Four-door baby stays faithful in appearance to preceding concept car and is expected to become a crucial model for Mercedes-Benz in Thailand.
Ah, the Baby Benz is back!
You could say so, especially when you consider the entry-level status of Mercedes-Benz’s all-new A-Class Sedan.
Although it isn’t exactly the same as that small 190E of the 1990s, this new four-four A-Class could become a big-seller for Mercedes-Benz in Thailand given that the country still likes such a body silhouette.
Previewed as concept car in China last year, the new A-class Sedan is making its world premiere at this week’s Beijing motor show in production-ready form and has stayed faithful in appearance to that the show car. Note the face of the car which comes in line with its hatchback sibling and the latest CLS.
Although the A-Class Sedan is being shown with a long wheelbase body measuring 2,789mm, Mercedes freely admits that other global markets will get a 60mm shorter version.
There are many China-only models with long wheelbase bodies from other brands which is why the bigger C-Class is also being shown in stretched form at the Chinese motor show.
Are there any electrified engines available?
At the moment, Mercedes has announced only two petrol engines for the Chinese market which may not necessarily appear in other countries when the A-Class Sedan goes on sale globally in the second half of this year.
The four-cylinder all-aluminium units include 1.3-litre producing either 136hp or 163hp and 2.0-litre generating 190hp. Like in all other models of the brand’s range of compact cars, a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission feature.
Drive is sent purely to the front wheels, although pending high-performance variants will get 4Matic all-wheel-drive.
Will it be priced under two million baht?
If the Thai Mercedes office decides to assemble the A-Class Sedan in the country (which is highly likely), there’s a good chance of seeing a basic model going for less than two million baht.
In fact, Mercedes has already made it clear that it doesn’t intend to sell the hatchback model in Thailand anymore because the focus will shift to this four-door.
While the CLA has four frameless door windows for a coupe-like appearance, the A-Class Sedan has proper portals like in all other traditional saloons.
And without a direct rival in Thailand at the moment (the Audi A3 Sedan is not sold here), this post-2000 Baby Benz should stand in the limelight by a significant degree.
