12/10/2023 0 Comments A class mercedes modelsAt lower speed in the city, the A-Class soaks up bumps without hesitation. The good news is that this little sedan rides beautifully and will appeal to both the relaxed suburban cruiser and the fast-paced executive who likes to tailgate and cross red traffic lights. With cars such as the Audi A3 and BMW 2 Series battling it out in the same class, the Mercedes-Benz has to be pretty good in the bends. This is why a sedan still makes sense to Mercedes, knowing that it's best to not compete with much cheaper hatchbacks.The modern subcompact executive sedan is expected to deliver impressive performance, luxury, practicality, and fun, which places some serious pressure on manufacturers. The GLA 45 AMG can still spray gravel in the Golf's face from a much higher price point, but neither it nor the A-Class hatchback will win over budget hatch buyers, especially at the cost of brand perception for the company. The difference this time around may be the fact that the CLA- and GLA-Class cars actually proved to Stuttgart through sales figures alone that it's worth fielding small cars, as long as they don't try to take the VW Golf head-on. The timing of the decision is curious, however - the market is once again heading for large SUVs as it did in the mid-1990s. We expect brand positioning still plays a role in decisions like these, with the upcoming A-Class sedan viewed as an entry-level luxury model rather than a bare-bones sedan positioned below the CLA-Class. next year, Mercedes is still hedging its offerings, pointing to the W203-generation C230 Sportcoupe as proof of Americans' aversion to luxury hatchbacks. With the impending debut of the A-Class sedan following the lineup's redesign in the U.S. The A-Class only became a traditional-looking hatch in 2012, with the debut of the third-gen W176 model. The CLA sedan initially enjoyed strong sales due to its novelty and $29,000 starting price, but toward the end of its product cycle the novelty began to wear a bit as Mercedes introduced a small GLA 250 SUV for about the same price. a small sedan with the three-pointed star, but gave buyers none of the versatility of the hatch. The CLA-Class sedan, meanwhile, offered a cramped interior and a tiny trunk that gave the U.S. market could only absorb a four-door sedan even if the rest of the world wanted a small Mercedes hatch for its practicality. market's desire for small Mercedes cars, which had earlier been kept out due to a perceived threat of brand dilution due to price and interior quality, with the W203-generation C230 Sportcoupe reinforcing this belief for a number of years.Įven though the third-generation A-Class hatch became a true VW Golf alternative, Mercedes did not deem it prudent to offer a hatch in the States alongside the sedan, still believing the U.S. Collectively, the CLA- and the GLA-Class models demonstrated the U.S. The GLA45 AMG, in particular, was effectively the closest vehicle to the European-market A-Class given its hot-hatch handling and lower ride height, compared to the standard GLA 250 model. market and the GLA-Class pocket SUV, both of which were offered in AMG flavors. This time around, Mercedes used the A-Class platform to develop the CLA-Class four-door sedan for the U.S. The A-Class became a traditional-looking hatchback only in its third generation, which debuted in 2012. 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf gets 126 mpg-e, nearly doubles range.market was preoccupied with SUVs of ever-increasing size at the time. And like a number of other Mercedes models, the A-Class was never offered in the States as it was deemed to occupy a segment that simply did not exist and was not in demand the U.S. The first-generation A-Class sold well despite an early stumble: Mercedes had to recall all debut models after several weeks of sales to revise their suspension and fit them with stability control systems after journalists in Sweden rolled one car in an elk avoidance test.īut the original A-Class won a following thanks to a versatile interior and thrifty engines, even inspiring competition in the form of the Audi A2, Renault Megane and Volkswagen Touran, among others. The innovative engineering allowed for a very short nose and overhangs while maximizing interior space - it was a car designed for European cities where space is at a premium. The original W168-generation A-Class debuted in 1997 as a small and very tall upright hatch looking like a large four-door Smart. Automotive News reports that Mercedes will introduce the upcoming A-Class sedan in the U.S., positioned below the CLA-Class sedan in the automaker's most affordable side of the lineup.īut how did the upcoming A-Class change Mercedes' mind after all these years? The Mercedes-Benz A-Class has been different things at different times during its relatively short lifespan - the nameplate is 20 years old - and for all 20 of those years Mercedes has declined to offer it in America.
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