2012 Mercedes-Benz A-Class spied for first time

Looks like the leaked patent office pictures were right, then? Surprised that these weren't shown for comparison purposes. It's hard to know what to make of this car. I don't dislike what I see or find it wrong that M-B should build such a car. I thought the original A-Class was a brave move. It certainly broke the mould and its interior packaging was excellent. Unfortunate then that it looked like a plumber's van. So maybe M-B were wise to admit defeat and go for a more traditional hatchback design? Being a Merc, the new A-Class hatch should be appealing - high standard of engineering, powerful yet frugal engines, solid build quality and an excellent ownership proposition; but... ..this is M-B's first hatch. The new BMW 1-Series is BMW's second iteration, while Audi's third generation A3 will leverage 40 years of VW Group Golf experience, a killer range of engines, superb build quality and class-leading dynamics. Clearly, the next A3 is going to be the car to beat. Can Merc do it? Well, ride quality and steering have traditionally been areas of weakness for Audi while the same attributes are traditional M-B strengths. If Merc can inject genuine big car refinement into the new A-Class while making it responsive and sexy, it should run the Audi A3 very close.

Already looks better than new 1 series with all that cladding

Biggest problem for Merc here is it's really late to the party in a market whose selling points are practicality and model loyalty. It will be hard to rob sales from Golf and A3.

its a merc man, it won't struggle to get sales.

A65AMG HA

VW Scirocco meets Renault Megane

what do u mean this wont struggle to get sales? what do u mean audi has build quality issues? dudes, get ur stats. even an Astra sells better (and looks better) than an a-class. the first gen a-class had gaps between panels as large as gibraltar. the interior was as interesting as my thumb. then, the nex gen a-class, got a bit better but that doesent justifies its 25 grand starting price. and let us not forget that a-class (till this leak) were like....vans. they were more like audi a2 competitors or golf plus.

By far, most MB customers opted for the "egg-shaped" A-Class rather than the B-Class, price difference being marginal and not a real factor. They definitely preferred the "egg-shaped" "version" of essentially the same car. So, what does MB do? They abolish the "egg-shaped" "version". Smart, no?

"Really late to the party ?" Look at VW Tiguan, VW Touareg or VW Touran. They were late, too. So what ?