Daily commuter, Merc A200 AMG sport or BMW 120d M sport

[sidekickdmr]

Hello!

So I'm planning to change my daily commuter, anyone got any hands on experience of either of the below?

I do about 80 miles commuting every day, have a dog the size of a springer that has to fit in the boot, and expect at least 60mpg.

What would you choose?

The A200 AMG sport






The BMW 120D Msport

Edited by sidekickdmr on Wednesday 25th September 20:59

[HustleRussell]

Wow, 'AMG' and 'Msport' really do mean nothing these days...

[sidekickdmr]

HustleRussell said:

Wow, 'AMG' and 'Msport' really do mean nothing these days...

I know and it does seem a shame to water down such performance brands but without the "packs" the cars look pants

[Fleckers]

On looks the merc

In real life I had a 118d SE hated the bit of crap

[HustleRussell]

Well, that's marketing teams for yah!

120D for me

Having said that, neither look particularly dog friendly- very high boot openings.

Edited by HustleRussell on Wednesday 25th September 21:22

[GreatGranny]

Neither will do an average of "at least 60 mpg" unless you drive them at 50 everywhere.
My S40 dRive is meant to do 70+ mpg yet struggles to break 60 on my 40 mile commute of A roads and the A1 doing no more than 70 mph.
I would go for the Merc just because it's not a 1 series. A white one passed me today and it did look nice.

[okie592]

The a class is truly truly awful.

I would just buy a ford focus.

[sidekickdmr]

okie592 said:

The a class is truly truly awful.

I would just buy a ford focus.

The Old A class was horrid, (like really really bad) but the new a class is a completely different class of Car, the old a class mpv bus thing is now the B class, this is actually a great little car, I was amazed how well it was built/drove/looked!

[Fox-]

Half your pictures are of the old 1 Series the other half the new one.

If you want to commute 80 miles a day why are you looking to buy an 'M Sport' version of a small hatchback? Surely you'd be better off with something more substantial and more comfortable.

[RicksAlfas]

What sort of roads are you doing your 80 mile commute on? I think that would influence my decision and I might not end up with either of those. Suggest 60mpg might be a bit optimistic too.

[greggy50]

For big miles I would probably prefer a Volvo V40 instead of these two...

[sidekickdmr]

Yes I was expecting the "ride quality" comments but prefer a hard ride, currently use a VX line vauxhall for the daily commute and that's on lowered suspension and 20" wheels

I'm not really after suggestions of why I shouldn't buy either of these cars, decided that I want one of the two, just can't decide which one would be better!

[kambites]

sidekickdmr said:

I'm not really after suggestions of why I shouldn't buy either of these cars, decided that I want one of the two, just can't decide which one would be better!

The problem is, the answer to that question for 95% of people would be "whichever rides best".

Even if you like the ride to be firm, I'd still avoid BMW's sports suspension (haven't tried the system in the new A-class). It's not so much the high spring rates that are the problem as the fact that the dampers don't appear to have been stiffened to match. This means that it tends to feel both tooth-rattlingly stiff and oddly bouncy when pressing on.

[clonmult]

sidekickdmr said:

I'm not really after suggestions of why I shouldn't buy either of these cars, decided that I want one of the two, just can't decide which one would be better!

I really doubt that under normal road use, either is obviously better than the other.

See if you can get a bit of time in both of them, see which interior you prefer.

[Dr Interceptor]

I agree on the V40... Ignore the Germans, and go for one.

http://www.volvocars.com/uk/all-cars/volvo-v40/Pag...

I'd have one in that blue...

[LuS1fer]

Like having to choose between Bella Emberg and Vanessa Feltz....so neither.

[anonymous-user]

I would also be looking at the new A3 and the Volvo V40 too. They both drive much better than the merc.

[forzaminardi]

The volvo looks lovely. The BMW and even more so the Merc are blobs.

[sidekickdmr]

Update,

I ignored the majority and picked this up at the weekend.

I'm VERY happy with it, no niggles at all

[10 Pence Short]

Hope you enjoy it!

I just couldn't get in with that interior when I was looking- too much shiney-shiney and the afterthought screen topped it off.

I'm sure it'll be great though.