Friday 3rd January 2014

A* A-Class?: PH Blog

The latest small Merc will be loved by customers, possibly not by PHers. Matt explains why

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Christmas is over, the mince pies are a distant memory, the New Year's Eve hangover has subsided and my festive transport has gone. It was a Mercedes A250 Sport and, for the task at hand, it was absolutely fine. It returned 42mpg on the 100 miles back to Ipswich, the enhanced-with-a-few-extras interior was beautiful and it was mostly a nice thing to drive.

Not a bad car, not bad looking either...

Yes, the ride wasn't as settled as it should have been (even on winter tyres) and the gearbox was occasionally a bit lethargic in its responses, but it was a decent car overall. However, I have a rather bigger and more fundamental issue with the A-Class; it just lacks a bit of originality, which the first two cars had in abundance.

With their marvellous packaging, both Mk1 and Mk2 A-Classes were really very innovative cars, tarnished by that elk test and slightly dumpy styling. The latter is certainly not something you could accuse the new car of, but its wantonly generic and formulaic design remains a little disappointing.

And it's hardly compromise-free either. That chunky C-pillar and narrow rear windscreen can make manoeuvring more awkward than it should be, for example.

... but the cleverness of the old car is gone

But criticising Mercedes for making the A-Class more mainstream is of course a churlish complaint as it has to respond to buyer demand. If the public want a regular hatch devoid of much originality then unfortunately that's what has to be made. Having said that, I want to stand up for the appealing engineering curios that people just didn't want.

You knew I was going to say Audi A2 next, didn't you? The futuristic little supermini just gets more relevant by the year, its lightweight construction and super efficient diesels so much more intriguing than the A1's bland mix of mini-me styling and 'normal' engineering. That the first Honda Insight morphed into the second gen car for presumably similar reasons is equally frustrating.

One more thing on Honda. In 1998, the range-topping Civic looked rather dull but had independent suspension at all four corners and a limited-slip differential. Ten years later the Type R had neither. But it looked well wicked, and that's what sells.

A2 to A1 shows it's been done before too

Or does it? The Ford Ka has never been a particularly advanced car, but the first car still looks remarkably fresh given its approaching 20 years old and was popular. The next one never really matched it on any score. Autocar revealed Ford's Mk3 Ka concept last month; intended as a global car it's as dull as ditchwater but has to appeal everywhere, particularly those with more conservative tastes. Shame.

I can understand why Mercedes had to change the A-Class, but that doesn't mean I especially like it. Perhaps that's why the VW XL1 appeals so much as its engineering is so clever and the design so fresh. Oh, it costs how much you say? Perhaps there is something to be said for following convention then.

[Source: Autocar]

[akadk]

couldnt agree more

I have an '54 Audi A2 TDI 90PS, it does 70mpg and £30 tax, and in actually nippy to drive !

Ok, its not the perfect car, its not going to set the world alight, but I think what it represents is very clever

All aluminium construction meaning super light weight
Styling which has aged incredibly well
Massive interior space for 4 adults and luggage despite its small exterior
Audi quality interior / dash

Mine is spec'd with the RNSE Sat Nav / MP3 unit, Cruise Control, 17" RS 4 style wheels, Panoramic Roof

To think this came out in the year 2000, and 14 yrs later its still at the sharp end of MPG, Tax etc is quite an achievement

[Oddball RS]

Bit of a weird article this, you mention it has nothing original, what does in this group? my other half has one and it does a great job, will happily play chase the focus in the twisty stuff and the C pillar and rear visibility is about average for modern designed cars, the Golf has never been good for this either.

My main gripes would be wind noise around the front doors, and rattling seat belt anchor points.

[simo1863]

couple of thoughts from me;

Firstly, the new A-Class drives infinitely better than the old one even if it looks a bit generic.

Secondly it isn't really a new version of the old A-Class, the only similarity is the name, it's a different car aimed at a different market.

The story I've been told by a few 'industry' types is that Mercedes boffins in the UK didn't want it named the A-Class as there was a bit of a negative stigma with the old one but Germans being Germans really wanted an A, B and C.... Which makes me question why they don't have a D-Class? They could make it phallus shaped!

[peter450]

Personally i dont get this article at all, it's not like they went from making a little hot rod to a generic hatch....and we should all cry as a result....

A reality check is needed here, the old car was about as far away from a sporty type car as you can get, it was no mini/500 thats for sure !! while it's design may have been great for purely practical purposes, it left absoltely no scope for really making a more sporty/fun version of the car.

This new one is generic yes, but it also has the potencial to be more than a hum drum a to b car, that alone makes it a significant improvement on the old one in my book

[Ari]

The old one was a awful looking thing, the new one is a million times better. It actually looks like a small Mercedes should.

Less quirky? Maybe. But I'll take that in return for a far superior looking (and driving) car.

It's called progress.

[Itsallicanafford]

Oddball RS said:

Bit of a weird article this, you mention it has nothing original, what does in this group?

Toyota Auris Hybrid? (built in Britain as well...)

[Rich1973]

I cant help but think how very un-Mercedes it looks. They have always been easily recognisable, but stick a Kia badge on this and nobody would think it anything other than a Kia.
Generic really is the word.

[LuS1fer]

Wow. Even the Ka is going the 4 door route. Is this the death of the small car?

The new A-Class looks like a KIa at the back except the Kia no longer looks like a Kia, it's far more stylish.

I've always liked the old A-Class for it's concept if not execution.

