2020 Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan: First impression

How often do you see Mercedes-Benz launching two new products back to back? First, it was the 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA, which was launched in the country last week, and now, we have the brand-new 2020 A-Class Sedan. This is quite exciting! We have already covered everything you need to know about the 2020 CLA and now we’re going to talk about our first impression of the 2020 A-Class Sedan.

The A-Class has been with us for quite some time now and it has had its share of success. Now, with the A-Class Sedan, the German brand wants to rope in a wider range of audience; considering the popularity of the hatchback, the sedan is expected to do well too. Yes, we can say that the Sedan is an extended version of the Hatchback.

That is why you would find both of them to be very similar. The new Sedan shows off its angry and mean-looking front end which consists of a pair of sharp headlights with integrated LED daytime running lights. We continue to have the signature front grille with the brand’s logo in the middle. Perhaps, it is just the headlights, DRLs, and the front grille that make up the front look of the car.

The side profile of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan features a set of 17-in alloy wheels that look fantastic along with the subtle character lines running across the length of the car. Talking about the length, the Sedan is 130 mm longer than the Hatchback and the rest of its dimensions are same - 1796 mm wide, 1440 mm tall, and a wheelbase of 2729 mm.

The main difference between these two cars is at the rear. Unlike the hatchback, the sedan gets a duckbill-style trunk lid which contains wider and differently styled LED tail lamps. Also, the rear bumper is redesigned to suit or match the rest of the rear end of the car. We’d say that Mercedes has done a great job in making these two cars similar yet so different from each other.

Since the 2020 A-Class Sedan is a Merc and a German, it had to be perfect. The interior of this car is a place which you wouldn’t want to leave. It is super comfortable, luxurious, and spacious too. The overall design, features, and placement of elements are similar to what we have witnessed in the A-Class hatchback but still, everything feels like a first experience every time you enter the car.

One of the most eye-catching features that we really like is seamless, wide, and floating screens. One is for the instrument console whereas the other one handles all the entertainment and other car functions. On top of that, the MBUX infotainment system takes things to the next level. Of course, you get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard and you can also use the voice commands by saying ‘Hey Mercedes’.

Another great thing about the interior of the new A-Class sedan is its dashboard design and ambient lighting. The ambient lighting even covers the turbine-like AC vents on the dashboard and runs across the doors. Everything lights up with the colour of your choice. That’s simply amazing.

Moving further ahead, the 2020 Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan specs list a 1.5-litre 4-pot turbocharged-diesel engine which churns out a max power of 116 PS at 4000 rpm and the peak torque of 260 Nm kicks in at 1750 to 2750 rpm. The transmission here is a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission which is super slick and works brilliantly in different driving scenarios and styles. Overall, it would be a fun car to drive.

Coming to the safety features of the new German sedan, we know that Mercedes doesn’t like to compromise with the safety nets of its products, therefore, the A-Class sedan gets a plethora of safety features like ABS with EBD and brake assist, stability control, driver attention assist, anti-skid control, hill-start assist, adaptive cruise control, reverse camera, multiple airbags, etc.

With all that in hand, the new A-Class sedan looks pretty solid to us. It should appeal to people who already had a crush on the A-Class hatchback but always wanted to have a sedan. So how much more would you need to pay for that extra space, redesigned rear end, and owning-a-sedan-feeling? Well, the 2020 Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan price has been set for Php 2.79 million and comes in only one variant whereas its hatchback variant starts at Php 2.49 million and goes all the way up to Php 3.29 million.

Also read: Mercedes-Benz introduced three plug-in hybrid models