[rshanker]

Looks like Mercedes have something planned to rival the Audi A3 & BMW 1 series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6m0TRD5oiY

Here's a quick screen grab from the video


More about the unveiling at Paul Tan

The facelifted Mercedes-Benz S-Class isn’t the only big thing set to debut at Auto Shanghai, because joining it on stage will be the Concept A Sedan. The show car, which is the “herald of a new generation,” as Mercedes puts it, appears to be largely inspired by the Aesthetics A sculpture shown in January this year.

At the time, Mercedes referred to the sculpture as a “vision of a saloon car in the compact car segment,” and the Concept A Sedan should give us a better insight at what the A-Class Sedan will look like. It has previously reported that the A-Class Sedan will go up against the Audi A3 Sedan as well as the BMW 1 Series Sedan, and will be positioned above the CLA.

From their unveiling of 'Aesthetics A' Concept back in January

According to Mercedes, Aesthetics A is a development of its Sensual Purity design language, with the front grille adopting the Panamericana design seen on the AMG GT R. You’ll also note that the hood features aggressive lines and sharp creases as we’ve seen on the current CLA too.

Unlike the aforementioned model, the Aesthetics A simplifies the vehicle’s sides by doing away with many of the creases and lines. Instead, there is only a single character line that stretches from the headlights to the taillights, giving it a smoother appearance.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

So, is this the next generation CLA? Or a whole new smaller sedan segment below/above it? CLA is still a class act compared to the A3 and 1 series sedans IMO.

[rshanker]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

So, is this the next generation CLA? Or a whole new smaller sedan segment below/above it? CLA is still a class act compared to the A3 and 1 series sedans IMO.

The above report says that this will be positioned above the CLA.
Speaking of ~Mercedes have just unveiled it at the show & here are some images.

[agambhandari]

What mercedes is intending to do is keep this model as the sedan version of the A-Class while the CLA(and the next gen CLA) will be more of a 4-door coupe version of this car(or the A class, whatever you want to think). This like the CLS is coupe version of the E class(similar segment).

They justify this by saying that people find the current CLA a bit impractical in comparison to the A3 and 2 series sedan. Frankly, I don't see a lot of point in making this, the jaw dropping design of the CLA was the only excitement in this segment. Everything else seems like "me-too" car and I hope in the process of making it more practical mercedes doesn't lose the CLA charm in this car. We don't need another boring design.

Btw, those tail lamps are totally similar in shape as the upcoming Hyundai Verna or the Lexus IS

[volkman10]

Teaser videos,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt1BVyyOoiA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UHWIxQvDYI

[Porcupine]

It looks great!

More than actually being a model to slot somewhere in the line-up, its more an exhibition of the future design language of Mercedes' compact cars. They are aiming to showcase the future of design engineering by minimising panel gaps to achieve a smoother surface texture, and possibly that the 'Panamericana' grille with the vertical slats that will be used more extensively on future models (used only on a couple of AMG models so far - GLC63 and AMG GT C).

Similar shaped headlights have already been spied on the up coming 2019 CLS and 2020 AMG GT 4.

2019 CLS


2020 AMG GT 4