The Mercedes-Benz A-Class opened up a whole new market for the German automaker and today, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia revealed a range of A-Class vehicles to bolster its position as market leader in the premium segment.
“2013 was a year of paradigm change not only for the compact class of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia but for the entire premium compact car segment. Today, we’ve made a great car even better. The new A-Class is set to redefine the premium compact car market and cement the pole position as the leading premium brand. 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, appealing to a wider audience. With the newly-introduced innovations and added features, the A-Class will now meet and exceed the wishes and expectations of our many loyal fans as well as our new customers,” said Mark Raine, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia.
The launch was held at the newly opened 9,373 sq ft Mercedes-Benz Cycle & Carriage Bintang TREC Autohaus, dubbed the Mercedes-Benz City Store, on Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur and introduced the Mercedes-Benz A 180, A 200, A 250 Sport and Mercedes-AMG A 45 4MATIC.
The range of new A-Class feature numerous upgrades over the preceding model, most notably the 8″ media display on the center of the dashboard and a Dynamic Select button. Dynamic Select allows for the vehicle’s characteristics to change at the touch of a button. Four driving modes are available – Eco, Comfort, Sport and Individual, with each mode changing the engine, transmission, steering and even air conditioning characteristics. Not obviously seen is the seat cushion depth adjustment which goes up to 60 mm.
Of the models launched, only the A 180 is completely new to the market. It comes with a new 4-cylinder 1.6L turbo engine that generates 122 hp and 200 Nm of torque. This ‘junior’ A-Class comes with the Urban Line body package and starts at RM 195,888 (on-the-road without insurance).
The A 200 moves up from being the ‘junior’ and shares the same engine with the A 180 but has a higher power output of 156 hp and 250 Nm of torque. It now sports the AMG Line kit and gets a faster 0-100 km/h time of 7.8 seconds. The A 200 is priced at RM 205,888.
Meanwhile the A 250 Sport gets 211 hp and 350 Nm of torque from the 2L 4-cylinder engine and does 0-100 km/h in 6.4 seconds. Priced at RM 238,888, it wears the AMG Line kit and a AMG-engineered lowered sport suspension.
Topping the A-Class range is the Mercedes-AMG A 45 4MATIC with a price tag of RM 348,888 and full-on AMG styling. The 2L 4-cylinder turbo engine generates 381 hp and 475 Nm of torque, making it the world’s most powerful compact sports model. 0-100 km/h is claimed at 4.2 seconds, a good 0.4 seconds faster than its predecessor, thanks to an updated AMG Speedshift 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. The A 45 also gets Sport+ and Race modes in place of Eco in its Dynamic Select options.
Key safety features for the cars include the Attention Assist drowsiness detection, Collision Prevention Assist Plus with radar-supported proximity warning and autonomous partial braking assistance, Active Parking Assist, front to rear curtain airbags and kneebag.
Additionally, the A-Class vehicles (except the A 45) are available via Hire Purchase package at attractive rates from as low as 2.18%, with tenures ranging from 3 to 7 years. For example, an A 250 Sport priced at RM 238,888 will cost RM 3,992 monthly over 60 months at 2.28%.
You can refer to Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s website for more details on the cars and financing packages.
Keyword: Mercedes-Benz Launches A-Class Range At New Cycle & Carriage Bintang TREC Autohaus, Kuala Lumpur