Mercedes-Benz Debuts 2018 A-Class And Wants You To Feel All Warm And Gooey

TopSpeed

By Jonathan Lopez

Published Feb 2, 2018

New styling, new interior, and a boatload of tech head list of updates

Mercedes-Benz just dropped the camo on its latest A-Class model, showing the fresh four-door hatch in a special live-streamed debut event in Amsterdam. In addition to crisper lines outside and a totally new interior, the A-Class also comes packing with a huge number of new and updated technology features.

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The Full Story

Mercedes sold over 620,000 compact cars worldwide in 2017, so it's not gonna be shy when it comes to keeping its entry-level segment feeling as fresh as possible. To that end, the new A-Class comes with a restyled exterior draped in the brand's very latest design language. Up front, the fascia gains sharper headlight housings, a large bisected grille and diamond insert, plus a sleek profile. In back, there are triangular taillights and a diffuser element between a duo of trapezoidal exhaust tips.

Inside, the A-Class seeks to offer customers a top-tier luxury experience, similar to what you get in Merc's more-expensive models. The extra refinement starts with better driveability and ride comfort courtesy of the increased torsional rigidity, which enables the suspension to do its work more efficiently.

Customers will also flock to the all-new interior design, which is dominated by two large screens on the dash. The latest infotainment features from Merc's MBUX infotainment suite give it a smartphone-esque operation, as well as digital assistant voice command functions.

Mercedes says it's the same tech that you'd get in Merc's range-topping S-Class, which is surely a big selling point among younger buyers. Additional features include augmented reality, which uses screen overlays to show navigation instructions and other helpful info overlaid on a live camera feed (think big arrows pointing where to go).

Two new features include expanded blind spot assist, which will remain active for three minutes after parking to help you keep an eye out for dangers, such as approaching cyclists. There's also casual private car sharing, which lets you leave the key in the car for select friends and family, who then use an app to access the vehicle for a certain amount of time.

There will be three models offered to European buyers, starting with the A180d, which comes with 114 horsepower and a 1.5-liter diesel powerplant. Next is the A200, which gets a 1.4-liter gas engine making 160 horsepower, and finally the 2.0-liter A250 with 221 horsepower. We also fully expect an AMG iteration pumping out around 400 ponies sometime in the next year or so.

No word on stateside availability, but odds are Merc will simply lift it and sell it as a compact SUV.