“Hey, Mercedes.”
Ahead of its debut in Amsterdam this Friday, German luxury juggernaut Mercedes-Benz has released a video detailing the tech aboard its new compact hatchback, the A-Class. While nothing particularly revealing was, uh, revealed, the video went quite some way to detail the sort of technological features that buyers can expect in the fourth-generation model.
“It’s a much more mature car, with greater space and improved comfort, together with ground-breaking connectivity and user-interface functions. We’ve made a big step in every area and consider it to be a class-leader in terms of technology and safety, much of which is equal to or, in some cases, even more advanced than that already used by the C-, E-, and S-Class.” —
Mercedes-Benz rightfully calls the A-Class as having “decisively contributed” to a more connected, younger image for the brand, and they’re quite right. The outgoing model that we’re all rather familiar with has enjoyed great success around the globe, despite its foibles, and the new car expects to build on that and expand its reach even further.
We know that the new car, aside from debuting an exterior design that mirrors the style first seen on the 2019 Mercedes-Benz CLS, will inside feature the marque’s new MBUX infotainment interface, which is the focus of the teaser film this time round. Sure, you see thing like the taillights (which we’ve spied before) and the cabin (which Mercedes-Benz themselves showed off in full ahead of time), but there’s no denying that the highlight of the video is when the featured actress says “Hey, Mercedes.” This is, as far as we know, entirely unprecedented in the automotive arena, and marks a departure from the usual button-triggered voice command system that have featured in luxury cars for some time.
As we’ve seen before with Mercedes-Benz models, the A-Class family is expected to share the same basic cabin aesthetic through the three confirmed bodystyles, those being the hatch, the A-Class saloon, as well as the CLA four-door (or possibly five-door) coupe.
The new A-Class is expected to offer drivetrains with a mild-hybrid capability, as is the trend now (particularly with Mercedes), along with perhaps a PHEV version further down the line. It’s suggested that AMG variants of the new A-Class may also make use of the new model’s flexible architecture to incorporate an electrified drivetrain in time, which would effectively eliminate turbo lag with one fell swoop. Standard engines should range from 1.2-litre to 2.0-litre petrol mills, with the diesels likely to range from 1.6-litres to 2.0-litres too, with an assortment of different tunes.
For more information on Mercedes-Benz, check out our Showroom.
