Mercedes-Benz Canada Has No Timeline For C-Class Wagon Arrival
Mercedes-Benz Canada’s surprise reveal of a diesel-powered C-Class Wagon at January’s Montreal International Auto Show has not been followed by the car’s arrival in Mercedes-Benz showrooms. Nor is it about to be.
Only yesterday we listed the C-Class Wagon, intended to go on sale in Canada as the C300d 4Matic, as one of eight cars Canadians have access to that Americans don’t. Recognizing that the 2017 C-Class Wagon wasn’t yet featured on the company’s Canadian website, our curiosity was further piqued by TTAC reader bortlicenseplate, who suggested that, “the C-Class Wagon is no longer Canada-bound.”
bortlicenseplate is mostly right. Mercedes-Benz Canada still intends to import the C300d 4Matic Wagon, but Mercedes-Benz Canada spokesperson JoAnne Caza told TTAC yesterday, “We’re still waiting for certification.”
That certification isn’t a Canadian process steered by Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency, but one that’s farmed out to CARB and the EPA, Caza says.
As a result, there’s essentially no timeline for the C300d 4Matic Wagon’s Canadian on-sale date, as the same 2.1-liter diesel that was set to be the only powerplant in Canada’s C-Class Wagon lineup is likely delayed in the United States until at least the halfway point of next year.
“But this is certainly subject to change,” Mercedes-Benz spokesperson Rob Moran told Automotive News late last month.
Increased attention has been paid to diesel emissions since Volkswagen’s scandal broke news 11 months ago. The diesel awaiting placement in Mercedes-Benz Canada’s C300d 4Matic Wagon is the same 2.1-liter powerplant under the hood of the previous-generation E250 Bluetec.
Certifying the 2.1-liter four-cylinder for use one year later in a different car is clearly not an automatic transaction. As a result, Canadians waiting for one of the eight cars Americans can’t buy must wait a while longer. Potentially much longer.
The C-Class Wagon’s Audi A4 Avant rival is marketed in North America only as the elevated and cladded A4 Allroad. We don’t expect the BMW 3 Series Wagon to survive following the current generation’s run.
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To me, the GLC retains ~95% of the C-Class achingly good looks while having much more utility. It's like getting rejected by a hot girl and ending up with her not quite as but still hot sister who's much more fun to hang out with. Fact of the matter is the C-Class wagon's eye-widening beauty comes at a price. For the extra $2000 or so UK prices indicate I'd rather have the GLC anyway.
When I was shopping earlier this year, I stopped by the local Mercedes dealer to ask about the wagon. They seemed to think it would be coming "soon" and that it would come in both diesel and gas form. The lack of heated rear seats in the C-Class was a deal-breaker for me (such a bizarre feature to leave out of a supposed luxury car), so it didn't bother me too much that they never did get back to me to say when I'd actually be able to order one. For the record, I've bought a 3-series wagon, complete with heated rear seats.