New Mercedes CLA photos & new Mercedes 4MATIC 4WD - UPDATED

We have the first official photos of the new Mercedes CLA and news of a new Mercedes 4MATIC 4WD system for Mercedes’ smaller cars.

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Update: We asked Mercedes if they could clarify which models of the CLA will be offered with the new 4WD 4MATIC system. They tell us the 4MATIC will only be offered (in the UK at least) on models with the 250 engine in addition to the 45 AMG. So, if you want 4MATIC, and you can’t stretch to the CLA 45 AMG, you’ll need to order the new Mercedes CLA 250 4MATIC.

The new Mercedes CLA – the baby CLS based on the new A Class and previewed by the Mercedes Concept Style Coupe we saw at the Beijing Motor Show – will arrive at the Detroit Auto Show in January (and be followed by the CLA 45 AMG at Frankfurt in Autumn 2013), and will come with a new Mercedes 4MATIC four wheel drive system.

To herald the arrival of the new CLA and the new 4MATIC system, Mercedes has released details of the new 4MATIC system and sent us the first official photos of the production CLA – albeit with the usual swirly black and white camouflage – to illustrate where their new 4WD system will arrive.

The news on the CLA isn’t new; we already know it’s almost exactly the same as the stunning Concept Style Coupe (or at least the top-end models will be), so apart from the significance of the two photos we have of the new CLA in camouflage, we’ll concentrate on the new 4MATIC system developed for the new Mercedes front wheel drive platform architecture.

The new 4MATIC system for the A class cars gets its rear drive from the seven-speed DCT ‘box which can deliver different amounts of torque to the back wheels depending on conditions and driver settings through an electrohydraulically controlled multi-disk clutch at the back which can distribute torque between the front and rear axles .

In ECO mode less torque goes to the back wheels and, with the back clutch open, most of the drive is through the front wheels. But select SPORT or MANUAL modes and the clutch closes to deliver more torque to the back wheels, just as happens automatically in NORMA mode when the system delivers most of the power to the front wheels unless driving style or road conditions dictate otherwise.

Apart from being a clever system, Mercedes new 4MATIC manages to be 25 per cent lighter than similar systems in competitors cars by virtue of the power take-off unit being fully integrated in to the transmission and sharing an oil circuit.

We’ve been wittering on for a while that car makers’ assertion that the majority of car buyers don’t want 4WD is wrong, and it’s the lack of 4WD offerings that make for low sales, not the lack of interest from car buyers.

Perhaps a clever, and economical, 4WD small Mercedes will encourage more makers to offer 4WD versions of their cars in the UK.