Mercedes’ facelifted A-class will have reduced emissions down from 98g/km to 89g/km.
The drop in emissions drops the 109hp A180d SE down one tax band to 16% and puts it on a level pegging with the BMW 1 series and Audi A3. Audi also has a 37g/km CO2 plug-in hybrid.
Mercedes has used the A-class to bring in a new naming style for its models.While the petrol models have no suffix, the small letter “d” replaces the previous “CDI” – the A 200 CDI is now called the A 200 d, for example.
The A220d has been given a 7hp power increase to 177hp and the A250 AMG auto has also been given a 7hp increase from 211hp to 218hp.
The 2012 A-class was a radical departure from the previous generation and Mecedes said the facelift will improve comfort levels with the ride.
Design changes are subtle, with tweaks to the front bumper; rear lights and exhaust tailpipes now integrated into the bumper.
Fleet customers will be able to link their phone to the A-class with either Apple’s Carplay system or Mirrorlink and Sport and AMG trims get a touchscreen upgrade from 5.8-inches to 8-inches.
Safety technology has been upgraded on the new A-class too with a revised automatic braking system that includes autonomous partial braking to reduce rear-end collisions, drowsiness detection system which now works between 37mph and 125mph and now uses a five-stage bar display to visualise the driver’s current attention level.