2008 MERCEDES BENZ A-Klasse (W169) 200 5MT FWD (136 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Mercedes-Benz introduced the facelift for the second generation of the A-Class in April 2008 at the Leipzig “Auto Mobil International”. The car kept its main ingredients but added more refinement.

Before the first generation of the A-Class, Mercedes-Benz was known for its rear-wheel-drive vehicles. The sudden move to the front-wheel-drive showed some lack of experience in the area and that led to the failure of the “Elk-Test” in Sweden. A mistake that cost the company DM 300 million (USD 150 million) to fix it. But the second generation was studied thoroughly and it became the safest car from its class. In September 2007, over 500.000 units of the second generation of the A-Class were on the roads. The facelift was introduced to keep the sales up.

There were some minor changes on the exterior of the car. The bumpers, front and rear lights were redesigned. The most noticeable change was at the rear, where the taillights featured one clear bar instead of two for the 2003-2007 model.

Inside, there were more modifications to the dashboard, that featured new controls for the ventilation and new instrument cluster. New materials were included, after a study among the drivers of the A-Class. It was a true appreciation and dedication for the small Mercedes-Benz A-Class customers. A start-stop function was added for the A150 and A170 models. On top of that, there was an option for automatic parallel parking, where the driver only had to do the acceleration and braking. For the safety part of the MY 2009 A-Klasse, the car got adaptive flashing brake lights and crash-responsive emergency lighting as standard in the interior.

The engine range remained the same as its pre-facelift version.