Three petrol, one diesel engine for Benz A-Class

Mercedes-Benz has released more details about the engines that will power its all-new A-Class, which will take direct aim at BMW’s 1 Series with a sub-$40,000 starting price when it arrives here in the first quarter of next year.

A-Class buyers in Europe, where the new A-Class hits showrooms in the third quarter of this year, will get to pick from three petrol and three diesel engines, with the petrol line-up ranging from a 90kW/200Nm 1.6-litre to a 155kW/350Nm 2.0-litre and the diesels comprising 80kW/260Nm 2.0-litre and 125kW/350Nm 2.2-litre oilers.

The local line-up will skew towards petrol, with spokesman David McCarthy confirming all three CGI-badged petrol models will be available here in the base A180 (90kW/200Nm 1.6), mid-spec A200 (115kW/250Nm 1.6) and range-topping A250 (155kW/350Nm 2.0).

The company is still doing its sums on the single diesel model it plans to introduce here. Mr McCarthy said the choice is narrowed down to either the A200 (100 kW/300Nm 2.0) or the A220 CDI (125kW/350Nm 2.0), ruling out the super-clean A180 CDI that brings Benz under the 98g/km CO2 emissions mark for the first time.

The upspec A220 CDI, however, is the first vehicle in the company’s fleet to meet the Euro 6 emission standard set to come into force in 2015.

All variants - petrol and diesel – will come with a fuel-saving automatic idle-stop system as standard. All will also emply direct injection and turbocharging, with extensive modifications to the combustion process. The petrol 1.6 will debut Camtronic, an intake valve technology designed to reduce fuel consumption by restricting mixture intake under lighter loads.

The engines will be combined either with a new six-speed manual transmission or, as an option, the German maker’s 7G-DCT dual-clutch automatic transmission. Mr McCarthy told motoring.com.au that Mercedes-Benz Australia will make announcements later in the year about transmission options.

With the A-Class not due for launch here until early 2013, Mr McCarthy sais it’s way too early to talk about pricing with any precision. “But let it suffice to say what [Daimler chairman] Dieter Zetsche’s been telling European media: A is for attack.”

With BMW’s 1 Series starting at $36,900, does that mean it’s safe to assume the base A-Class will come in well under $40K? Be very surprised if not. “We’re looking for serious volume with this car, so we’ll be pricing and equipping it accordingly.”

Mr McCarthy said the heat of current competition made it more important than ever to keep one’s pricing cards close to one’s chest.

“Look what happened when we launched the ML last month – out come the fancy-named value packages and the like. But you know – imitation, flattery and all that. No free kicks round here – we’ll leave them to kick their own goals.”

He’s talking about the ‘Innovations Package’ BMW tacked on to its X5 in a bid to compete at the base end with Benz’s new M-Class, which was launched earlier this month with an entry price of $81,400. The entry-level ML250 CDI is better equipped than the superseded base ML300 CDI and more than $4000 cheaper.

Rather than drop the X5’s $92,100 entry price, however, BMW loaded it up with a claimed $16,000 worth of extra kit. The Innovations Package upgrade adds power front seat adjustment, a sat-nav system with reversing camera, head-up display, Xenon headlights with high-beam assist and a powered tailgate.

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