Mercedes has shown off the interior of its upcoming 2018 A-Class hatchback, which appears to be smothered in tech luxury.
Just like the earth is round, dogs bark, and night follows day, Mercedes makes nice car interiors. But the level of tech and slick design in the A-Class is unexpected given Merc normally keeps this level of luxury reserved for its S-Class land barges and halo sports cars, not its cheapest car.
But the A-Class is rocking a seriously smart cabin, with the most striking feature being a brace of widescreen displays that sit behind a free-standing single pane of glass that extends from the driver’s dashboard to the centre infotainment unit. A lack of a plastic shroud gives the impression that the screen is somehow floating on the car’s dash.
Such tech can be found in Merc’s E and S-Class cars, but they have a shroud; with the A-Class, Mercedes’ designers appear to have worked on the anti-glare properties of the glass displays, negating the need for a shroud, which has the upside of making the cabin feel more airy.
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Being a German car manufacturer, Mercedes is offering the display unit in a few options, with entry level units presenting two 7-inch displays, middle options offering a combination of 7-inch and 10.25-inch displays and the top option presenting a brace of flush 10.25-inch panels. A head-up display will also be an option, adding more information into the driver’s view.
The displays are controlled with Mercedes’ latest Command infotainment unit, which uses steering wheel and centre-mounted touchpads rather than click wheel or touchscreen controls to prevent fingerprints from ruining the hard work Merc has put into the display unit, while still ensuring navigating through the car’s performance and infotainment systems are easy.
The rest of the interior looks to have been designed around the digital interface with swish ambient lighting highlighting the displays and turbine-looking air vents which are subtly angled toward the driver indicating this is a car for keen petrolheads.
Some 64 colours are on offer for the ambient lighting, allowing drivers to customise the car’s look to their heart’s desire. Further customisation comes in the form of various trim options, with different colours, materials and textures on offer.
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All in all, the interior of the upcoming A-Class is offering a serious upgrade over the rather less-premium design of its predecessor.
Mercedes has kept quiet on the actual engine options and powertrain for the next A-Class. But we’d expect them to range from a standard diesel and petrol motors to plug-in hybrids later on down the line, and engines that have been pushed into hothatch territory thanks to tweaking from Merc’s AMG performance arm.
When it makes its full debut, likely Spring 2018, the new A-Class will be taking the fight to the likes of Audi with its A3 hatchbacks and BMW’s 1-Series cars.
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Plush or gaudy; what do you make of the new A-Class interior? Let us know on Facebook or tweet @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
