Our reader Ketan spied the new Mercedes A-class being tested in India and promptly sent us spy photographs.
The new A-class (codename: W176) was launched globally some months ago and will come to India next year. It will be the second of four models — after the recently launched B-class — built on Mercedes’ new front-wheel-drive MFA platform. Mercedes is expected to launch all four models here in India.
The A-class is 4292mm long, 1780mm high and about 1433mm wide. India will get the A200 CDI which is powered a 1.8-litre turbo-diesel motor that is good for 134bhp and is mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. It gets high-quality interiors similar to the B-class already on sale here.
The test-car seems to carry an AMG body kit that features special side-skirts and aerodynamic add-ons to the bumpers. The test-car was also seen with a panoramic sunroof. We drove the A-class in Europe earlier where the car came shod with 18-inch AMG alloys and AMG kit. The car seen in India however, is shod with smaller wheels and higher-profile tyres, keeping in mind Indian road conditions.
There is also a possibility of Mercedes coming up with a special AMG edition of the A-class for India, just like the recently launched C-class AMG with special body kit, alloy wheels and a panoramic sunroof.
Expect Mercedes to launch the A-class in India sometime next year.
Suraj Viswanathan
Glenn Noronha
Dhruv Dhaka
Dipan Sur
Uday Singh
