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Mercedes C-class Estate to debut at 2001 Detroit Auto Show |
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The estate is characterised by the same technological innovations as the new C-class saloon, matching the saloon in terms of its attractive design, exemplary handling, intelligent functionality and versatility. The Mercedes designers developed the C-class saloon and estate simultaneously. While the front end of both versions is characterised by the familiar sportily elegant appearance, the dynamics of the estate are marked above all by the long, strikingly shaped roof, its curved line falling sharply at the rear and merging with the flatly angled rear roof pillars. In the upper part of the large tailgate is a discreet, integral spoiler. In profile, the estate has a dramatic stance, with the front wheel positioned well forward, long front fenders, and strongly raked belt line creating a unique character. The new estate supersedes the current C-class estate, which has enjoyed impressive success, above all in the western European market: around 250,000 models have been produced since the spring of 1996. The estate has made up one third of all C-class sales. From September 2001 Mercedes-Benz will be introducing the new C-class estate on the US market for the first time. Mercedes is pitching the estate at private or professional people with an active lifestyle who require a versatile vehicle with a high potential load capacity. According to the VDA measuring method, the compact estate offers a luggage capacity of 470 to 1384 litres, depending on the position of the multifunctional rear seats. The cushions and backrests of the rear seats can be folded forwards - either as a whole or individually - creating a flat loading area of up to 1.5 square metres. The largest box which the luggage compartment of the new estate can hold has a volume of 783 litres -- in other words eleven litres more than in the previous model. A removable shopping crate, located below the luggage compartment cover, comes as part of the standard equipment, as does the newly developed, easy-to-use luggage cover with integral retaining net. High-tech systems from the top Mercedes-Benz models are available for the new estate as optional extras. The range extends from the innovative Comand display system with its on-board navigation system and TV receiver to the Linguatronic voice control system for the telephone and car radio, or from the luxury climate control system with sensor control to the state-of-the-art telematics service. |
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