[dZired]

Mercedes-Benz is developing new downsized petrol engines for its entry level range of cars. The company is said to be working on 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre blocks that will first be seen under the hood of the new-gen 2018 A-Class, which is expected to be launched next year.

The said engines are being developed in partnership with the Renault-Nissan alliance. Internally codenamed as M282, these engines are also expected to power other front wheel drive cars like the B-Class, CLA and GLA. The new engines might further be used in the A-Class sedan, which was previewed as the Concept A sedan at this year's Shanghai Motor Show. Mercedes is also expected to plonk the new set of small capacity engines in the rumoured GLB SUV.

The new 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre petrol engines have been designed especially for being mounted transversely. They are not expected to find their way into bigger Mercedes cars. Moreover, they aren't likely to feature any hybridization in the near future.

Mercedes' downsizing strategy is identical to what various automakers have been following from the last few years. The major reason for downsizing engines is to limit emissions and enhance fuel economy of the car.

Source: Car and Bike

[GTO]

The A-Class' 1.6L petrol makes about 120 horses & 200 Nm. A well-massaged VW 1.2L TSI beats that. Not hard to see the reasoning behind Mercedes' move. The proposed engines will be smaller, lighter & cheaper.

They'll lose from the marketing standpoint though. A lot of laymen customers still put some emphasis on 'engine size'.

[Durango Dude]

Originally Posted by GTO

They'll lose from the marketing standpoint though. A lot of laymen customers still put some emphasis on 'engine size'.

These are same people who don't mind spending close to ₹25L on a Toyota Corolla Altis with a small 1.4L diesel engine. That aside may be they are going to add 3 turbo's to bump up the responsiveness and power
one for the low/mid and high revs!!

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by GTO

The A-Class' 1.6L petrol makes about 120 horses & 200 Nm. A well-massaged VW 1.2L TSI beats that. Not hard to see the reasoning behind Mercedes' move. The proposed engines will be smaller, lighter & cheaper.

They'll lose from the marketing standpoint though. A lot of laymen customers still put some emphasis on 'engine size'.

Hell that's less than the tiny 1L ecoboost from ford, and that too with our fuel quality. And they even sell a version with 140bhp in europe.

Mercedes makes great engines with displacements over 1.8L, but their smaller engines are very average, both the diesels and petrols(infact they even use the Nissan K9K motor in a few countries.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

These are same people who don't mind spending close to ₹25L on a Toyota Corolla Altis with a small 1.4L diesel engine.

Not really.

Refer to the time that the 1.4L made its debut in the Corolla Altis. The monthly sales hardly improved. Sales of that variant have been below expectations.

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Hell that's less than the tiny 1L ecoboost from ford, and that too with our fuel quality.

I thought of the EcoBoost too, but didn't mention it as it makes a big compromise for that power - LAG! The 1.0L EcoBoost is a pain to drive in the city.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by GTO

They'll lose from the marketing standpoint though. A lot of laymen customers still put some emphasis on 'engine size'.

True, especially in markets like India where they normally don’t have multiple engine options per fuel-type to choose from. A case in point being the Audi A4, even though 1.4 TSI provides decent power of around 150ps (just average for its segment), it doesn’t cut well for a car which costs close to 50 lakhs on-road.

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

These are same people who don't mind spending close to ₹25L on a Toyota Corolla Altis with a small 1.4L diesel engine.

In case of Corolla its all downsized – engine and power

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by GTO

I thought of the EcoBoost too, but didn't mention it as it makes a big compromise for that power - LAG! The 1.0L EcoBoost is a pain to drive in the city.

I have the EcoBoost and I find it very driveable, yes you can feel the boost come into its own at around 1800rpm but the city driveability is not bad either. I believe we look for different things (Power vs Torque )

Another reason why I think Mercedes may choose to go to a 3 cylinder route is its easier, chop off one and counter weights to stabilise. And also, luxury buyers at least in most places in the world don't seem to mind 3 cylinders, case in point the 3 cylinder 1.5L range from BMW, from everything in a Mini One to a BMW i8, these can work great if put in the right application.