If you were to be shown a photo of the 2015 C-class and another of the 2014 S-class and asked to determine which was which, you’d be forgiven for any momentary hesitation. The first photos of the 2015 C-class, which isn’t due to be revealed until next year’s Detroit auto show, have been posted on Spanish blog Diariomotor (you can see all the images there), and it looks basically like a miniature S-class. And this isn’t much of a surprise—spy photos we’ve published pretty much gave away the C-class’s look months ago.
The current C-class’s chamfered, angular look gives way to a more sculptural and swoopy countenance seemingly culled straight from the S-class and compact CLA-class. Up front there’s an upright grille—available in sporty and “traditional” guises; either the star’s in it or hovers above it—that appears to cut in on the inner portion of the headlights. Huge, curvy intakes sit beneath each peeper, and the same dual arcing character lines found on the CLA- and S-classes slope across the C-class’s body sides. The roofline echoes the fluidity of those two creases, losing its formal C-pillar in favor of a coupe-like sloped backlight. While we think the 2015 C-class is rather attractive, it’s also disappointingly derivative of Benz’s other four-doors—to be fair, the same complaint could be levied at Audi and BMW, both of which offer pretty much the same sedan in multiple sizes.
