New Mercedes-Benz A 250 arrives early

The all-new Mercedes-Benz A-Class range will be plumped up sooner rather than later with the November showroom arrival of the luxury brand's Golf GTI rival, a limited-edition 165kW A 250 4MATIC.

Priced from $49,500 plus on-road costs, that buys you pretty much everything that comes in the new Mercedes-Benz A 200 ($47,200), such as its drawcard next-gen dual-widescreen MBUX infotainment system. This features an AI-powered voice control system that can learn driver behaviour and responds to the term "Hey Mercedes".

An automatic transmission and an unlimited-kilometre, three-year warranty are also part of the A-Class package.

A limited number of the Mercedes-Benz A 250 vehicles have been shipped to Australia ahead of the model's official launch in 2019, to satisfy pent-up demand.

"We've had strong interest for the A 250 powertrain and we've managed to secure some early stock in the same trim-level as the A 200, which is already generously equipped," said Jerry Stamoulis, Merecdes-Benz Australia's head of product communications.

As such, standard equipment on the limited-run A 250 includes 18-inch alloy wheels, sat-nav, LED headlights with adaptive high-beam assist, keyless entry and engine start, inductive wireless phone charging plus a slew of safety features including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), traffic sign recognition to show the current speed limit and active lane keep assist that will steer the car back into its lane.

Stamoulis wouldn’t say how many of the special A 250 vehicles will come to Australia but suggested they are likely to sell out fast ahead of the more expensive, better equipped A 250 proper that arrives in 2019.

Meanwhile, the entry-level A 180 will hit showroom around February 2019, followed by the new Mercedes-AMG A 35 in the second half of 2019. Local release timing is yet to be confirmed for the next-generation Mercedes-AMG A 45 scorcher.

Back to the limited-run A 250 4MATIC model grade, and what the extra $2300 buys over the A 200 is a bigger, stronger engine.

Replacing the front-wheel drive 120kW/250Nm 1.3-litre turbo-petrol powertrain is a 165kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that delivers hot-hatch-like levels of acceleration with the aid of all-wheel drive.

Benz claims the A 250 will accelerate from rest to 100km/h in 6.2 seconds -- a full two seconds quicker than the A 200's 8.2sec dash. Given its bigger engine and AWD system, it weighs more and hence uses more fuel -- 6.6 versus 5.7L/100km.

Both A-Class models come standard with the 7G-DCT seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Mercedes-Benz says the 4MATIC all-wheel drive system in the A 250 “…has been developed further, and now offers even more driving pleasure and efficiency”.

The system can be switched between various modes and can shunt up to 50 per cent of engine power to the rear axle, and up to 100 per cent to the front axle, depending on grip levels, conditions and road surface.

The A 250 also gets independent suspension front and rear, while the A 200 and upcoming A 180 make do with less sophisticated torsion-beam rear suspension systems.

The entry-level Mercedes-Benz A 180 model will be announced before the end of the year.

Despite the A-Class currently transitioning from the third-generation to the new fourth-generation model, the car is still Australia’s top-selling small luxury car, recording 3221 sales between January and September 2018.

Although that's down 15 per cent on the previous year's tally – due to the car going into run-out mode where dealers reduce stock levels of the older model – it could remain Australia's most popular small luxury in 2018.

However, if the Audi A3 -- with 3180 sales -- turns on a charm offensive, it could be a photo finish come December.