The entire automotive world is slowly but surely moving to smaller and efficient engines. And that's how it should be as well. Joining on to this bandwagon is Mercedes-Benz, who is looking to work on down-sized petrol engines. Sources say that the German auto-giant will be looking to bring new 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre engines which will have four cylinders and will be transversely laid out. This is being done in a bid to offer cars which have better fuel efficiency and reduced emissions as well.
The new engines have been codenamed M282 and will be first seen first in the next-gen A-Class, which is scheduled to go on sale in the middle of 2018. In due course of time, the new M282 engines will also feature in other smaller Mercedes-Benz cars with a front-wheel drive such as the B-Class, CLA and the GLA as well.
(New Mercedes-Benz A-Class)In fact, the new engines might just be used in the new compact SUV from Mercedes-Benz which might be called GLB and will take on the new BMW X1. The new engines have been developed in partnership with the Renault-Nissan alliance. In all probability, these engines will be not be used in the bigger Mercedes cars and do not feature in the company's hybrid engine plans as well.
(The new smaller displacement engines will be seen on the future generation these cars)Some reports are also saying that there is another engine in the works which will also make its debut on the new A-Class. It carries the codename M260 and will be offered in a 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre variants. The 2.0-litre engine might be given an update in the hands of AMG and be used in the smaller AMG cars such as CLA 45 AMG, GLA 45 AMG and the A 45.
When the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned diesel engines above 2,000 cc, Mercedes-Benz India was one of the worst-hit as all their diesel engines were displacing more than 2,000 cc. So the need for smaller and efficient engines is well-founded too.
