Official: Mercedes A-Class facelift

After less than 3 years, Mercedes revised the A-Class range and has introduced an adaptive drive train, a new base version, a very economical version and a more powerful AMG version.

The compact range from Mercedes is very successful. In case of Mercedes A-Class, two out of three customers are new to Mercedes. In Western Europe, around one in two of a Mercedes A,B, GLA or CLA previously drove a competitor vehicle. A-Class contribute significantly to the rejuvenation of the brand. Nowadays, the average of european drivers owning the new A-Class is around 13 years less than for the former model. In China, the average age is 34 years.

The main achievement of the facelifted Mercedes A-Class is the new adaptive drive train. A-Class is recognized as a higly dynamic car, but now is as also as comfortable as never before.

With Dynamic Select, the vehicle characteristics can be adjusted at the touch of a button. The driver can adjust the response of the engine, transmission, suspension, steering and air conditioning in four driving modes: Comfort, Sport, Eco and Individual.

Dynamic Select is standard for A 200d 4Matic, A 220 4Matic, A 220d, A 220d 4Matic, A 250 4Matic, A 250 Sport an A 250 Sport 4Matic. The models with 7G-DCT, AMG Line and lowered suspension includes also Dynamic Select on the standard list equipment.

Dynamic Select allows the settings of the new suspension wih adaptive damping offered as an option. There is a choice between Comfort mode and Sport mode. A proportional valve is actuated electronically at each shock absorber to control the oil flow and therefore the damping characteristics. The damping system is infinitely variable, and the configuration is individual for each wheel.

In case of Mercedes-AMG A 45  4Matic Dynamic Select has the same settings from the Mercedes-AMG GT and C 63 AMG: Comfort, Sport, Sport+ and Individual. As a new option, the AMG Dynamic Plus package includes a mechanical front axle locking differential, the AMG Ride Control sport suspension with adaptive damping and the fifth Dynamic Select driving mode named Race.

The new range includes a new base version named A 160. Powered by the same 1.6 litre turbo engine from the A 180, A 160 delivers 102 HP and 180 Nm. But the most fuel efficiency version is the new A 180 d BlueEfficiency (1.5 litre turbodiesel/109 HP) which promise a fuel consumption of only 3.5 l/100 km (emissions of 89 g/km CO2).

Other news in the model range include manual transmission for A 250 and A 250 Sport which has a revised engine with power increased from 211 to 218 HP. The A 220 d is now 7 HP more powerful than before with 177 HP. In combination with 7G-DCT dual clutch transmission the A-Class has Launch Assist.

The top model Mercedes-AMG A 45 4Matic also benefits from the model facelift. The most powerful 2 litre turbo in the world is now even more powerful with 381 HP and 475 Nm. The new A 45 AMG accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in only 4.2 seconds, with 0.4 seconds faster than its predecessor.

The charge pressure remain the same at 1.8 bar, while the power increase was obtained with a newly confiured valve asembly. The exhaust system features an automatically exhaust flap as standard.

With the occasion of facelift, The Mercedes A-Class introduce the new nomenclature for the versions. The petrol models has no suffix, while the d letter replaces the previous CDI. The A 180 CDI is called now A 180 d.

The assistance systems were improved. The Attention Asssist  system (offered as standard) operates within an extended range (60-200 km/h) and uses now five stage bar display to visualise the driver’s current attention level. The LED High Performance headlamps are optional (standard for A 45 AMG).