Mercedez-Benz Unveils A-Class

Ready or not, Mercedes has just announced its all-new A-Class, a front-drive 5-door 5-passenger hatchback. The A-Class concept was shown at last year’s New York Auto Show. The all-new architecture of this A-Class will likely underpin many small future Mercedes models, including the next B-class. But for now it’s being shown only as a 5-door, although the A-Class Concept at New York was a 3-door, which makes us think more models are on the way.

Dieter Zetsche, head of Mercedes-Benz, says, “A is for Attack: The A-Class is a clear statement of the new dynamism of the Mercedes-Benz brand.” Really? Ignoring the hype, the little A is a good-looking hatch. Particularly in AMG Sport guise. “The motto we used when designing the interior was ‘pure sportiness, newly interpreted.’”

The AMG Sport with its red accents and bolstered seats sure qualify. Apparently this is the first time AMG was involved in the development of a compact car.

So this isn’t just an AMG badge on the C-Class—they actually helped engineer the car. As is the Mercedes-Benz way, safety has not been ignored. This new A-Class will come standard with a radar-based collision prevention assist system, attention assist, brake hold, hill-start and be available with Distronic, Adaptive Highbeam Assist, blind spot detection and lane keeping,

Linguatronic, park assist, back up camera and speed limit sign recognition. Those are cool features for a little car. This will also be the first application of complete smartphone integration, allowing the display screen to fully access the functionality of an iPhone. Other phone integration will follow.

Look for this feature-rich baby Benz to hit dealers in 2013.