Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £14,290 to £18,645
Much better perceived quality in cabin, it's very good to drive, even more spacious inside
Get the wrong tyre/engine combo and the ride quality goes off, still only five seats available
From the standpoint of dynamics and perceived quality the new A-Class is a huge improvement. Adding a three-door model was a masterstroke.
Until we hear otherwise, we'll give the new A-Class the benefit of the doubt here. The previous car suffered from questionable quality of some plastics used in the cabin, and there was plenty of evidence from owners that reliability was a good deal off the pace that buyers should rightly expect from this brand. Early indications are very good, though, as Mercedes appears to have gotten the message. The quality and feel of surfaces in the cabin is hugely improved over the outgoing car, as is the feel of the action of switchgear and knobs. The engine range is a development of previous units, so the componentry should be reasonably well proven, although they do generate significantly more power and torque. We'll have to wait and see whether that proves problematic in the longer term.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes A-Class
wrote on 16 08 2006