Developed specifically for the Chinese market, Mercedes-Benz on Wednesday unveiled a new A-Class also known as A-Class L at the Beijing Auto Show.
According to the foremost auto firm, an A-Class sedan for the rest of the world will be revealed soon.
It’s expected to reach showrooms in the United States this fall as a 2019 model.
The A-Class sedan is the second of eight body styles planned for Mercedes’ new generation of compacts, the first being the A-Class hatchbackrevealed in February. And despite the addition of the A-Class sedan, Mercedes is planning a repeat of its coupe-like CLA. This model should bow sometime next year.
Underpinning Mercedes’ new compacts is an updated version of the MFA (Modular Front-drive Architecture) platform used for the outgoing generation. Referred to as MFA2, the updated platform brings weight savings plus the capacity for alternative drivetrains.
Compared to the A-Class hatch, the A-Class L sedan has a slightly longer wheelbase: 109.8 inches instead of 107.44. It also sports a Chinese market-specific turbocharged inline-4 engine displacing just 1.33 liters and offering up to 163 horsepower. A turbocharged 2.0-liter mill with 190 hp will be offered later. A 7-speed dual-clutch transmission is standard across the range. The trunk space meanwhile is about 14.8 cubic feet.
The standard powertrain in the U.S. should be a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 delivering about 224 horsepower to the front wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. All-wheel drive will be available and standard on high-performance models from AMG. This time there is expected to be both 35 and 45 series from AMG, with the latter likely to deliver more than 400 hp.
The MFA2-based cars also benefit from a much more advanced interface. Dubbed MBUX, short for Mercedes-Benz User Experience, the new interface features digital screens for the instrument cluster and infotainment system, much like on the pricier E-Class and S-Class models. However, there’s also touch capability for the infotainment screen and you’ll also be able to use natural speech to control many vehicle functions.
