The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a subcompact car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz as the brand's entry-level vehicle. The first generation (internally coded W168) was introduced in 1997, the second generation (W169) in late 2004 and the third generation (W176) in 2012. The fourth generation model (W177), which was launched in 2018, marked the first time the A-Class was offered in the United States and Canada.[1] This fourth generation A-Class is also the first to be offered both as a hatchback (W177) and sedan (V177).[2]

Originally manufactured as a five-door hatchback in 1997, the second generation W169 introduced a three-door hatchback. Having grown by 68 cm (27 in) since the original model, the 2012 third generation A-class was longer than the first-generation B-class. The A-Class is sometimes referred to colloquially as the 'Baby Benz', a term also used for the 1982 Mercedes 190 (W201), Mercedes' first compact executive car model.[3]

The W177 Mercedes-Benz A-Class is the fourth and current generation of the A-Class range of subcompact executive hatchbacks. It was launched in 2018 as the successor to the W176 Mercedes-Benz A-Class and sales commenced in March 2018.[59] It is available as a 5-door hatchback (W177 model code), 4-door sedan (V177),[60] and a long-wheelbase sedan exclusive to China (Z177).[61] In North America, the hatchback is available in Canada and Mexico, but in the US, only the sedan is available.

The fourth generation A-Class hatchback was unveiled to media in February 2018 in Amsterdam ahead of its public debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.[62] At launch Mercedes-Benz revealed the vehicle's "predator face", which is also implemented in the C257 CLS and C118 CLA, which will not spread throughout the brand's entire range of cars.[63]

History
In 1994, Mercedes-Benz confirmed that it would be launching a compact car - the A-Class (A 160) - by early 1997, and (A 190) by early 1999, which would be the company's first venture in this sector of the market; it was hinted at this stage that the new car would be shorter than the average supermini but as spacious and practical inside as a large family car.[4]

The A-Class was first revealed to the motoring press late in 1996, and finally launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the autumn of 1997, the W168 A-Class was quite unusual for Mercedes-Benz featuring a front-wheel drive layout and unusual tall but yet short body and Advantgarde at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show and 1999 Frankfurt Motor Show.

This was the first complete exterior designed by Coventry University trained Steve Mattin, for which he was named Autocar magazine's 'Designer of the Year'. Earlier, Mattin had mostly worked on design for the W210 E-Class in 1991. Concurrent to the W168, he designed the exterior of the W220 S-Class. The final design freeze occurred in January 1995, at 32 months before August 1997 start of production.[5][6]

Between 1997 and 2004, 1.1 million first generation A-Class models had been sold.[7] Overall, Daimler lost €1,440 per vehicle produced.[8]

The A-Class was facelifted in February 2001, with minor alterations to the headlights, front and rear bumper design and the addition of a new 170 mm (6.7 in) longer wheelbase version. It was launched at the Geneva Motor Show.[9]

Elk Test Issue/Recall
The W168 became infamous in 1997 after flipping over during the traditional "elk test"[10] performed by the Swedish automobile publication Teknikens Värld. According to the report, the W168 overturned when manoeuvring to avoid the "elk". Mercedes initially denied the problem, but then took the surprising step of recalling all units sold to date (2,600) and suspending sales for three months until the problem was solved by adding electronic stability control and modifying the suspension.[11] The company spent DM 2.5 billion in developing the car, with a further DM 300 million to fix it.[12]

Engines
All A-Class models are powered by four-cylinder engines, with 1.4 L and 1.6 L petrol models at launch (M 166 series), followed by two versions of a 1.7 L diesel engine (OM 668 series). In 1999, a larger 1.9 L petrol model was added, with the 2.1 the last W168 version to be launched in 2002. Also two AMG versions were produced, a 3.2 in 2001 and a 3.8 in 2000, though very few of these were made.[13]

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