Mercedes-Benz A200: The distilled essence of modern-day Mercedes

By Martin Pretorius 

After discarding the weird “short-but-tall” architecture with the previous generation A-Class, Mercedes-Benz has enjoyed great success with their entry-level model. The latest version builds on that foundation, irons out some kinks, and adds some new technology.

Styling

Make no mistake, the new A-Class (codenamed W177) is a very good-looking car in the metal and plastic. Up front, there’s a shark-like aspect to the angular headlights and jutting grille (which now features the diamond-pattern finish hitherto only applied to the sportiest of Mercs), along with big air scoops and vents. It does need to be seen in real life, though, as 2-dimensional pictures simply cannot do justice to the intricate combination of ridges, angles and surface detailing.

Down the flanks, the new A-Class clearly descends from the same gene pool as its predecessor, with conventional front-wheel drive hatchback proportions and some character lines to keep it from looking flabby. However, there’s only so much any designer can do while constrained by the form factor enforced in this segment, so while the details are neat, it’s also rather ordinary when seen in profile. The 18-inch AMG-design alloy wheels fitted to this test car add some welcome drama when viewed from the side, however.

Much the same applies to the rear end, where only some air vents in the bumper corners (part of the AMG Line styling package) keeps it from looking plain. Some onlookers may even notice design cues which look suspiciously similar to other compact hatchbacks, but at least it’s not a confrontational design, and it should age gracefully enough.

It’s likely that any colour other than the flat white of our test car would show off the design elements to greater effect – the styling of this A-Class needs a solid colour to look its best, and would probably really pop in a vivid blue or a bright red. However, even in white, this test car still exuded enough appeal to have pedestrians in Cape Town’s trendy Sea Point district whip out their camera phones and wave their thumbs in the air in a show of approval. If you want onlookers to like your car, this one hits the spot very nicely indeed.

The Drive

This was a bit of a bugbear in the previous-generation A-Class, because that car’s handling/comfort compromise never quite managed to hit an acceptable balance. I’m pleased to report that a lot of effort has been expended on this front, and as a result, the new A-Class feels far more sorted than the old one ever did – albeit with a few caveats.

The first concerns the basic chassis layout, which varies according to which option boxes are ticked. Should the buyer select the Dynamic Body Control option (as fitted to our test car), the standard torsion-beam rear axle goes out the window, to be replaced by multi-link independent setup. This pays dividends in both handling and ride comfort, as the adaptive suspension combines well with the independent rear end to provide a ride quality that’s mostly smooth, as well as loads of road grip, accurate and responsive steering, and a neutral handling balance. It’s even sharper in Sport mode, but then the ride comfort takes a serious knock, so general driving is best performed in Comfort mode.

The other concern is regarding the choice of wheels. Those 18-inch alloys look very good, but the ultra-low profile tyres they require gives the secondary ride quality a slightly stiff-jointed feel. This is especially noticeable over sharp corrugations and expansion joints, which intrude on the overall ride refinement. I’d suggest sticking to the standard 16-inch or optional 17-inch wheels for an even smoother ride, but even on the biggest wheels, the new A-Class rides with a fluency which places it near the top of its class.

Performance

The badge says “A200”, but there’s a tiny 1.3-litre engine under the bonnet. That doesn’t really matter, though, as the little four-pot mill is quite heavily turbo-charged to provide decent motive power. Peak outputs are 120 kW and 250 Nm, which is sent to the front wheels through a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic.

Performance is suitably brisk for a car of this size and power, with a quoted 0 – 100 km/h sprint in 8.0 seconds and a maximum speed of 225 km/h. On the road, the performance feels about as lively as the figures suggest, provided the appropriate driving mode is selected. Eco mode blunts throttle response and selects higher gears than would really be necessary, and introduces some lag before the gearbox wakes up to change down. Best to leave it in either Comfort, Sport or Individual modes, then.

