The Mercedes-Benz A-Class L Saloon has been revealed in China, a version of which will be available in other markets around the world towards the end of this year.
THE MERCEDES-BENZ A-CLASS L Saloon follows in the wheel tracks of the recently-launched A-Class hatchback (read our review of the A-Class HERE). This variant will only be available in China and has a longer wheelbase than the hatchback (2789 instead of 2729mm) and it will go on-sale in China towards the end of the year; a version of the notchback will be tweaked to suit markets outside of China and go on-sale towards the end of this year – the styling of the Western A-Class Saloon is expected to be identical to the longer L Saloon.
The A-Class L Saloon measures 4609mm in length, 1796mm in width and 1460mm in height, this makes this variant just 77mm shorter than the current C-Class. Expect the A-Class Saloon/Sedan available here to be around 100mm shorter than the C-Class, bringing it closer to key competitor Audi’s A3 Sedan. The boot offers 420 litres of storage and this is likely to be the same on the Western version. The A-Class hatchback and sedan are the first members of an eight-vehicle onslaught by Mercedes-Benz in the compact car class.
On the inside, the A-Class L Saloon gets Merc’s latest infotainment system, known as MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) with its natural speech recognition, touchscreen control and the ability for two users to connect to the system at the same time, as well as navigation featuring augmented reality technology.
In China, the A-Class L Saloon will initially be available 1.33-litre four-cylinder petrol engine in two states of tune of 100 and 120kW (with cylinder shut-off); following later will be a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine “with CONICSHAPE trumpet honing and CAMTRONIC variable valve timing. In China, the latter engine has an output of 140 kW. The 7G-DCT dual clutch transmission comes as standard”.
The A-Class L Saloon will be built in China by Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd (BBAC), a joint venture between Daimler and its Chinese partner BAIC Motor, which has produced Mercedes-Benz cars since 2005 and engines since 2013. In 2017 more than two-thirds of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in China were produced locally.
