ge5603096183350716861
ge4663454472984877708
ge5673076511619137536
ge5108259656761881518
ge5507345044551088567
Michael Taylor27 Jun 2015
NEWS

Hotter A 45 AMG for fresh Mercedes A-Class line-up

Facelifted Mercedes-Benz A-Class promises more agility, comfort, economy – plus a 280kW A45 AMG and new Motorsport Edition

Mercedes-Benz will deliver an enormous range of engines for its facelifted A-Class hatchback, which will arrive in Australia by the end of this year, along with the promise of more cornering ability, better economy and a focus on interior comfort.

Revealed in London overnight, the revised A-Class will make its official European debut in September this year, headed by an even-faster version of the A 45 AMG hot hatch and a new Motorsport Edition package conceived to link the base Mercedes-Benz-branded model to its expensive and overtly successful Formula One program – and it's likely to be sold here in A 250 form.

For Europe there will be a new entry-level A 160 model, with just 75kW from its Renault-built 1.6-litre engine, and a new fuel-economy leader in the A 180d BlueEfficiency Edition, which will have 80kW of power but only 89g/km of CO2 emissions.

Every model in the A-Class family has had changes to its gearing for improved economy and they’ve all had aerodynamic tweaks as well, for the same reason. Benz claims it will also introduce the Dynamic Select feature from the A 200d upwards, so all A-Class drivers will be able to switch between at least the most economical, most comfortable and the most sporting modes the car’s electronics can deliver. Plus there’s an individual mode drivers can set up themselves.

On sale since 2012, the A-Class is in the process of being short-cycled so Mercedes-Benz can swing its successor -- plus the booming CLA sedan and GLA crossover -- onto an all-new small, modular architecture by the beginning of 2018.

“2012 was a year of paradigm change in the compact class,” Daimler’s board member in charge of car marketing and sales, Ola Källenius, said.

“The new A-Class was a radical departure from the preceding series, and a successful one. As the most progressive model in the compact class, the model series has done much to make the Mercedes-Benz brand more youthful.

“With this model facelift we are now meeting the wishes of many customer for even more comfort with no loss of dynamic performance. In addition, with Apple CarPlay and MirrorLink, the A-Class has taken the next step for comprehensive and intuitive smartphone integration,” he insisted.

Across the board, the bodywork has had a small tickle, with the most notable addition being the more arrow-like nose, drawn in back-to-the-future-esque inspiration from the 2011 A-Class concept car. Other across-the-board changes include a new grille and exhaust outlets that are integrated into the rear bumper.

The interior draws heavily on its predecessor, too, with the tubular instrument cluster holding both the speedo and tacho gauges, and galvanized switchgear designed to improve the oft-criticised shortfall of premium feel inside the cabin.

There’s also an optional 8.0-inch multimedia screen, which is fixed to the top of the dash layout, while Benz addressed comfort by giving the seats an extra 60mm of cushion depth adjustment.

At the head of the new A-Class range, the A 45 AMG will see its performance outputs boosted to 280kW of power and 475Nm of torque – up 15kW and 25Nm -- in an effort to fend off BMW’s upcoming M2 Coupe and Audi’s 270kW RS 3 Sportback, not to mention the Golf R and the promises of even more power out of the Volkswagen Group with every passing concept car.

It slashes 0.4 seconds from the sprint time of the original A 45 AMG, slicing to 100km/h in just 4.2 seconds, though its fuel economy remains unchanged at 6.9L/100km on the NEDC cycle.

It also has the option of a mechanical limited-slip front differential as part of a Dynamic Plus pack that also includes adaptive damping and an extra Race mode in the Drive Select system.

It remains, for now, the world’s most powerful four-cylinder car and also now uses LED headlights as standard equipment, while they’re optional on every other A-Class offering.

As we've reported, Mercedes-AMG is believed to be plotting an even hotter A 45 S with a staggering 294kW, which could hit 100km/h in less than four seconds.

If you want a half-way house to the A 45 AMG’s overt styling, Benz is offering the Motorsport Edition package on every engine above the A 200 and A 200d, though it won’t fit it to the AMG version.

This boy-racer package is largely visual, delivering green daubs of paint on the front and rear spoilers and the rims of the alloy wheels, to reflect the same (sponsor-driven) daubs on the dominant Petronas-backed Mercedes-AMG F1 car.

