Months of spying photos finally came to an end when Mercedes unveiled the facelift of the A-Class. Seen here in hatchback and sedan body styles, this compact luxury car plays the game of finding the difference with its mid-cycle revisions. Slightly reworked headlights with optional LEDs flank a redesigned grille with a small three-pointed star. At the rear, the premium German brand has installed a new diffuser and standard LED taillights.
Four new wheel options have been added and this goes up to 19 inches, including the AMG Line set with a glossy black multi-spoke design. Mercedes also offers a range of luxury paint jobs from the Manufacturing catalog in matte and metallic finishes. Inside, the updated steering wheel comes wrapped in Nappa leather as standard while the center console gets some minor revisions. The latest MBUX continues to work with a seven-inch driver display that can be scaled up to a 10.25-inch diagonal to suit touchscreens.
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As far as the greasy parts go, the petrol engine has received a mild hybrid treatment and works with a seven- or eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission as standard. The 48V technology provides an additional 13 horsepower (10 kilowatts) upfront. For the plug-in hybrid, the electric motor now delivers an additional 7 hp (5 kW) for a total of 107 hp (80 kW). Owners can charge the battery with alternating current up to 11 kW or with direct current at 22 kW, in which case it takes 25 minutes to charge from 10 to 80 percent.
Mercedes also launched the AMG version with the A35 available in hatchback and sedan formats while the A45 S remains a five-door affair. The lower of the two spicy models from Affalterbach received styling changes that brought it closer to the top of the range. The AMG A35 gets a mild hybrid system and transitions to an eight-speed DCT in place of the previous seven-speed transmission. Output remains unchanged, at 302 hp (225 kW) and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque.
The AMG A45 S 2023 receives a Street Style Edition with various visual enhancements. The limited-run version is painted in Mountain Gray Magno and gets an aero kit and 19-inch matte black alloy wheels with red brake calipers. You’ll notice the retro-scented body decals along with bright orange accents on the inside where there are aluminum trim elements.
The hot hatch soldier with 416 hp (310 kW) and 500 Nm (369 lb-ft), but it’s no longer the most powerful four-cylinder engine installed in a production car. Mounted longitudinally in the new C63 AMG, the same M139 produces a whopping 470 hp (350 kW) and 545 Nm (402 lb-ft). The lower-end version of the four-pot helps the AMG A45 S reach 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.9 seconds and max out at 168 mph (270 km/h). It will be interesting to see if there are plans to include a more powerful motor in a compact car, but we wouldn’t get our hopes up too high.
