Mercedes‑Benz is back, and this time, it brought some friends; a brand new fleet of them to be exact.
The luxury car market hasn’t always been diverse. For the longest time, Malaysians were only treated to a few luxury vehicles and even fewer extra luxurious ones. This lack of choice led to the dominance of two German carmakers over the market as well as our minds.
Mercedes-Benz. BMW. The cars of the rich and powerful—at least they are in the minds of most Malaysians . And while the two carmakers still do wave the flag of luxury neither can rely on reputation and price points to justify the label anymore. The extra competition that forced its way into the market made it necessary for the two juggernauts to up their game or fall behind.
Few can argue that Mercedes‑Benz did the latter. Even though they never really lost their prestige, resting on their laurels saw Mercedes lose out, as even other carmakers surged past them.
While, it may have felt like the host was unceremoniously kicked out of the party, Mercedes‑Benz is back, and this time, it brought some friends; a brand new fleet of them to be exact.
The A-Class
The new generation A-Class, launched today with Mercedes‑Benz claiming that it’s “made a great car even better.” They’re not wrong, the last generation A-Class, all variants of it, is a great car. Its introduction may have been one of the springboards that helped Mercedes return to fight amongst the big boys.
In addition to the facelifts and updates of the A 200, A 250 Sport and A 45 AMG, Mercedes‑Benz increased the range with the introduction of the new A 180. The range also comes with the ‘Dynamic Select’ option allowing drivers four different modes to suit every aspect of their driving needs. (swipe left for next page)
A 180
The new kid on the block. Its 4-cylinder, 1.6 litre engine puts out 122hp that clocks its 0-100 km/h timing at 8.6 seconds and a top speed of 202 km/h. Not the most powerful but certainly no pushover. With the price tag hovering around RM195,888, this model shows Mercedes-Benz is willing to get down into the trenches and entice plenty of new and first-time buyers into the premium compact car world. (swipe left for next page)
A 200
The A 200 gets an AMG tune up, putting out 156hp, managing 0-100 km/h in 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 224 km/h. The attractive green is also a head turner. Priced on-the-road at RM205,888. (swipe left for next page)
A 250 Sport
The 250 Sport may not need any attractive colours to be a head turner. Living up to its Sport label, it certainly looks the part. But with 211hp under its hood pushing it from 0-100 km/h in 6.4 seconds, and a top speed of 240 km/h, it certainly plays its part too. This beauty is priced around RM238,888. (swipe left for next page)
A 45 AMG 4MATIC
The Mercedes-AMG A 45 4MATIC also receives an update, and what an update it is. With a peak output of 381hp, clocking 0-100 km/h in just 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h, the entry-level model from Mercedes-AMG is the world's most powerful compact sports model. The revised gear ratios, aerodynamic fine-tuning and the ‘dynamic select’ driving modes raise overall performance to a whole new level. (swipe left for next page)
This is definitely how you make a great car better.
For more Mercedes, check out the to-be-released C-Class Coupe with an AMG tune-up