The family of compact cars from Mercedes-Benz continues to grow: The A-Class Sedan will be launched at the end of 2018. The four-door sedan car has a wheelbase of 2729 millimeters and the proportions of a dynamic and at the same time compact sedan car with short overhangs at the front and rear. It is at the top of its segment with regard to rear headroom. In addition, the sedan model has the familiar A-Class virtues. These include modern, efficient engines, the high level of safety thanks to state-of-the-art driving assistance systems with S-Class functions, and the intuitively operated and learning MBUX – Mercedes-Benz User Experience infotainment system. With a Cd value of 0.22 and a frontal area of 2.19 m², the new A-Class Sedan has the lowest aerodynamic drag of all production vehicles worldwide and thereby defends the world record of the CLA Coupé.
The new A-Class Sedan will be built in Aguascalientes, Mexico, and Rastatt, Germany, and was developed in Sindelfingen, Germany. The new model will be presented to the general public for the first time at the Paris Motor Show (4 to 14 October 2018). Mercedes-Benz already presented the A-Class L Sedan at this year’s Auto China in Beijing in April. This sedan model was developed exclusively as a long-wheelbase version for the Chinese market and is also produced there exclusively.
The new generation of compacts has made a key contribution to the rejuvenation and image change of the Mercedes-Benz brand. The launch of the four-door CLA Coupé CLA in the USA in 2013 was the first time a compact car from Mercedes-Benz was sold on the American market. In 2017, nearly one in two buyers of a compact car from Mercedes-Benz in the USA had previously driven a competitor vehicle, and more than 50 percent of the CLA customers were new at Mercedes (first-time buyers and conquests).
The A-Class established today’s compact car segment of Mercedes-Benz in 1997 and since then more than six million compact car models have already been delivered worldwide. The A-Class Sedan as the seventh model further expands the range of compact cars from Mercedes-Benz. A logical addition, because with the C, E and S-Class, Mercedes-Benz has more premium sedan competence than most other manufacturers.
The A-Class Sedan offers great utility. That includes above-average shoulder, elbow and headroom plus the easy access to the rear. It is at the top of its segment with regard to rear headroom (944 mm). The boot holds 420 liters and was designed for practical usability. The boot opening is very large with a width of 950 mm and a diagonal of 462 mm between lock and lower edge of the rear window. This allows comfortable loading and unloading of larger luggage items.
The new A-Class Sedan takes advantage of the favorable conditions provided by its long rear end to undercut even the already exemplary A-Class with hatchback (Cd value from 0.25). With a benchmark of Cd = 0.22 the new sedan model even equals the original world record of the CLA Coupé. Thanks to the frontal area of 2,19 m², smaller than that of the CLA, the new A-Class Sedan has the lowest aerodynamic drag of all production vehicles worldwide.
The good aerodynamic properties are a crucial factor in the low fuel consumption in real-life conditions. A host of details was optimized with numerous computation loops, CAE simulations (computer-aided engineering) and measurements in the wind tunnel in Sindelfingen. The measures also include an extensive sealing concept (with sealing of the headlamp surroundings et al.) as well as the nearly complete paneling of the underbody, which comprises the engine bay, the main floorpan, parts of the rear axle, the diffuser and other components.
The front and rear wheel spoilers were optimized specifically to route the air around the wheels as efficiently as possible. The rims and tyres also underwent aerodynamic fine-tuning. Depending on the market, an optional two-part shutter system behind the radiator grille is available, which minimizes the airflow through the engine bay.
The entry-level model is already extensively equipped. Standard features include the MBUX – Mercedes-Benz User Experience infotainment system with touchscreen, and driving assistance systems of the latest generation such as Active Brake Assist and Active Lane Keeping Assist. In addition, the A-Class Sedan can be customized with the design and equipment lines Style, Progressive and AMG Line, the Night Package as well as further optional equipment.
The KEYLESS-GO Convenience Package with HANDS-FREE ACCESS will be one of the available options, for example. The HANDS-FREE ACCESS convenience function enables hands-free and fully automatic opening of the boot lid with a kicking motion of the foot under the rear bumper. The A-Class Sedan will be available as an Edition 1 in the year of the market launch. This special model features a host of copper-cultured highlights in the exterior and interior.
With its puristic design emphasizing surfaces, the A-Class Sedan is hot and cool at the same time, and thereby is a seamless fit with the design idiom of Sensual Purity. This includes the clear formal shapes emphasizing surface areas with reduced lines and precise gaps. The new A-Class Sedan has the proportions of a dynamic and compact sedan car with short front and rear overhangs. The greenhouse which sits far back and the compact rear end lend the vehicle a formal dynamic boost. Thanks to the 16 to 19-inch wheels and the pronounced wheel arches, the A-Class Sedan has a sporty stance on the road.
The front end design looks very progressive. Contributing to this impression are the low, elongated bonnet, the slim-line headlamps with chrome element, the torch-like daytime driving lights – plus the single-louvre diamond radiator grille with chrome pins (optional), and the central star. The muscular and sensual vehicle shoulder with a precise character line running below it emphasizes the perfectly contoured side volume. The side mirrors sit on the belt-line. The two-part tail lamps underscore the clear rear end that emphasizes width. The rear reflectors were relocated to the modular two-part rear bumper. Depending on the selected equipment, this rear bumper is available with a black diffuser or with chrome trim strip and chrome tailpipe tips.
The interior of the new A-Class is completely redefined with its modern, avant-garde look. Mercedes-Benz has taken a completely new approach, revolutionizing the compact class from the inside with a new feeling of spaciousness. The unique interior architecture is shaped in particular by the avant-garde design of the dashboard: The designers completely dispensed with a cowl above the cockpit. As a result, the wing-shaped main body of the dashboard extends from one front door to the other with no visual discontinuity. The Widescreen display (optional) is completely free-standing. The air vents in a sporty turbine look are another highlight.
Below this main body is a low-lying section, the so-called wing. The wing appears to float, as there are no connections or shape transitions to the surrounding area. The ambient lighting enhances this effect, accentuating the free-floating impression of the substructure. The 64 colors of the optional ambient lighting make five times as many colors available than before. And it is not just the variety that has increased, as the emotive presentation also sets standards in this segment: the different colors are composed into ten color worlds to allow an avant-garde lighting display with spectacular color changes.
The new A-Class is the first Mercedes-Benz model to feature the completely new MBUX – Mercedes-Benz User Experience multimedia system, which also ushers in a new era for Mercedes me connectivity at the same time. As a result, it also comes standard in the A-Class Sedan. A unique feature of this system is its ability to learn thanks to artificial intelligence. MBUX is customizable and adapts to the user. It thus creates an emotional connection between vehicle, driver and passengers.
Its further strengths include, depending on the specification, the high-resolution Widescreen Cockpit with touchscreen operation of the media display, the navigation display with augmented reality technology plus intelligent voice control with natural speech recognition, which is activated with the keyword “Hey Mercedes”. A head-up display is also available. The touchscreen is part of the comprehensive MBUX touch-control concept – a triad consisting of the touchscreen, touchpad on the center console (optional) and touch control buttons on the steering wheel.
MBUX is a revolution of the user experience in the car. Emotively appealing showcasing features underline the comprehensibility of the control structure and thrill through brilliant 3-D maximum-resolution graphics which are rendered, i.e. calculated and displayed, in real time. New and improved Mercedes me connect services are being launched with the new infotainment generation MBUX. These include the navigation functions based on Car-to-X Communication (information from vehicle to vehicle on events recorded by sensors, e.g. emergency braking, ESP® intervention, or a manual system message from the driver, e.g. about an accident) and Vehicle Tracking, which makes it easier to find the parked car, as well as a message if the parked car has been bumped or towed away.