[civicduty]

Rich1973 said:

I cant help but think how very un-Mercedes it looks. They have always been easily recognisable, but stick a Kia badge on this and nobody would think it anything other than a Kia.
Generic really is the word.

Guess that is why they made the badge so big then!!

[kambites]

LuS1fer said:

I've always liked the old A-Class for it's concept if not execution.

The old A-class was a great fundamental design, let down by a few slightly iffy detail decisions. The new car is just another dull but worthy FWD hatch in a market full of dull but worthy FWD hatches. I'm sure it's a nice enough car, but it doesn't really add anything to the market.

Edited by kambites on Friday 3rd January 14:05

[900T-R]

simo1863 said:

couple of thoughts from me;

Firstly, the new A-Class drives infinitely better than the old one even if it looks a bit generic.

My parents have got themselves an A180 and compared to the old A-classes I drove back in the day... well, no comparison. The original A-class was TBH not up to Mercedes standards in any way - it was unrefined, not nice to drive and felt cheap.

The new one does suffer from an unsettled ride at times, but it's a genuinely good steer (never thought I'd say this about any cooking Merc), it's got the feelgood factor inside and out, it's got just about every piece of comfort/safety technology an S-Class had only 5 years ago and as just about every other hatch these days has become tall and boxy (like the old A-class) or is boring as a boring thing on a Sunday evening in Boredville one could say it offers a much needed alternative in the upper C-segment...

[Olf]

We had both the A class (second incarnation) and the B class. They were both great cars - very roomy inside for body size and genuinely excellent town and kid cars. OK so a bit crap on motorways and not exciting to drive but just very good transport.

Shame then that the innovation has gone and with it the interior space.

Honda FRV with 6 genuine seats is also a car that they should never have stopped making.

[sad61t]

The article's sentiment reminds me of an interview with Renault's head of design in Car from a few years ago. He said that people express a wish for something different but are completely conservative when it comes to spending their money. The result was Renault's quirky phase (the original Twingo (sweet), Vel Satis (plutocrat), Avantime (spacious) and Spider (PH++)) turning into a sales disaster.

[900T-R]

Indeed, a very weird piece from a PH perspective. Has the author lived with one of the previous generations of A-class at all? It was a stodgy ol' thing that suffered enormously in dynamic terms from the decision to have a tall monospace/twin floor architecture for the sake of saving a few decimetres of overall length and electric/fuel cell versions that never came into being.

peter450 said:

Personally i dont get this article at all, it's not like they went from making a little hot rod to a generic hatch....and we should all cry as a result....

A reality check is needed here, the old car was about as far away from a sporty type car as you can get, it was no mini/500 thats for sure !! while it's design may have been great for purely practical purposes, it left absoltely no scope for really making a more sporty/fun version of the car.

This new one is generic yes, but it also has the potencial to be more than a hum drum a to b car, that alone makes it a significant improvement on the old one in my book

[Agoogy]

The point of the article is clear to me. The car industry is ready and willing to put out groud breaking, radical, capable, innovative, clever solutions.
The public for all it's eco-bleating and superficial requests for futurisitc, blue-sky thinking fit for purpose vehicles, want an image and that image at the lowest possible price.

The Avantime and Mutipla are two other examples of a company thinking differently and with superb results that fell on deaf ears.

No one car has held all the answers to the mass population's needs of course, but the cars mentioned in that article answered one or two each crucial ones that the mass-market couldn't.

The general public then: style over substance cheaply please.

[900T-R]

Agoogy said:

The Avantime and Mutipla are two other examples of a company thinking differently and with superb results that fell on deaf ears.

No one car has held all the answers to the mass population's needs of course, but the cars mentioned in that article answered one or two each crucial ones that the mass-market couldn't.

Eh? The Avantime?? What answers does that give, except to the question how you deprive a big MPV from every sort of practicality the format offers whilst gaining nothing dynamically?

The Multipla I give you, although that was compromised in perching the outer seat occupants against a vast expanse of glass leaving them feeling a tad vulnerable up there...

I like 'different' personally - just not for the sake of it.

[VladD]

Not bad looking? Seriously? That's about as disproportioned as you can get.

[jakeb]

Looks like a Citroen C something from the rear, front too much in your face and I dont like swoopy line thingy down the side

A missed opportunity to build a proper desirable A3 competitor eg lacks desirability in its class

[Agoogy]

900T-R said:

Eh? The Avantime?? What answers does that give, except to the question how you deprive a big MPV from every sort of practicality the format offers whilst gaining nothing dynamically?

The Multipla I give you, although that was compromised in perching the outer seat occupants against a vast expanse of glass leaving them feeling a tad vulnerable up there...

I like 'different' personally - just not for the sake of it.

Double hinged doors... expansive glass in a format that a decade or so later is being explored again but not as well... X6 for example. Dynamically yep it was quite serioulsy flawed, but the concept and the fact they executed it as closley as they did warrants comendation for the sheer ballsy-ness of it.

Different is another way of describing them, and an answer to a question the general public didn't ask....quite frankly the general public shouldn't be dictating what product should made...

Also agreed... the new A-class has terrible proportions, front overhang for example...

[Roma101]

It always makes me smile when people talk about all modern small family cars/hatches being dull. What are you expecting for your £15k to £25k mainstream family runarounds? Something that will be worthy of the Tate Modern? It will have 4 wheels, 4/5 doors, a boot, windows and some body panels everywhere else. If you want it to look amazing, it is going to cost a lot more. And even then it is not going to be a Ferrari or Lamborghini in the looks department, is it?