Mercedes fans have been waiting for the first drive reviews of the German carmaker’s new C-Class to drop tomorrow – must be a surprise then to find out that the car has already gone on sale. 

The new electric version of the C saloon is set to go head to head with the BMW i3. The Merc was revealed back in April, and deliveries will start around the same time as its arch rival from Munich. 

So what about the pricing? The C-Class EV is already available to configure on the Mercedes website, with one powertrain offering in five different trims – Sport, AMG Line, AMG Line Premium, AMG Line Premium Plus and Premier Edition. 

The C-Class Sport 400 4Matic Electric starts from £57,995, the AMG Line adding £3k, AMG Line Premium another £5k to make £65,995, the Plus adding £2,500 just to confuse you and the Premier Editing topping the range at £70,995. 

All the C-Classes get a generous kit list, with 11kW AC charging and 330kW ultra-rapid DC charging as standard, all-wheel drive, comfort-tuned suspension, noise damping glass up front, electric folding rear seats, a frunk that’s accessible by pressing the Mercedes badge up front, keyless go dual-zone aircon, heated front seats, rearview camera, adaptive cruise control, a selfie camera inside, plus Apple and Android compatibility. 

The Premier Edition gets you all the equipment (including a 39.1in Hyperscreen infotainment screen, pano glass roof that turns opaque on demand, heated wipers, light-up front grille (see below, or behind you on the M40 in six months), massage front seats and heated rear seats) plus a suite of styling tweaks that set the car apart from the rest of the range. 

Under the metal you get two electric motors and a 94kWh usable battery that’s good for up to 452 WLTP miles depending on what size wheels and how much extra kit you go for. At 330kW it’ll get from 10–80% in 22 minutes. Excitingly, this is the first new Mercedes EV for a while that lets you charge on 400V chargers without having to pay extra for the privilege – recent launches have been restricted to 800V ultra-rapid chargers for DC charging.

Need to carry lots of stuff about the place? Well. the 101-litre frunk complements the 470-litre boot and the C-Class will tow up to 1,800kg. 

The new C-Class lags behind the BMW i3 in terms of outright range, but what’s 100 or so miles between friends? The pricing is also competitive with the £57,905 First Edition version of the BMW, but a cheaper entry model is set to arrive later this year starting from £53,005. 

Good news, though – the i3 won’t have the advantage for long, because Mercedes plans to launch a cheaper entry version of the C-Class with rear-wheel drive that it reckons could get close to 500 miles of range and be around £10,000 cheaper than its launch car. 

Keep an eye on Electrifying.com for the first verdict on how the new C-Class drives on Tuesday.