Exterior changes have been subtle.
Having made its world debut late last year, South African market pricing of the facelift Mercedes-Benz A-Class, as well as of the AMG fettled A35 and A45 S, has emerged without fanfare on the three-pointed star’s online configurator.
On track to be the final time an unwrinkled A-Class is offered in local soil in lieu of production not progressing beyond 2025, the current fourth generation V177 A-Class, unveiled back in 2018, will once again be sold as a hatchback or sedan, albeit in reduced in model capacity.
Externally, the A-Class has been subtly revised with a new grille, alloy wheels up to 19-inches, standard LED taillights, a new faux diffuser and restyled headlights when specified with the optional MultiBeam adaptive LED diodes.
A new front apron and Panamericana grille are the new additions to the A35 and A45 S, the latter also gaining a twin-flow exhaust system with quad outlets as standard.
Inside, a new steering wheel features on the standard A-Class, with the AMG Performance wheel being reserved for the pair of AMG models.
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As before, the 10.25-inch instrument cluster is standard, although extra forking is required for the 10.25-inch MBUX infotainment system if the provided seven-inch is not up to scratch.
For South Africa, a choice of two trim levels are provided; Progressive and AMG Line, the former equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels and the latter with grey 18-inch alloys in addition to the AMG Line bumpers, door sills and bootlid spoiler.
While the ever present series of options prevail, where Mercedes-Benz has been less open is on the powertrain front as both the A250 and diesel-powered A200d sedan have been removed entirely.
This leaves the A200 as the derivative for both the sedan and hatch, meaning outputs of 120kW/250Nm from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance co-developed 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine.
Not confirmed was whether Benz has supplemented the engine with the 48-volt mild-hybrid EQ Boost system all European models have as standard. A seven-speed dual-clutch is again the only transmission option.
On the AMG side, the A35 remains available as a hatch or sedan, the latter being the most accessible booted AMG model, while the A45 S keeps the former bodystyle only.
As for power, the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine has, reportedly, been aided by the 48-volt system that adds 10 kW for shorts bursts.
Without its inclusion though, outputs for both models are unchanged at 225kW/400Nm and 310kW/500Nm respectively.
An eight-speed dual-clutch transmission is entrusted with the sending the amount of grunt to all four wheels via the AMG optimised 4Matic+ all-wheel-drive system.
Performance-wise, the A35 hatch will get from 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds and the sedan in 4.7 seconds, while the A45 S will dispatch the benchmark sprint in 3.9 seconds. Top speed for the former pair is 250 km/h and 270 km/h for the A45 S.
Additional information from cars.co.za.
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