A-Class Review ..Top Gear

[Gkinghorn]

Spotted this incoming n my twitter feed from them...

Seems they quite like it and I could be tempted to buy one I admit..

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/mercedes-benz-a-class-a180-driven-2012-11-02

 

[st4]

So am I, If it were RWD it would be my next car...

 

[Gkinghorn]

Wife tried their configurator.... Gave up.... What an unbelievably bad piece of software.... I looked and messed about too but it's just rubbish...

 

[Gkinghorn]

Went down to the local MB dealer to see this...... Didn't spend too long looking.....

Boot space is very very limited ..... Really quite small and no good for our pooch (a labradoodle) .... Sat in driver seat ... Put seat back to normal driving position... Anyone in the back would have had their legs crushed....... The LCD screen sitting out above the console looks weird in real life... Not sure I liked it....the lack of a gear shift was off looking too but that's what they are going for...

All in all not bad ... But tbh you would get more for your money , and a bigger boot etc , in. Nw Ford Focus... Disappointed really...

 

[nuvolablue]

Anyone know a dealership that has the new A180 CDI (1.5 engine, manual gearbox) available for test drive ??? Thanks.

 

[grober]

Nice car - fairly facile review. http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/mercedes/a_class/hatchback/video#video

 

[Benzman]

Recent review on Autocar gave it 2 stars ( !! ) against a new Audi A3's 5 stars. They didn't like the ride or handling in comparative terms. I had been thinking of downsizing to one of these but not after reading this report. It looked OK in the showroom but appears that it does not drive well in real life.

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Went down to the local MB dealer to see this...... Didn't spend too long looking.....

Boot space is very very limited ..... Really quite small and no good for our pooch (a labradoodle) .... Sat in driver seat ... Put seat back to normal driving position... Anyone in the back would have had their legs crushed....... The LCD screen sitting out above the console looks weird in real life... Not sure I liked it....the lack of a gear shift was off looking too but that's what they are going for...

All in all not bad ... But tbh you would get more for your money , and a bigger boot etc , in. Nw Ford Focus... Disappointed really...

Awwww you have a labradoodle, how cute

How come the boot space is now so small in the new A Class when the main thing people liked about the old style was how big the boot space was

I wonder if it's still got the kind of handbrake that I think of as normal. I can never get my head around the weird handbrake system in our car :Oops:

 

[PeterCLK]

Saw it recently at Brooklands.
Pretty poor in my opinion.
Seems to have v little space.
Interior did not impress.
Some way to go to catch the Golf.

 

[aquiss]

After waiting nearly 2 years for this car, I have had both the pleasure and chance to see it and test drive one last weekend (though it was left hand drive).

I love the way it looks and the drive was perfectly fine. However, currently driving a W204 C-Class at the moment, the car for me was just too small for my needs.

My major grumble was the plastics at the lower levels of the car seemed cheap, especially as i would expect these to get knocked more (maybe that's the idea for cheap/quick replacements).

It's a perfect car for those new to the merc brand and a direct attack on BMW, Audi, Volvo V40 and Golf and in my view will do very well, however, it's not my replacement car

Now all I can pray is some of the stunning looks and brave bold lines of the A-Class make it over to the new 2014 C-Class.

 

[Frontstep]

What Car also panned it.
I think it looks a bit generic and has lost its way from a genuinely innovative car.
Perhaps the next update will address its foibles.

 

[three pointed star]

Now all I can pray is some of the stunning looks and brave bold lines of the A-Class make it over to the new 2014 C-Class.

And end up looking like a SEAT...I hope not

 

[MSG2004]

Sadly, just like the new B Class, this is just another ordinary looking car in a mass of cars.

The Old A Class, it was a true Tardis and you sat up high, usually easier to drive as better view and does well in side impacts as higher up.

The new B Class, very high crash ratings, but just looks like any other ok to good car of similar size imo.

Most people do not see the A and B class as true MB's, bit like the BMW 1 series and the bigger joke, slightly bigger joke X1.

I've not had a close look at the A/B Class as not interested other than tv and net, but if I feel on hard times and had to down size, I'd by the old A class auto.

 

[Gkinghorn]

How come the boot space is now so small in the new A Class when the main thing people liked about the old style was how big the boot space was

in the old A Class you could 'drop' the floor I recall thus getting more headroom. In this one the top of the headrest in the rear is just in front of the end of the roof and you cant drop the floor - so the space is really tight.... And yes the A3 knocks spots off it in that department ... Wife has one and considered a swap for this but after seeing it said no way ..so she is staying an A3 girl....

Oh and Alfie the labradoodle is in the Doggy pic thread...