Watch the new Mercedes A-Class tackle winter testing like a champ

Khodrocar - Mercedes-Benz has a new entry-level model on the way, but before it can hit dealerships, it needs to prove its mettle in some rather harsh environments.

Mercedes-Benz released a quick teaser video of its new A-Class, which is slated for unveiling later this year. In the video, the car is seen undergoing some winter testing. Some of it looks fun -- drifting in the snow is never a bad time -- whereas other parts don't look as fun. I wouldn't want to be in that tunnel where it starts collecting ice like Jack Nicholson at the end of "The Shining."

This isn't out of the ordinary for new cars. Automakers need to prove that their vehicles are capable in all manner of environments, even ones where very few owners will dare venture. Vehicles are tested in extreme cold and hot weather to ensure that owners aren't left stranded when the going gets very hot -- or very cold. Those of us in the American Midwest know all about the latter over the last two weeks.

While the A-Class in the video was a hatchback, the new A-Class will arrive in the US as a sedan. The automaker's global sales chief confirmed that the US would get the new A-Class in 2018 as a replacement for the swoopy-roof CLA-Class, which is nearing the end of its lifecycle. It should borrow a fair bit of its design from the Concept A Sedan from early 2017.