Anybody got an A-Class?

[Ow]

My parents are looking at a couple of month old Merc A-Class at the moment.
It's the 1.5 petrol I think.

Does anyone on here have one? What do you think of it?

The previous model never had great reviews, so I'm wondering whether the newer model is much better?

Cheers

[kwk]

Don't own one but borrowed a friends in the summer and drove to the South of France via Germany, Italy and Switzerland. It was a bit cramped for 3 people and luggage but it cruised well enough on the motorway and was very economical.
As long as they don't want a particularly exciting driving experience I'd say go and buy one.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Excellent cars. Good value to buy as "nearly new". Running costs possibly a bit higher than e.g. Focus or Golf as engine access tricky for some jobs.

Avoid the auto version (variomatic)!

Overall a very fine car even if the image is unexciting. Loads of room inside. Interior quality especially good for the money with bottom of the range 1.5

[BAKS42]

My Mum had the old one which was ok but not great! and now owns a new one! she has the 2 litre turbo AMG! i have never seen another one on the road! It is a big improvment over the old model, it goes great! very light steering but holds the road really well and much more comfortable on longer journeys. Much better quality.

[BAKS42]

[plenty]

A180 CDI auto. Perfect family hack with lots of room despite small footprint. Turbodiesel in 180 tune is torquey and economical. Very easy to drive and equally suited to motorway work as pottering around town. Great build quality and premium feel.

[va1o]

a150 avantgarde

no complaints, very reliable and happy with the car overall. ride perhaps a little firm and steering a bit light but very comfortable and well equipped, and performance is decent enough.

unlike the old first generation pre-2005 cars the latest models are really rather good

a golf is perhaps a better all-round package, but the a-class offer a more prestige badge and is more practical

Edited by va1o on Friday 5th November 22:37

[Ow]

Cheers all, nothing too negative so far then! Seems ideal for what they want.

[AnotherClarkey]

The inlaws have a 180CDi auto. Very good overall and the CVT transmission is truly excellent. Only downsides are the rather agricultural diesel and jiggly ride which left me thinking that a base model petrol with sensible size wheels might the best in the range.

[ralphrj]

BAKS42 said:

she has the 2 litre turbo AMG! i have never seen another one on the road!

There is a very good reason for that - they never made an AMG version. I suspect it is just an A200 Turbo with an AMG badge stuck on it.

[AnotherClarkey]

I think there was an AMG version - the 2.1 'evo' but it was a fairly light makeover IIRC.

[va1o]

AnotherClarkey said:

I think there was an AMG version - the 2.1 'evo' but it was a fairly light makeover IIRC.

Yes very briefly but it was the not so good old model, and they stopped calling it AMG almost straight after it went on sale IIRC.

[Sneaky Schnell]

I had an A150 auto rental on holiday a few years ago and drove from Naples to the Amalfi coast and around the whole region for a week. Nice little car. Good visibility and easy to drive.

[ralphrj]

va1o said:

AnotherClarkey said:

I think there was an AMG version - the 2.1 'evo' but it was a fairly light makeover IIRC.

Yes very briefly but it was the not so good old model, and they stopped calling it AMG almost straight after it went on sale IIRC.

There was an A210 Evolution model in the original (168 series) A-Class which most people assume to be an AMG but isn't. MB originally wanted to call it A21 to make it look like it really was an AMG (like the C36, E55 etc) but AMG refused to let them.

[va1o]

^^Yeah that's the one

[carlingofblack]

In laws have an A180 CDi. Build quality and space is ace, a nice package though it is only SE Classic spec. Engine is good but sounds very agricultural from cold. Once warm is ok. Hugely practical and a bit of prestige too.

[BAKS42]

ralphrj said:

BAKS42 said:

she has the 2 litre turbo AMG! i have never seen another one on the road!

There is a very good reason for that - they never made an AMG version. I suspect it is just an A200 Turbo with an AMG badge stuck on it.

I think you are correct! There is no AMG badge on the back, they are AMG wheels though, not sure it says AMG anywhere else though, i will check next time i see it, still, i have never seen another one on the road.

[va1o]

Don't think I've seen any A200 Turbos on the road either, they are super rare. They discontinued all the A200s (standard, cdi and turbo) in 2008 when the slightly facelifted model came out.

[H_Kan]

Heard very good things about the new A class. I think the packaging of the car is very smart which means the car feels a lot more spacious then you'd expect for the size.

Driving dynamics are not going to set the world on fire, but for a family run around its fine.

[Deerfoot]

va1o said:

Don't think I've seen any A200 Turbos on the road either, they are super rare.

Hmmm, worth the money for this?

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/uvl/popup.jsp?cur...