Dubbed 'petrol green', the colour is also liberally used inside the cabin, including around the air-vents, the seat belts, the top stitching and the seat trim.

But the real business begins at the bottom end of the family, where 'CDI' has been replaced by just plain old lower-case 'd' to denote the diesel engine variants, as with the GLE SUV.

There are five diesel engines (for Europe) and the seven petrol models, plus the AMG version on top of that.

The petrol family will be the price leader for Mercedes-Benz, starting with the A 160 and then rising up through the A 180, the A 180 BlueEffiency Edition, the A 200, the A 220, the A 250 and finally the A 250 Sport.

The first four models, up to the A 200, share the same 1595cc, in-line, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, though it’s single-cam in the A 160 and gains technology on its way up the price list.

The entry model delivers 180Nm at between 1200 and 3500rpm, backed up by its paltry 75kW at 4500-6000rpm. It might have a rated top speed of 190km/h in either six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch guises, but don’t expect to rush there. Both variants take more than 10 seconds to reach 100km/h, though they counter with NEDC numbers in the mid-fives.

The next cab off the rank is the A 180, which manages a healthier 90kW of power at 5000rpm and 200Nm of torque between 1250 and 4000rpm and takes a touch less than nine seconds to reach 100km/h. More civilized pace only costs it 0.1L/100km compared to the A 160 in manual guise, though it’s identical with the dual-clutch transmission fitted.

Though it has the exact same output figures as the A 180 and posts the same acceleration numbers, the A 180 BlueEfficiency Edition uses some other tricks to pull its NEDC fuel economy figure down to just 5.2L/100km.

The A 200 delivers the strongest 1.6-litre performance, including 115kW of power at 5300rpm and 250Nm of torque from 1250-4000rpm. That helps it to reach 100km/h in 7.8 seconds (though it’s 0.3 seconds slower with the manual gearbox) and its fuel economy is identical to the A 180.

The A 220 4MATIC moves to the 1991cc inline turbocharged petrol four, which helps it to 135kW of power and 300Nm of torque from just 1200rpm. Only available in a pairing with the seven-speed dual-clutch (as are all 2.0-litre models), it pulls the acceleration figure down to 6.9 seconds, while the NEDC figure moves out to 6.3L/100km.

There isn’t a lot of difference in the outputs of the A 250 and the A 250 Sport, both of which are also offered with all-wheel drive in Europe.

The un-Sport version has 155kW and 350Nm, while the Sport has 5kW more and the same torque figure, right down to an overlapping torque curve.

The A 250 gets a respectable sprint figure of 6.5 seconds to 100km/h (6.4 for AWD versions), while the A 250 Sport is another tenth quicker.

There are two different basic diesel power plants, with the 1461cc base turbo-diesel powering the A 160d, the A 180d and the A 180d BlueEfficiency Edition, while the stronger 2143cc turbo-diesel takes care of the A 200d and the A 220d.

Only the 2.1-litre versions have all-wheel drive as an option, though, and they’re not only the only diesel A-Classes capable of getting beneath nine seconds for the sprint to 100km/h (the 220d does it in 7.7 seconds), but they’re the only ones on the good side of the 10-second barrier.

The base diesel takes 13.8 seconds with a six-speed manual (13.6 with the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission). It makes up for it a bit by posting fuel consumption numbers between 3.7 and 4.1L100km -- n NEDC number of 4.7L/100km (3.7-3.9L/100gn with the 7DCT) -- the same as the stronger A 180d.

Oddly, while the 180d has 80kW of power (versus 66kW) and 260Nm of torque (versus 240Nm), it derives no time benefit from using the dual-clutch and retains its 11.3-second sprint. That makes it demonstrably quicker than the manual 160d to 100km/h and demonstrably slower than the 160d in 'automatic' form.

The 180d BlueEfficiency pulls fuel consumption down to just 3.5L/100km on the NEDC cycle and emits only 89g/km of CO2, thanks to fiddles to the aerodynamics, tyres and engine mapping, though it retains the 180d’s power and torque profiles.

When it arrives very late this year, just a few months after BMW's facelifted 1 Series range, expect the Australian A-Class line-up to again comprise the A 180, A 200, A 250 Sport, A 45 AMG and, perhaps, the new A 220 petrol models, and the new A 180d diesel to replace the existing A 200 CDI.

Share this article
Written byMichael Taylor
See all articles
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.

If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
Download the carsales app
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © CAR Group Ltd 1999-2024
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.