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New car sales price Mercedes-Benz A-Class

What would you prefer, a “normal” car or a Benz? It's a no brainer really.

When you've been making cars for more than a century you pick-up a thing or two. Mercedes-Benz has a rich history in the automobile world and brings this expertise to the new, small, A-Class five door hatch.

Such a car would have been almost unthinkable from Benz of old but not now. This is a high-tech, super stylish offering that brings access to the Benz badge and technology right down into the mid-$30,000 bracket. It creates a conflict for possible buyers at this price point.

What would you prefer, a “normal” car or a Benz? It's a no brainer really.

ORDERS

This is reflected in the order book which shows plenty of pent-up demand for the new A-Class which, by the way, this one has absolutely nothing in common with the previous A-Class apart from the name. Extremely efficient engines range in power from 90 - 155 kW with low emissions and frugal fuel consumption. The car has a best-in-class drag coefficient of Cd 0.27.

SAFETY

New A-Class doesn't compromise on safety either with standard safety spec' including a reversing camera, Pre safe crash preparation and the radar-based Collision Prevention Assist.

STYLE

The A-Class is completely new, down to the last detail. Its development started with a clean sheet of paper. They came up with a dynamic, “two box”, distinctly Mercedes-Benz external design complete with a high-quality feel to the interior.

All trim elements have been given an electroplated finish, resulting in real metal surfaces with “cool touch” effect. The work has been executed with considerable care and attention to detail, so that they appear to have been moulded in one piece.

The instrument cluster comprises two large round instruments, each with a small dial set within it. The 3-spoke steering wheel comes with 12 function buttons and an electroplated bezel. A-Class is a five-seater despite the rear pew looking like two individual seats. With the rear seats folded, boot capacity is 1157 litres.

POWERTRAINS

A wide choice of engines meets nearly every power requirement. All have ECO start/stop function as standard. The engines are combined with the 7G-DCT dual clutch automatic transmission as standard, which ideally combines comfort and sportiness.

The 1.6-litre petrol A180 BlueEFFICIENCY achieves 90kW/200Nm output and consumes as little as 5.8-litres/100km. The 1.8-litre diesel A 200 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY achieves 100 kW/300Nm and consumes 4.6 litres/100 km.

The 1.6-litre petrol A 200 BlueEFFICIENCY achieves 115kW/250 Nm and sips a mere 6.1 litres/100 km. The 2.0-litre A 250 Sport achieves 155kW/350 Nm using 6.6 litres/100km. All engines are new as is the transmission.

Thanks to the modular system it has been possible to select the optimally designed transmission for each diesel and petrol engine.

DYNAMICS

Refined yet sporty dynamics are aided by the car's four-link rear axle, electromechanical power steering with assistance functions and ESP with “Extended Traction Control” (XTC).

The new A-Class has passed a rigorous program of crash tests. This includes not only some 30 different impact configurations, which are laid down as requirements for safety ratings and international type approval, but also nine proprietary crash tests, such as the roof-drop test or the pole impact test, developed by the brand itself.

GOODIES

The Becker Map Pilot makes a low-cost 3D navigation function available for the Audio 20 head unit. The navigation system boasts voice-controlled input of destinations and an intuitive user interface.

COMMAND

Online now provides internet access via various web-enabled mobile phone, plus various Mercedes-Benz services on the move.