The Mercedes-Benz C-Class Wagon Liveth! (In Q3, In Canada, Without A Diesel)

News that the 2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Wagon would arrive in North America with a diesel powerplant and all-wheel drive caught many industry observers by pleasant surprise early last year.

But it’s been 15 months since Mercedes-Benz announced at 2016’s Montreal Auto Show that the C300d 4Matic would be sold in Canada, albeit not the United States.

Not a crossover, not tall, not be-cladded, not even remotely intended for mass consumption, the C-Class Wagon was destined to be a cult favourite — that’s right, favourite — in The Great White North. However, eight months after the announcement, there was still no C300d 4Matic wagon in Mercedes-Benz’s Canadian showrooms. Blame Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal for delaying the certification.

Yet TTAC was told just yesterday the C-Class Wagon will appear in Canadian showrooms later this summer with a, how do you say in the Canadianese… minor change, eh?

With 15 months having passed since the original announcement, Mercedes-Benz Canada spokesperson Joanne Caza told TTAC yesterday, “There will be no diesel C-Class wagons for 2017.”

In fact, there will be no four-cylinder diesels available in any Mercedes-Benz vehicle, full stop.

While hoping for certification from the United States’ EPA (the Canadian government doesn’t do the testing itself) for the company’s six-cylinder diesel engines, Mercedes-Benz Canada president and CEO Brian Fulton told Automotive News, “Our four-cylinder [diesel] — it’s public knowledge — is off the table.”

Plug-in hybrids are the way forward for many Mercedes-Benz models that otherwise would have been diesel-powered, at least for the time being.

But in the C-Class Wagon, Mercedes-Benz Canada will utilize the 241-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo from the C300 4Matic sedan. The 2018 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic Wagon will likely be rated at the equivalent of 27 miles per gallon. The 2017 Mercedes-Benz C300d 4Matic was expected to achieve at least 32 miles per gallon on the combined cycle.

Mercedes-Benz USA has not offered a C-Class wagon since the 2005 model year, the same year Mercedes-Benz Canada allowed the extended-roof C-Class to leave its lineup. For the final two years of the second-gen C-Class’s run, the wagon didn’t make the cut, nor did a wagon variant of the third-generation (W204) C-Class appear in North America.

Mercedes-Benz Canada’s hopes for the 2018 C300 4Matic Wagon won’t be high. But the wagon will arrive in time to give the C-Class yet another boost. While Canadian passenger car sales are undeniably fading, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan and coupe form Canada’s best-selling premium brand vehicle line, and sales are on the rise.

Year-over-year, Canadian C-Class sales have grown in 11 consecutive months.

The C-Class is on pace for its best year of Canadian sales ever. In fact, the C-Class is currently Canada’s 13-best-selling car overall, ahead of such mainstream stalwarts as the Honda Accord, Hyundai Accent, Nissan Altima, Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata, and Ford Fusion, and only 111 sales back of the Toyota Camry through 2017’s first three months.

A wagon can’t hurt.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars.