The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan Compact Point of Entry to the World of Premium Sedans

With the A-Class Sedan, Mercedes-Benz introduces the seventh model in its range of compact cars along with the C, E and S-Class. Available starting at OMR 14,495, the addition of the A-Class Sedan ensures that Mercedes-Benz has more premium saloon competence than most other manufacturers.

Exterior design

Superior sportiness and modernity

With its puristic design emphasising 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 emphasising surface areas with reduced lines and precise gaps. The new A-Class Sedan has the proportions of a dynamic and compact saloon 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 17 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 slimline 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 emphasises the perfectly contoured side volume. The side mirrors sit on the beltline.

The two-part tail lamps underscore the clear rear end that emphasises 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.

Here are the design details of the individual equipment lines:

• Progressive: Diamond radiator grille with pins in black, silver-painted louvre and trim insert in chrome; side skirts painted in vehicle colour; beltline and window line trim strip chromed; visible non-functional tailpipe trims and rear apron with trim element in chrome as well as various 17-inch light alloy wheels.
• AMG Line: Diamond radiator grille with pins in chrome and silver-painted louvre and trim insert in chrome, AMG front apron with front splitter in chrome, AMG rear apron (with visible non-functional tailpipe trims) as well as AMG side sill panel in the vehicle colour, beltline and window line trim strip chromed, 18" AMG light alloy wheels. Front brake calliper with Mercedes-Benz logo, front brake disks perforated (for A 220 and higher).
• Night Package (available in combination with the Progressive Line and the AMG Line): The package includes black-painted exterior mirror housings; diamond radiator grille with pins (depending on the Line) and louvre painted in black with a high-gloss finish; rear apron with trim painted in black with a high-gloss finish; beltline trim strip and window line trim strip in high-gloss black; heat-insulating dark-tinted glass from B-pillar. The Progressive line also comes with 18-inch 5-twin-spoke light-alloy wheels in black with a high-sheen finish. The AMG Line also includes 18-inch AMG 5-spoke light-alloy wheels painted in black with a high-sheen finish as well as the front splitter painted in black with a high-gloss finish.

The Edition 1 will follow around one year from market launch. Both on the exterior and in the interior, the exclusive special model comes with numerous colour highlights in copper, such as on the pins of the diamond radiator grille. The Edition 1 is shod with 19-inch AMG multi-spoke light-alloy wheels, copper-painted with a high-sheen finish. Additional standard features include LED High Performance headlamps, sport seats with adjustable head restraints and ambience lighting. The Edition 1 is available in all engine variants and selected paint finishes.

Interior design

Revolution from within

The interior of the new A-Class Sedan is completely redefined with its modern, avant-garde look. Mercedes-Benz has taken a completely new approach, revolutionising 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 colours of the optional ambient lighting make five times as many colours 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 colours are composed into ten colour themes to allow an avant-garde lighting display with spectacular colour changes.

The cockpit is available in three versions:

• with one 7-inch and one 10.25-inch (26 cm) display and
• with two 10.25-inch displays.

Colour and trim: fresh colours and unusual trim

The interior can be adapted to suit personal tastes in many ways. The fresh colour concept plays an important part in this: the choice includes indigo blue inspired by the denim jeans look, as well as cool neva grey exclusive to the A-Class. Light effects create an additional effect in this context.

Depending on the equipment line, different types and colours of trim elements are available for the dashboard. An overview of the trim elements:

• Style: colour band matching the upholstery in neva grey, indigo blue or black with integrated, contrasting piping in orange, light blue or grey
• Progressive: carbon-fibre look in black or silver
• AMG Line: AMG microfibre in black or aluminium with bright longitudinal grain (in conjunction with Artico upholstery)
• Optional for Progressive/AMG Line: light aluminium with longitudinal grain, light aluminium with line grain, trim in black open-pore lime wood or brown open-pore walnut wood (Progressive only)

MBUX Mercedes-Benz User Experience

The new A-Class Sedan features the completely new MBUX - Mercedes-Benz User Experience multimedia system. A unique feature of this system is its ability to learn thanks to artificial intelligence. MBUX - Mercedes-Benz User Experience is customisable and adapts to the user thus creating 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 -Mercedes-Benz User Experience touch-control concept – a triad consisting of the touchscreen, touchpad on the centre console (optional) and touch controls on the steering wheel.

MBUX - Mercedes-Benz User Experience 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. Online content such as current filling station prices or the availability of parking spaces in the multi-storey car park are displayed in MBUX - Mercedes-Benz User Experience as an option.

Active and Passive Safety

The new A-Class Sedan is fitted with some of the highest levels of active safety in its segment, with functions adopted from the S‑Class. It is able to drive semi-autonomously in certain situations and is equipped with driving assistance systems to support the driver.

It comes with expanded Active Brake Assist as standard. Depending on the situation, it can effectively help to mitigate the consequences of rear-end collisions with slower-moving, stopping or stationary vehicles ahead, and even with crossing pedestrians and cyclists, or prevent them altogether.

Active Lane Keeping Assist (likewise standard) is able to warn the driver by means of pulsed vibrations in the steering wheel when the vehicle is unintentionally drifting out of its lane at speeds between 60 and 200 km/h. If the vehicle passes over a solid line, it can pull the vehicle back into lane by applying the brakes on one side. In the case of a dotted line, such intervention takes place only when there is a danger of collision with a vehicle in the adjacent lane (including danger from oncoming traffic).

PRE-SAFE® PLUS can recognise an imminent rear-end collision. If the danger of a collision persists, the system can also firmly apply the brakes of the stationary vehicle, thus minimising the risk of injuries by reducing the forward jolt caused by an impact from the rear.

Passive safety: highly stable passenger compartment and modern restraint systems

The new A-Class Sedan was developed at the new Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety (TFS). The design of the vehicle structures incorporates findings from research into real accidents. Every single body shell component was developed according to the loads and stresses encountered, with respect to geometry, material thickness, joining technology and material quality (increased proportion of high-strength and ultra-high-strength sheet steel).

The centrepiece of the body's safety concept is the highly rigid passenger compartment. Its great rigidity when subjected to accident-induced stress e.g. in frontal, lateral or rear-end collisions and roll-overs is above all due to the greater use of high-strength, ultra-high-strength and press-hardened sheet steel.

Drive System

The A-Class Sedan has five engines available, two of which combined with 4MATIC all-wheel drive: All A-Class Sedan engines adhere to the Euro 6d TEMP limits [1] and  are efficient, powerful and versatile.

The engine line-up at launch:

• A 200 (120 kW/163 hp, 250 Nm); with 7G-DCT dual-clutch transmission (fuel consumption combined 5.4-5.2 l/100 km,
  CO2 emissions combined 124-119 g/km)
• A 250 (165 kW/224 hp, 350 Nm); with 7G-DCT dual-clutch transmission (fuel consumption combined 6.3-6.1 l/100 km,
  CO2 emissions combined 143-139g/km)

Equipment/technology highlights

The new A-Class Sedan has a number of highlights that up until now were not available in this form in the compact car class. The MBUX – Mercedes-Benz User Experience infotainment system is of course foremost among these, but here is a peak at other technical treats.

LINGUATRONIC

One of the strengths of MBUX is its intelligent voice control with natural language comprehension, which is activated by the keyword "Hey Mercedes" (or "Hello Mercedes"). The new LINGUATRONIC supports many infotainment functions (e.g. destination input, phone calls, music selection, writing and hearing messages, weather forecast), as well as numerous convenience functions such as climate control/lighting. Indirect speech is also recognised, for instance if the user says, "I feel cold" instead of giving the clear command "Temperature to 24 degrees" in order to operate the climate control. The temperature is then increased by one degree, or lowered by one degree on hearing "I am hot".

Easier parking and manoeuvring

Active Parking Assist with PARKTRONIC assists the driver when searching for a parking space and when entering or leaving parallel or end-on parking spaces in both forward and reverse direction. It manoeuvres the vehicle into the selected parking space and back out again. PARKTRONIC gives a visual and acoustic warning of recognised obstacles with the help of six ultrasonic sensors in each bumper. These can be in front of, to the side or behind the vehicle, and are recognised at speeds up to approx. 10 km/h.

MULTIBEAM LED headlamps

With the MULTIBEAM LED headlamps, the control units calculate the ideal lighting configuration within milliseconds. The road ahead is precisely and brightly illuminated. 18 individually actuated LEDs are housed in each headlamp. The daylight-like light colour of the LEDs is easy on the eyes and has a positive effect on concentration. Its functions include

• variable low beams for country roads and motorways (motorway mode with range increased by around 50 metres)
• automatic activation of cornering lights when turning to the left and right. These are activated if the direction indicators are operated at under 40 km/h, and also on tight bends at under 70 km/h. Both cornering lights are switched on when revering, so as to illuminate the swivel range
• cornering light with roundabout function. This is activated approx. 70 metres before entering a roundabout, and approx. 40 metres before junctions
• city light for wide light distribution at low speeds within built-up areas
• Adaptive High beam Assist Plus. This brightly illuminates the road over a long range and can remain permanently switched on, since partial deactivation of the individual high beam modules means that oncoming traffic and vehicles ahead are excluded from the light cone and thus are not blinded