KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 ― Mercedes Benz Malaysia unveiled the latest A-Class hatch last night at a grand party last night for the media ― this party will continue through this weekend, and existing owners and guests are expected to turn up to catch the first views of the compact car.

Two variants are available, the A200 base model and the A250, which features some AMG parts, including a sports suspension. As usual, drive is to the front wheels for both these variants. The main target of the A Class is obviously the young and "connected” crowd, the main lure being the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) which features voice control. The instrument cluster also takes connectivity up another level, with high resolution touchscreen control, digital instrument cluster, and a touchpad in the centre console.

The Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) infotainment system has the ability to learn thanks to artificial intelligence. The system also recognises and understands almost every sentence occurring in the infotainment functions and vehicle operation. MBUX can be individualised and adapts to suit each user individually. The touchscreen is part of the comprehensive MBUX touch-control concept ― a triad consisting of the touchscreen, touchpad on the centre console and touch control buttons in the steering wheel.

The new A is visually longer, most of which comes from a "shark” nose-like look on the front, which reminds one of another car from one of Mercedes’ previous Japanese partners. How the look of a car appeals is at a very personal level ― I liked the previous body shape, which was one of the reasons I actually bought one ― I can understand that it must have been quite a challenge to the design team to come up with a more attractive outlook, but the old DNA is still present, and I suppose that in time, the looks will start to become more attractive. Well. The interior and new gadget-like features will have its own attractiveness, especially to the young target market.

"The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class marks a new episode on a revolutionary journey into the digital era of the automobile. This gadget-like car redefines functionalities with an intuitive approach and underlining the lifestyle element making it the ultimate must-have item,” said Mark Raine, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia.

The interior of the Mercedes Benz A-Class A250.

Other features include keyless-go function, and LED high performance headlights, which have become smaller in size. The new A-Class also comes with a class-leading safety and assistance systems such as the Active Parking Assist which assist the driver when searching for a parking space and when entering or leaving a parallel or end-on parking spaces. It manoeuvres the vehicle into the selected parking space and back out again.

The new A-Class now comes with 64 colours for in-cabin ambient lighting. Besides the increase in colour variety, the ambient lighting colours are composed into ten colour worlds, allowing an avant-garde lighting display with spectacular colour changes. The colour worlds can be matched to the different styles of the widescreen display when required, creating a harmonious overall impression.

In the power train department, the new A-Class models are powered by new engines. The A 200 Progressive Line is also equipped with a 1.3-litre inline turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine rated at 120 kW/163 hp with a 7G-DCT dual-clutch automatic transmission. The A 250 AMG Line, on the other hand, is equipped with a 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine rated at 165 kW/224 hp with the 7G-DCT dual-clutch automatic transmission. Both, the A 200 and A 250 is also equipped with the four DYNAMIC SELECT transmission modes "Eco”, "Comfort”, "Sport” and "Individual”. Acceleration from zero to 100 km/h is claimed at 8.0 seconds for the A200, and 6.2 seconds for the A250

"The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a revolution, offering a level of quality and luxury never seen in this class before. It will be the forerunner of the compact car range, rejuvenating our brand as the most desirable luxury lifestyle brand. This progressive A-Class reinterprets our definition of Modern Luxury with the Mercedes-Benz User Experience which is activated by the command, 'Hey Mercedes',” concluded Mark.

Prices are as follows:

Mercedes-Benz A200: RM227,888.00

Mercedes-Benz A250: RM263,888.00

Above prices are OTR, without insurance.