Mercedes-Benz Unveils New A-Class Sedan - A Class Apart

Mercedes-Benz Unveils New A-Class Sedan - A Class Apart

From the exterior, the A Class looks much like a baby S Class, with a low, elongated hood, slim chrome headlamps, torch-like daytime driving lights, optional diamond radiator, and, of course, the central star. What's different from the hatchback? The new Sedan version of the A-Class looks quite similar to its existing hatchback version, despite the addition of a boot at the rear. Each headlamp features multiple individually actuated LEDs and standard LED headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lamps. Optional 19-inch wheels look bigger and sportier than normal under the compact, 107.4-inch wheelbase. The A-Class Sedan will be available as an A220 two-wheel-drive and as an A220 4MATIC in four-wheel-drive. Both come equipped with a 2.0L inline-4 turbocharged engine that gets 188 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. Both come with a seven-speed paddle-shift transmission. On the inside, 64 colors of the optional ambient lighting make five times as many colors available than before. And Mercedes鈥?famous safety and crash avoidance systems are there as plentiful as in its other, more expensive vehicles. Will it come to India? There is no official word on its India launch yet.

The entry-level A 160 d version hits 62 mph in 13.6 seconds, while the range-topping A 220 d model gets there in 7.5 ticks. Both figures are for the dual-clutch cars. Top speed varies between 112 and 139 mph for diesel and 118 and 149 mph for gasoline models. Pricing information is not yet available, but we should find out more as the hatchback goes on sale starting July 3rd. Mercedes dealerships across Europe will start receiving the new A-Class by the end of September. 27,268) in Germany (including 16-percent VAT). There鈥檚 no word on whether the German hatch will finally come to the U.S., but I wouldn鈥檛 get my hopes up if I were you. Launched at a similar time as the latest A-Class, the Audi A3 should also be heading toward a mid-cycle facelift. Knowing Audi, it will come at a later time than the refreshed A-Class, with a 2016 Geneva Motor Show premiere being the likely destination. As the first vehicle based on Volkswagen鈥檚 modular MQB platform, the third-generation Audi A3 is currently the lightest car in its segment and comes with an engine range that both Mercedes-Benz and BMW may be jealous of in some parts.

Starting from a turbocharged, 1.2-liter four-cylinder and culminating with the recently-introduced E-Tron plug-in hybrid variant, the Audi A3 also offers front-wheel drive or quattro all-wheel drive on selected engines. As an extra compared with the A-Class, the A3 may come as either a three-door or a five-door model, while the S3 and RS3 currently take care of the sportier customers. Unlike the A-Class, the A3 Sportback is available in the U.S., but only in e-tron form for the moment. Learn more about the A3 hatch in our review here. The only rear-wheel-drive model in its segment, the BMW 1 Series also received it mid-cycle facelift for the 2016 model year. Besides a more appealing exterior design and an updated interior, the refreshed 1 Series also received a batch of new engines, including a couple of three-cylinder units borrowed from the Mini Cooper. Outputs range from 109 to 326 horsepower in gasoline models and from 116 to 224 horses for diesel, meaning there鈥檚 a trim for nearly every version the A-Class will bring to the table. Like the Audi A3, the 1 Series comes in either a three-door or five-door version.

Base models all come with rear-wheel drive, but xDrive all-wheel-drive versions are also available on selected engines. BMW also doesn鈥檛 offer the 1 Series in the U.S. More information on this car in our review here. Even though it follows a more classic approach in its segment, losing the innovative double-floor but also the odd styling of its two predecessors, the third generation of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a resounding sales success for the Stuttgart manufacturer. A large part of its appeal most likely resides in its exterior design, but the model also backed it up with fuel-efficient and powerful-enough engines. This is probably why Mercedes-Benz didn鈥檛 mess with its styling too much for its mid-life refresh, nor it changed much under the hood. The model鈥檚 only caveat is the fact that it only comes as a five-door, both of its two arch enemies also offering slightly cheaper and some say sportier-looking three-door variants. Mercedes-Benz started its 2015 winter testing with a camouflaged 2016 A-Class facelift, not leaving much of its new exterior features to be captured by the spy cameras. Caught somewhere in Northern Sweden, the pre-production prototype is fitted with the so-called "star grille," despite not featuring an AMG body kit. With the rear-bumper lacking a visible exhaust pipe, it is likely that the car is diesel-powered, while the rather low ground learance could signal that we are looking at a front-wheel-drive model and not a 4MATIC one. As you can see, most of the exterior features should remain largely the same, with only the headlights, front bumper and taillights being the only body parts covered with camouflage. Naturally, since this is a pre-production prototype created purely for testing certain features, not all redesigned bits will actually be present on the vehicle, but you shouldn鈥檛 expect too many stylistic surprises anyway.