Born as a small monovolume, the A-class has completely evolved into this third generation, presented in 2012. The goal was to compete with the Audi A3 and the BMW 1-Series. But unlike these cars, Mercedes came with a range limited to 5-door bodywork only. In 2013, however, the CLA appeared, a 4-door coupe that was quickly joined by a Shooting Break, something absolutely unprecedented in the production of Audi and BMW competition. Mechanically, the third generation A-Class marked a point of renewal because the basic versions adopted Renault 1.2TCe and 1.5 dCi engines, something that scandalized the purists. However, the Mercedes technicians managed to draw something acceptable from it, also improving its reliability. After a restyling in July 2015, the A-Class 3 went out of production in 2018.