Mercedes-Benz redefines small cars with new A-class

By Neil McDonald

A DESIGN revolution is sweeping through the corridors of Mercedes-Benz in Germany.

And buyers worldwide will benefit from the winds of change.

Picture the recently released SLK roadster and A-Class cars and you'll have an idea of the direction the German giant is heading. Both vehicles reflect the demands of younger buyers who are more conscious of style and image while not eroding the luxurious status of the three-pointed star.

The latest Merc to break the mold is the sleek CLK coupe, a C- Class based two-door.

However, it is the radical A-Class that has Mercedes-Benz fans wondering what'S next from the once-staid, but safe, carmaker.

Mercedes expects to sell 270,000 A-Class cars a year worldwide. It is hoping those people who end up with the four- cylinder 1600cc and 1700cc diesel versions of the A-Class in their driveways will be first-time Mercedes buyers.

While the CLK coupe is a possibility for Indonesia, do not expect to see the A-Class on the freeways around Jakarta. Mercedes-Benz has no plans to sell the car here.

The A-Class has been heralded as the car beyond 2000, the direction many carmakers will have to go to ensure their survival.

Interestingly, the A-Class, while no bigger than that other radical, Ford's Ka, offers the space of a C-Class and the crash protection of an E-Class. That's pretty impressive engineering in a vehicle that is actually shorter than the Ka.

The secret to all this is the car's amazing sandwich floor and an engine which is angled at 59 degrees from the vertical. In a crash the engine slides under the floor, staying well clear of your feet.

This enables the body to deform without the engine being forced into the passenger compartment. The sandwich floor enables the whole thing to work.

The A-Class is about 200mm higher than conventional small cars because of the sandwich construction.

Its design means the interior has a flat floor built over a platform of five steel cross members and for longitudinal chassis rails. Also, the space between the load-bearing upper floor and the plastic lower section is deep enough to hold the batteries on a zero-emission electric version planned for 2003.

A lot of work has been done since Mercedes first showed the world its Vision A concept car -- the A-Class -- at the Frankfurt motor show in 1993. While the basic shape is similar and the sandwich construction technique the same, engineers dumped the 1200cc liter engines of the show car in favor of beefier 1600cc versions for the final road-going A-Class.

While potential buyers liked the original concept, they wanted more power.

Subsequently, Mercedes went back to the drawing board looking for engines that were up to the task. The results are engines that Mercedes claims are more compact, lighter and have more torque and power up to 4500rpm.

Interestingly, Mercedes also claims the engines are more economical than any other four-cylinder engines of comparable capacity in the world. Factory figures show that the 100bhp A160 can accelerate to 100kmh in 10.8 seconds and still offer a 57.6mpg.

Both the gasoline and diesel engines are all-alloy and weigh 85kg in gasoline and 133kg in diesel forms.

The cars also offer antilock brakes and a choice of a five- speed manual, semi automatic or new five-speed automatic transmissions.

Inside, the cars have that Mercedes touch. Both the driver and passengers sit high. All seats, except the driver's, can be folded and removed to increase luggage space.

The dashboard, like the car itself, is anything but ordinary. The driving position is more upright than conventional cars and the height-adjustable three-spoke steering wheel is near vertical. The instruments are semicircular, with heating and ventilation and radio controls in a center console.

Like its bigger brothers, A-Class buyers will be able to choose between the Classic, Sportline and Elegance, with optional leather trim.

If you desire a more sporty Mercedes, then the recently released CLK is available.

With the ovoid twin-headlight look of the E-Class, the CLK is designed to appeal to younger and young-at-heart customers.

The CLK is available with a choice of three engines, a 100kW 2000cc four-cylinder, a 2300cc 142kW Kompressor and the top-of- the-range 3200cc 160kW V6.

The CLK features several innovative engineering and design features that will subsequently become available on other Mercedes cars.

Among the features is a brake assist system, automatic front passenger and child safety seat recognition and the active service system.

The brake assist system automatically recognizes emergency braking situations and shortens the braking distance.

When a child safety seat is fitted to the front passenger seat the air bag, side air bag and belt tensioner of the passenger seat are deactivated.

The active service system will significantly reduce the maintenance costs of all CLKs. The CLK is equipped with a microprocessor that uses sensor data to establish the actual deterioration of the engine oil and calculates an individual or need-related maintenance plan for the engine.

This means that depending on the engine model and operating conditions, the oil-change frequency can be extended from the existing 15,000km to an average of 18,500 to 20,000km.

A digital display on the dashboard informs the drive how many kilometers remain until the next lubrication service is due.

Not surprisingly, Mercedes-Benz has once again made sure that the technology on the inside of its vehicles matches the visual appeal of what's on the outside.