Fresh new looks, a raft of economical new BlueEFFICIENCY powertrains and significantly enhanced specification make the new A-Class and B-Class even more attractive than ever.

Both the A-class and B-Class family of three and five-door hatchbacks have undergone a timely mid-term refresh. The entry-level Mercedes-Benz models, which arrive this autumn, benefit from a raft of styling, specification, environmental, safety and dynamic upgrades that further enhance their economy and emissions, as well as bolstering their residual values and their strong corporate appeal.

Headline news for both the A-Class and B-Class is their outstanding new environmental qualifications - they are the world’s first compact cars to receive the internationally received TUV Environmental Certificate in acknowledgement of their holistic “green” advances made during their entire life cycle, from production through to recycling. They join the C-Class and S-Class, which have also received this vaunted certification.

Both cars wear bold new faces. Muscular reprofiled front and rear bumpers, a larger front air intake and sweeping new headlamps on the A-Class and bold three-bar grille for the B-Class further enhance their looks, giving them a more commanding on-road presence.

And there’s good news for fleet managers facing spiralling fuel costs - both the A-Class and B-Class will feature the newly developed BlueEFFICIENCY engines in their line up from September production, driving down combined consumption to an economical 62.8mpg and emissions to a tax-busting 119g.km.

Other technical highlights of the revised line-up include the optional APA Active Park Assist, which will scan a road for parking spaces and automatically steer the car into the space (reducing the number of minor but expensive low-speed scrapes and bumps) and advanced infotainment systems featuring Bluetooth compatibility and Europe-wide navigation.

In addition to the peerless standard safety equipment, the new A-Class and B-Class now benefit from adaptive break lights that flash during emergency braking to warn following drivers, crash-responsive emergency lighting to assist occupants and emergency services after an accident and an enhanced ESP Electronic Stability Programme that now includes Hill Start Assist for safer manoeuvring on slopes. 

BlueEFFICIENCY
BlueEFFICIENCY is the innovative new technology that plays a key role in reducing CO2 emissions and improving fuel efficiency. From September 2008 production, the new Blue EFFICIENCY models will replace standard engine variants with no price increase.

Available on the A 150, A 170, B 150 and B 170 manual transmission petrol engines, BlueEFFICIENCY with ECO start/stop function improves combined fuel efficiency by up to 8% and reduces CO2 emissions by up to 11g/km, through a combination of the start/stop function, intelligent generator management and reduced rolling resistance.

Also from September production, the popular A 160 CDI engine will be replaced by the new BlueEFFICIENCY Fuel Efficient engine. Available with the manual 3-door body only, the new model reduces fuel consumption by 9% and CO2 emissions by 9g/km to just 119g/km.

For more information, visit www.mercedes-benzcorporate.co.uk/info