Mercedes-Benz is making its compact car family even more attractive and recently, the company has announced a series of updates to the CLA, GLA and B-Class.
First up, Mercedes-Benz’s DYNAMIC SELECT is now available for all models in the compact car family. With this the vehicle characteristics can be adjusted in seconds at the touch of a button, as the system modifies the engine, transmission, suspension, steering and air conditioning at the driver’s behest. The 4 driving modes “Comfort”, “Sport”, “Eco” and “Individual” can be conveniently selected using the switch in the upper control panel. For the GLA there is the additional “Off-road” driving mode. DYNAMIC SELECT allows a particularly broad range of setting options in combination with the new suspension with adaptive damping adjustment (also available as an optional extra for all compact models). In this case the driver is able to modify the vehicle’s damping characteristics using the DYNAMIC SELECT Switch.
Up next, the new entry-level model in the B-Class range is the B 160 with 102 hp. The new efficiency champion is the 109 hp A 180 d BlueEFFICIENCY Edition, which gets by on NEDC fuel consumption of just 3.6 l/100 km. The CO2 output is 94 g/km. Apart from that, from December 2015 the B-Class is available in the fresh trendy colour elbaite green metallic.
No less than three new models enrich the CLA Shooting Brake range: also new alongside the diesel CLA 180 d with 109 hp are the two all-wheel drive versions CLA 200 d 4MATIC and CLA 220 d 4MATIC.
The CLA 250 Sport and CLA 250 Sport 4MATIC sports models have now become somewhat more powerful as the Coupé and Shooting Brake with 218 hp instead of 211 hp.
The top diesel GLA 220 d model is somewhat more powerful than previously, with 177 hp (+7 hp). Performance characteristics: 7.7 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h and a top speed of 223 km/h (data for cars with front-wheel drive).
In the future the GLA will boast the latest infotainment generation from Mercedes-Benz. The free-standing display screen features a larger screen diagonal of 7-inches, together with a high-gloss piano-black front panel and a flush-fitting frame in Silvershadow. In combination with COMAND Online, or as an option for the Audio 20 system, the display is available with an even larger screen diagonal of 8-inches. The youngest COMAND Online generation (optional extra) includes the use of the Mercedes connect me services such as Traffic Information.
“Mercedes connect me” links the GLA with the world around it. Mercedes connect me Standard Services can be used with the standard communications module. Available services include, for example, Accident Recovery, Maintenance Management and Breakdown Management.
From the beginning of 2016, Apple, CarPlay and MirrorLink will be available for all compact cars. In the case of Apple CarPlay for example, the system supports making phone calls, navigating and listening to music, receiving and sending SMS and emails as well as Siri voice control. Owners of MirrorLink-compatible smartphones can mirror apps specially optimised for use while driving to their vehicle display for safe and convenient use.
Just like the B-Class, the GLA is also available in the fresh trendy colour elbaite green metallic from December 2015 onwards.
There’s also a new entry-level B 160 which features a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that develops 102 PS and 180 Nm of torque. It enables the model to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in as little as 10.6 seconds before hitting a top speed of 190 km/h.
There’s also a new B 180 d BlueEFFICIENCY Edition which has a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine that develops 109 PS and 260 Nm of torque. The engine allows the car to run from 0-100 km/h in 11.6 seconds before hitting a top speed of 189 km/h. More importantly, the model returns 3.6 L/100km with CO2 emissions of 94 g/km.
Moving on, the CLA Shooting Brake gains three new variants including the CLA 180 d, CLA 200 d 4MATIC and CLA 220 d 4MATIC. The CLA 250 Sport and CLA 250 Sport 4MATIC also gain an upgraded engine that produces an additional 7 PS.
Last but not least, the GLA 220 d receives an additional 7 PS. It enables the entry-level crossover to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 7.7 seconds before hitting a top speed of 223 km/h.
