New A Class On Target?

rhud

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From my reading of other forums with a narrower model focus it appears that the new A Class might be having some success in achieving the stated aim of appealing to a younger customer base, despite mixed reviews.

The A45 AMG version,in particular, seems to be a hit with this demographic, despite it eye-watering cost. Having said that, I have yet to see any variant actually on the road yet,perhaps because I don't get out much.:)
 
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npuk

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Definitely a sucess down here. I see many every day. Pretty sure I read sales have exceeded expectations.
 
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obduro

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I've seen them sporadically in south east London and Surrey, most of them have been driven by 25+ blokes and a couple by 25+ ladies.

What is the target market?
 
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rhud

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I've seen them sporadically in south east London and Surrey, most of them have been driven by 25+ blokes and a couple by 25+ ladies.

What is the target market?

MB has a general concern about the age of its customers,compared with,say, BMW and Audi. The previous W169 A Class,in particular,was bought by some young families but became more associated with 'retirees' , partly because of its ease of access.

So I guess the decision led to it setting out to make the new A Class more 'sporty' to attract younger people to the marque. However,an initial misjudgement seems to have been to make the ride of the new model pretty hard,presumably in the interests of going round corners more quickly.

The new model is not for me,but I remain interested in whether this sharp change of gear at the bottom end of the range produces the desired result.
 

Mic

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I expect MB know what they are doing but for me they are unattractive and above all much too big.

Mic
 

jibcl500

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Also the CLA seems quiet popular, not pretty on the backend but still not a bad looker.

jib
 

gizze

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Got to say, I think it looks great on the road.

Most people are absolutely clueless about why they like or don't like certain cars to drive, so the FWD thing won't be an issue for many.
We were talking about cars last night, had a few people over, and no one apart from me had test driven the car they owned. Bizarre.
 

st4

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gizze, we have a guy like that in the office, he's got an Astra and borrowed his Dads 520d and came back in saying how great it was to drive and how he wanted to get one, I said to try the A6 and he did and said how rubbish it was and the handling was crap and it didn't go where it pointed.

I then explained to proceed to explain what RWD is correct wheel drive and FWD is wrong wheel drive
 

TheBluetac

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I've seen a few on the road. I wish it were correct wheel drive, but as its not, the older A class which has a USP (space) is a more appealing car.

I know st4 - FWD is so wrong but then so is an automatic gearbox and engine in the front ....

Ideal set up is Mid engined, RWD, manual, but your opinion is your opinion. Just find it funny when people cherry pick.
 

SAABfan

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I've seen a few of the new A-classes and I have to say, the one's with the small wheels look a bit pathetic.
See, this is what I don't understand about people who buy cars.
Why would someone buy a new A-Class v a used C-Class/E-Class/S-Class with a proper engine and drivetrain??

My 14 year old CLK320 is a better car than a new A-Class imo?

A used S-Class v an A-Class..........no choice at all really.

Remember, a good used S you could pick up for 7k these days, easily.
Or better still, just buy a 190 for a grand. Better built than any A-Class.
 
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lwbnick

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Why would someone buy

People don't buy Mercedes anymore, they lease them or get them on PCPs.

That's why anyone with a decent credit rating and a pulse has one.

When I first started you had to be a proper person to have a Mercedes-Benz, now any ×××× can have one.

Hence Mercedes have given up on the rock solid build quality thing and just knock any old thing out to please the monthly payment men.

Jaguar are looking more appealing these days.
 
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aquiss

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Jaguar are looking more appealing these days.

Oh please! You come across as someone who thinks they are better than anyone else. Your not!

Jaguar are just like any other mass market producer, eager to get as much business as they can. For your reference I could, if I wanted, obtained a similar spec Jaguar to my new E-Class for less monthly payments via a PCP plan, which clearly appeals to men and "women".

As for someone who also has friends/family who work at Jaguar/Land Rover, they have huge reliability issues at present. Cars are sat in garages for weeks as the majority of parts are reported to be going to new car production than into repairs/garage network.
 


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