One of my favourite past times is seeing what loan cars a garage may offer when bringing in a vehicle for a service. My mother's 2017 Mercedes C-Class needed one its first one this week, and I travelled to her local Mercedes-Benz dealer to see what temporary transportation awaited me there.
As it happens, I was given this 2018 Mercedes A-Class with around 2,000 miles on the clock. The full specification is "200d White Art Edition Premium Plus", which is an absolute mouthful, but it essentially means it has fancy seats, a graphics pack with a racing stripe, massive alloy wheels, alcantara on the steering wheel, and an aluminium insert on the dashboard.
All the usual refinements are present too, such as satellite navigation, power folding electric mirrors, forward collision warning (and very irritating it is too), Bluetooth and various "dynamic" models for the throttle response, steering and suspension. When I drive a Mercedes, I just tend to put the car in "Eco" mode, leave the steering in "Comfort" and waft along. In a car costing, in this case, around £29,000 before any discounts, wafting along is probably what most owners are intending to do anyway!
The 2.2 litre diesel engine produces around 135 bhp (although the car is confusingly badged as a 200d), which is probably adequate for most needs, and the seven speed automatic gearbox seems to shift between gears very smoothly. As it was turning over just 1,800 rpm at 70 mph in seventh gear, I imagine the fuel economy when cruising along the motorway would be excellent.
In contrast to my mother's C-Class, the interior is similar, although the layout of the dashboard and centre console is a little bit different. The A-Class has much the same functionality, but has a less confusing layout, which I rather liked. The plastics and fabric trim at the top of the dashboard and on the doors are a similar grade to a C-Class, but lower down the dashboard and centre console, instead of soft touch, high quality plastics, I found cheap, scratchy pieces which seemed similar to my wife's MG3, which is a third of the price...
Having not driven a diesel for a time, I realised I have missed the extra low down torque of a heavy oil fuelled engine, which pulls comfortably from under 1,000 rpm with little to no throttle input. This makes for very relaxing driving, but I know it would not be brilliant in town, and one does worry these days about the extra particulate emissions, even with ultra clean Euro VI diesels like this one.
In terms of comfort, the electric seats seemed easy enough to adjust, and the driving position is suitable for enthusiastic driving, which something as aggressively styled as the A-Class White Edition Premium Plus appears to be set up for... The ride and handling seem solid and predictable, although I would be willing to bet that a BMW 1-series is probably better in this department.
Premium hatchbacks come in all shapes and sizes these days, and the soon to be replaced third generation A-Class (a new one appears imminently) seems competitive in its segment, albeit a little expensive. I certainly would not choose this particular trim, but go for something altogether more comfort orientated, which sits more appropriately with the typical Mercedes customer. The Audi A3 and the Volvo V40 do everything this Mercedes can do with slightly better build quality and a lower price, but, for my money, I would go for a Mazda 3, which has the sporty, premium feel, but is around a third less expensive.
