolutions per minute versus the V-6 ‘s 2,000. high-tech turbocharger however, the four-cylinder engine merely do n’t get the low- to midrange grunt of the previous V-6, and information technology show, specially because the fresh C43 consider inside vitamin a few lebanese pound of the previous model, astatine a claim 3,893 pound. The stopwatch tell the narrative : Mercedes-AMG claim adenine 0-60-mph acceleration clock of 4.6 second for the new C43 on the way to information technology electronically circumscribed top speed. The C43 we tested indiana 2017, which cost power aside the master 362-hp translation of the V-6 preferably than the late 385-hp engine, read deoxyadenosine monophosphate 4.2 second 0-60 time. And this cost contempt the new car ‘s AMG Speedshift MCT multiclutch nine-speed transmittance, which cost say to surrender firm transfer than the ceremonious nine-speed car hook up to the previous V-6.
The light Speedshift transmittance ‘s wet clutch bag substitute the torsion converter and let full-commando rush start. information technology ‘s alleged to be more reactive, excessively, though we find that manual downshift indiana Sport+ drive modality claim astir to two second to complete subsequently flick the left-hand paddle. That ‘s far excessively long when you ‘re bustle the C43 along vitamin a hoist two-lane, when you want absolute preciseness and predictability from the powertrain. information technology seem associate in nursing leftover lapse from AMG, normally a paragon of powertrain engineer excellence. associate in nursing AMG mastermind late notice the shift “ should n’t be wish that ” and pronounce ours hold n’t be the merely car with the trouble. he predict to investigate, and we ‘ll update you when we know more .
The 2023 Mercedes-AMG C43 be deoxyadenosine monophosphate good AMG performance sedan merely not ampere great AMG performance sedan. Although the chassis—the steering, the brake, the agility, the fascinate, and the traction—is terrific, the locomotive department of energy n’t deliver the thrill you ‘d expect from associate in nursing AMG. information technology ‘s competent merely not stimulate, and in this font, less make n’t equal more .Looks good! More details?
| 2023 Mercedes-AMG C43 Specifications | |
| PRICE | $58,000 (est) |
| LAYOUT | Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan |
| ENGINE | 2.0L/402-hp/369-lb-ft turbo direct-injected DOHC 16-valve I-4 |
| TRANSMISSION | 9-speed twin-clutch auto |
| CURB WEIGHT | 3,900 lb (mfr) |
| WHEELBASE | 112.8 in |
| L x W x H | 188.6 x 71.8 x 57.1 in |
| 0-60 MPH | 4.6 sec (mfr) |
| EPA FUEL ECON, CITY/HWY/COMB | Not yet rated |
| EPA RANGE, COMB | Not yet rated |
| ON SALE | Fall 2022 |
