Nearly new buying guide: Mercedes-Benz A-Class
The best qualities of big Benzes in a classy hatch? Yes, please
It’s a curious thing, the A-Class. You would think something that takes all the good qualities of the best big Mercedes-Benz cars and wraps that up in a small and neat hatchback body would be an instant success, but the life of the A-Class has been quite chequered.
The original was innovative but sullied by the infamous elk test; the second-iteration car never captured the public’s imagination; and the third was more mainstream and sold well but wasn’t a critical success. However, this fourth-generation, W177 A-Class from 2018 improved on its predecessor, upping the driver appeal and adding a bit of extra pizzazz.
Choose from three petrols – the 134bhp 1.3-litre A180, the punchier 161bhp A200 and the 221bhp 2.0-litre A250 – or two road-ripping turbocharged AMG hot hatches, the 302bhp A35 and the 415bhp A45 S.
Meanwhile, diesel lovers can choose the extremely economical 114bhp A180d, torquey 148bhp A200d or potent 187bhp A220d.
And this year, the 212bhp petrol-electric plug-in hybrid A250e was introduced with an EV range of 44 miles.
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Gearboxes are either a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic on most models, or an eight-speed automatic in the A200d, A220d and A250e.
Entry-level SE trim has most of the basics, including 16in alloy wheels, air-con and keyless start. Sport gets you 17in wheels, LED headlights and dual-zone climate control. AMG Line brings sportier styling, while the Executive package includes a larger (10.3in) infotainment screen. If you’re feeling flush, look out for AMG Line Premium that adds all of that and more, including a 10.3in instrument cluster and an upgraded stereo, while the Premium Plus pack includes a sunroof and electrically adjustable front seats.
All the engines perform decently. There’s more road and wind noise than you would want from a posh hatch, though. The steering is quick and responsive, too, and the car handles corners with aplomb. It may not be fun, but it is stable and secure. It rides well, too, most of the time. It’s quite supple over patchy roads, and generally nicely fluid and compliant over bigger bumps. The downside is that it gets floaty at higher speeds and bouncy over undulating roads.
Inside is an interior of rare quality. Tech-lovers may prefer the Executive or even Premium pack for their larger screens, which, when combined, look like one giant widescreen that stretches across more than half of the width of the dashboard. It’s impressive, as is the design of the interior, and with its lashings of shiny piano black plastic, leather and metal in all the important places.
There’s plenty of space up front, too, although it’s tighter in the rear, especially if you’re sitting behind a taller driver. The boot is big enough for your weekly shopping or luggage for a holiday for two.
*BUYER BEWARE*
*Interior* Try to negotiate an extended loan or test drive to guage where there are problems with the driver display. A few owners report it failing and going blank, meaning the instruments cannot be seen.
*Electronics* On the test drive, check there are no issues with sensor-related functions including lane assist, speed limit assist and proximity alert.
*Need to know*
The earliest cars cost from about £17,000. You need more than £20,000 for an A200 from 2019, while an A200d or A220d from 2019 or 2020 is more likely to be between £22,000 and £24,000. The AMG A35 starts at £32,000.
The A250e PHEV officially gets 256.8mpg, but you’re unlikely to see anything like that in reality. The A180d returns 62.8mpg, the A200d 57.7mpg and the A220d 55.4mpg. The best petrols are the A180 and A200, with 47.9mpg.
Mercedes-Benz ranked a lowly 26th of 31 brands in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, while the A-Class itself finished 19th in a class of 24 family cars.
*Our pick*
*A250 AMG Line:* This is a petrol-engined hushabout rushabout with an ample 221bhp from its reasonably abstemious 2.0-litre unit, allied to a trim level that won’t disappoint for goodies. Expect performance in the order of 6.2sec for the 0-62mph dash.
*Wild card*
*AMG A45 S: *Stick a crazy 415bhp 2.0-litre four-pot in that stubby nose and you get 0-62mph in 3.9sec. And don’t worry, there’s four-wheel drive to keep all in order and sporty styling to impress the neighbours.
*Ones we found*
2018 Mercedes-Benz A200 Sport, 18,000 miles, £17,995
2018 Mercedes-Benz A250 AMG Line, 24,000 miles, £20,995
2019 Mercedes-AMG A35, 9000 miles, £36,000
2020 Mercedes-AMG A45 S, 5000 miles, £44,000
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