While the engine is willing enough, it is a tad on the gruff side. At high engine speeds and with large accelerator pedal applications, it emits a coarse soundtrack which is quite at odds with the overall refinement of the car. This isn’t as noticeable in normal driving, but does detract somewhat from the well-insulated feel of this latest-generation A-Class. Then again, Mercedes 4-cylinders have never been the sweetest things out there, so this probably won’t annoy buyers too much this time around, either.

Space and Comfort

Even when fitted with the optional panoramic sunroof, there’s plenty of headroom all round – in fact, this area represents a major improvement for the new A-Class. The front pews have more than enough room to accommodate my lanky frame and long legs, and the cabin feels less constricted in terms of width as well. In short, the front seats have sufficient room to move around, and their heavily bolstered design helps to keep both driver and passenger secure when indulging in the high cornering speeds encouraged by the accomplished chassis.

It's a little less rosy in the back, because legroom is still at a premium. There’s enough width to handle two burly South Africans side by side, but their legs had better be short and thin if the driver is of above-average size. Luggage space is also adequate but not exceptional at 370 litres, and the loading lip is rather high off the ground.

Of particular significance is the new MBUX multimedia system, which represents a massive step forwards from the clunky old COMAND interface. Our test car presented the driver with two big, full-colour display screens, which could both be navigated easily enough by means of the two BlackBerry-like touch pads mounted on the steering wheel’s horizontal spokes. There’s another touch pad mounted on the centre console, for primary control of the central display screen, but it feels counter-intuitive for a right-handed person to use their left hand to swipe across this pad. Still, it beats the old rotary wheel, mainly because the menu systems are slick and clear in their design. You can also say "Hey Mercedes" in the same way as you would call Siri to attention on your iPhone, before giving further voice commands.

Safety

Even in its most-basic trim, the A-Class features 7 airbags and all the driver’s aids you could possibly ask for: stability control, ABS brakes, automatic emergency braking, and hill-hold assistance are all included. In addition, there’s a 5-star Euro-NCAP safety rating and the optional availability of the Pre-Safe system, which prepares both car and driver when it detects a possible impending collision. Other available driver assistance features include blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assistance, and adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assistance.

Fuel Consumption

I spent my week in the A200 while stuck in Cape Town’s notorious traffic in the middle of a wicked heatwave (which saw the air-con blowing at full blast all the time), so the decks were really stacked against our test car achieving amazing fuel consumption figures. However, the overall average consumption over my 850 km behind the wheel was a very pleasant surprise indeed, registering only 6.2 litres/100 km for this period.

Taking to the open road saw the (optional) head-up display showing low-5 litre/100 km figures, and gentle driving may even drop it below that mark. This is remarkable efficiency for a car with this power level, driven under such adverse conditions, and with a driver who didn’t particularly try to save fuel – even if it doesn’t quite match the 5.6 litre/100 km claim made by Mercedes themselves.

Price

Here lies the rub: the A200 retails at R500 012 before options, and in that trim, it’s pretty barren all round. Adding niceties such as this test car’s panoramic sliding roof, head-up display, Dynamic Body Control, AMG-Line styling bits and -wheels, and the (must-have) Multibeam adaptive LED headlights quickly add many, many thousands to this pricetag. In fact, some time spent on the Mercedes-Benz configurator indicated that our test car should retail around the R660 000 mark.

That kind of money could buy some pretty classy machinery elsewhere, and stronger performance as well. That said, the A200’s premium competitors aren’t exactly affordable either, and it’s fair to assume that an inflated purchase price may add more of the exclusivity which buyers in this segment crave.

The Verdict

More than just a car, the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class represents the realization of an idea: the idea that you could have all the elements which make up a larger Benz in a smaller package, without compromising on the driving experience or comfort. Seen in this light, it’s a sure-fire success. But if you want your car to be just a car, this isn’t the best choice for you, because its subjective advantages tend to disappear when that price tag looms. I suspect that premium-brand buyers won’t care too much about that issue, however...

Expert rating:

4/5