Mercedes launches A-Class, AMG A 45 S

Mercedes-Benz India has launched the A-Class Limousine facelift at ₹45.80 lakh (ex-showroom, India) and the AMG A 45 S 4Matic+ hatchback facelift at ₹92.50 lakh (ex-showroom, India). As of now, the carmaker has launched only the A 200 petrol sedan in India and the A 220d diesel sedan will launch later this year. 

Up front, the facelifted A-Class Limousine’s headlights retain the overall shape as the pre-facelift model but get a new design for the LED daytime running lamps. It also gets a new-look bumper with redesigned intakes and the redesigned grille gets a slightly thinner chrome slat and a honeycomb mesh pattern. 

At the sides, the A-Class facelift gets a new design for the 17-inch alloy wheels, but everything else remains largely the same. At the back, the A-Class facelift gets redesigned tail-lamps and a chrome trim on the bumper. Earlier, this trim piece was housed between the two exhaust tips but now, with the redesign, the trim piece connects the two exhaust tips.

Moving on to the AMG A 45 S 4Matic+, the hot hatchback also gets a redesigned front bumper with the same headlights as the sedan and the same, twin-spoke design for its 19-inch alloy wheels. At the rear, the changes have been minimal with the hatchback getting a redesigned bumper and tail lamps. 

The interior of the facelifted A-Class Limousine and hatchback is largely similar to the outgoing models. However, both do not feature the touchpad on the centre console that was used for the infotainment system. The hatchback and the sedan also get new steering wheels with touch-capacitive controls. What has been retained from the pre-facelift model are the two 10.25-inch screens where one is the digital instrument cluster and the other is the touchscreen for the infotainment system. However, both cars now get wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. 

As mentioned, the A-Class Limousine is currently available as the A 200 petrol, and the A 220d diesel will arrive later. It gets the same 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine developing 163hp and 270Nm of torque. Power is delivered to the front wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic. It can do the 0-100kph run in a claimed 8.3 seconds and can hit a top speed of 230kph. 

On the other hand, the AMG A 45 S 4Matic+ gets the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol churning out 421hp and 500Nm of torque. Delivering power to all four wheels is an 8-speed, dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Mercedes-AMG claims the A 45 S can sprint from 0-100kph in 3.9 seconds and go on to a top speed of 270kph. 

Much like the pre-facelift model, the A-Class Limousine continues to rival the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe (₹43.50 lakh to ₹45.50 lakh). However, the AMG hatchback continues to have no direct rivals in India.