It’s kind of funny that the Mercedes-Benz A-class has never been offered in the United States, given that the U.S.?and more specifically, California?was a key reason the brand ventured to launch a vehicle below the C-class at all. See, in the early 1990s, it looked as if California was hellbent on going electric. And Mercedes-Benz felt it needed a car like the A-class to stay in business there. Hence its sandwich-style floor construction, with a space reserved for batteries, and its altogether ultraefficient design.
When legislators of the time cooled on the idea of electrification, work on the A-class had progressed so far that Mercedes-Benz decided to turn the car into a conventionally powered model. It hewed to its dorky/efficient vibe for two generations, until 2012, at which point the A-class morphed into a sporty and lifestyle-oriented alternative to the Volkswagen Golf and the Audi A3. Now comes the fourth-gen A-class, and it follows in the tire tracks of its most recent predecessor.
Unveiled at a large event in Amsterdam, the hatchback version of the new A-class won’t be offered in America. But it will serve as the technical basis for seven further models: short- and long-wheelbase versions of the A-class sedan, a new CLA-class sedan and shooting brake, the next-gen GLA- and B-classes, and an as yet unnamed, rugged-looking small SUV sometimes referred to as the GLB. The U.S. market will receive the A sedan (Canada will get the hatchback, t...