Mercedes Reveals Smaller 2019 A-Class Sedan For The Rest Of Us

Mercedes-Benz keeps expanding its most compact model line – and this is the latest. It’s the new A-Class sedan, and it’s running full-speed ahead to the North American market.

Previously revealed in long-wheelbase form for the Chinese market and as a hatchback for Europe, the new standard-wheelbase A-Class sedan sits alongside the CLA four-door coupe and underneath the larger C-Class sedan.

It’s the Silver Star automaker’s rival to the Audi A3 that was similarly be-trunked with US customers in mind, and boasts a rather slippery shape to cheat the wind of its aerodynamic drag.

At 179.1 inches (4,549 mm) long and riding on a 107.4-inch (2,729-mm) wheelbase, the standard-wheelbase model is 2.3 inches (60 mm) shorter than the version being made in China – but it still packs everything that Daimler could throw at it.

The subcompact luxury sedan features the latest MBUX infotainment system and a full suite of driver-assistance and safety systems – including GPS-enabled cruise control, emergency braking, and lane-change assist… features you’d expect to find in Benz’s largest sedan, but now packed into its smallest.

Powertrain options are market-dependent. In the US, the sedan will come in A220 guise with a 2.0-liter turbo four producing 188 hp (140 kW) and 221 lb-ft (300 Nm) of torque, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and available in either front- or all-wheel drive. Elsewhere it’ll be offered as the A200 with 163 hp (120 kW) and 184 lb-ft (250 Nm) or the A180d with 116 hp (85 kW) and 192 lb-ft (260 Nm).

It’ll also be produced in different locations for different markets. The North American version will be built at the COMPAS plant that Daimler built together with the Renault-Nissan Alliance in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

European examples will be made alongside the hatchback in Rastatt, Germany. And the long-wheelbase version for China is being built by joint venture with BAIC in Beijing. Following its world premiere today in Brooklyn, we’re told to expect the first examples to start showing up in US showrooms later this year.