Mercedes A-Class sedan 2019 Review – International
First A-Class sedan makes much more sense than the CLAMercedes-Benz has embarked on a dizzying product proliferation offensive over the past decade, and the latest addition to its increasingly busy model line-up is the A-Class sedan. The four-door ‘A’ will obviously find a hungry target audience in boot-lovin’ markets such as the USA and Asia. It should add useful incremental A-Class sales in Oz, too, as it joins the existing fourth-gen hatchback in the second quarter of 2019. The A 200 will be the initial offering, with the A 180 and A 250 fattening the line-up later in the year. Naturally, there will also be AMG versions and a plug-in hybrid further down the track
Unfulfilled potential
Mercedes-Benz has managed to flog more than three million A-Class hatchbacks since the original launched in 1997, but the three-pointed star hasn’t quite managed to tap the full sales potential of its baby car.
Subsequent spinoffs such as the CLA, CLA Shooting Brake and GLA addressed that to an extent by targeting sedan, wagon and crossover shoppers in the lower rungs of the premium small-car segment, but there’s clearly more potential there, and the A-Class sedan has been conceived to fill that gap.
Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy said he expects the sedan to add “incremental volume” to A-Class sales in our market, where the four-door is expected to command a premium of about $2000 over its hatchback sibling (when specified with the same powertrain and equipment levels).
Although it shares its drivetrains and core architecture with the A-Class hatch, the sedan differs from the B-pillar rearwards. The sedan rides on the same 2729mm wheelbase, but the addition of the boot adds 130mm to overall length.
The sedan also stands 6mm taller than the five-door, but the tapered roof means there’s 10mm less headroom in the rear seats. On the plus side, the sedan offers 420 litres of luggage space, which is 50 litres more than its sibling.
The addition of the boot optimises the A-Class sedan’s aero efficiency to the extent that Mercedes claims it has the lowest drag of any production car on the market. Although it has the same ultra-low drag coefficient (0.22Cd) as the CLA, the ‘A’ sedan has a smaller frontal area, making it even slipperier through the air.
Model rollout
The first model to launch here will be the A 200, powered by a 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol motor eking out 120kW and 250Nm. It will be followed by the A 180 (100kW/220Nm) and A 250 (165kW/350Nm).
However, at the car’s international launch in Seattle the only variant available for us to drive was an A 220 4MATIC, fitted with all-wheel drive and propelled by a 2.0-litre turbo four serving up 140kW and 300Nm.
The overriding impression on first acquaintance is of how upmarket the A-Class looks and feels for an entrant at the tiddler end of the premium segment. The cabin is immaculately trimmed and artfully laid out, with the highlight being a fully digitised instrument cluster – with twin high-definition LCD screens – that mimics the setup you’d find in the E-Class and S-Class.
And contrary to Merc’s usual philosophy of debuting its latest tech in top-end models before trickling it down to lesser offerings, the A-Class dispenses with tradition by being the first model to score the new Mercedes-Benz User Xperience (MBUX) infotainment/personal driving assistant system. It’s essentially Merc’s take on systems such as Alexa and can be activated by voice command.
You can even say something like: “Hey Mercedes, tell me a joke”, and MBUX should theoretically come back with a gag. Or you can say, “I’m cold”, and the heating comes on.
That’s the theory, anyway, because in practice the system often failed to comprehend what I, or my co-driver, instructed it to do. At other times, it piped up without any prompts from either of us. Perhaps it was just our accents.
On the road
Given that it shares most of its hardware with the A-Class hatchback, it’s no surprise the sedan drives not too dissimilarly.
The A 220 4MATIC we were piloting was equipped with the multilink rear-end – rather than the torsion-beam set-up that comes in base models – yet ride quality was less than cossetting over sharp imperfections in the tarmac.
That said, the test cars at the launch were equipped with 19-inch rims wrapped in low-profile rubber, which obviously didn’t help. Chances are the ride would be quite acceptable with 17- or 18-inch wheels.
The 2.0-litre motor in the A 220 4MATIC is decently lively but, of course, the thing to keep in mind is that the sole offering in our market – at least initially – will be the A 200, which makes do with a 1.3-litre unit.
However, having previously sampled the smaller engine in the A-Class hatchback, we know it to be a willing performer that punches above its weight.
The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission isn’t the most responsive or intuitive though, and occasionally gets caught flat-footed when you want an instant burst of acceleration.
The key takeaway from our initial drive is that the A-Class sedan feels a much classier, more tech-laden proposition than rivals such as the Audi A3 sedan (from $41,900) and the BMW 1 Series, which isn’t sold here.
It’s a polished, grown-up car, despite what its dimensions might have you believe.
How much does the 2019 Mercedes-Benz A 200 sedan cost?
Price: From $49,900 (estimated)
On sale: April 2019 2019
Engine: 1.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder
Outputs: 120kW/250Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 5.4L/100km
CO2: 124g/km
Safety rating: TBC
Tags
- Premium feel, inside and out
- Loads of tech for a small sedan
- Looks much better than the CLA
- Patchy ride quality
- MBUX doesn’t always cooperate
- Tail-light design looks more Korean
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