Mercedes A-Class (2005-) Review

On the road

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One of the keys to the A-Class's appeal is that high driving position - about 200mm higher than a saloon - and large glass area, which gives commanding views of the road around you. Handling is much improved over the previous model, too, thanks to the suspension's adaptive damping system. It's a beautifully simple system, where a bypass channel in the shock absorbers stays open when they are subjected to the minor vertical movements that occur in normal driving conditions. This means the shock absorbers offer less resistance for a softer ride. If you press on - pushing hard through a corner, for example - the bypass channel is closed and the shocks stiffen up to control body roll. Pitch the car into a fast corner and you can feel the system at work, tying the car down and limiting roll. Also contributing to a good driving experience is steering that delivers precision, as well as good feedback about available levels of grip. The steering is a speed-sensitive electromechanical set-up, which provides higher levels of assistance at low speeds for ease of manoeuvring and parking around town. The system, which is standard fit on all models, works well at speed but feels a bit over-assisted when pootling around town.

The ride quality varies significantly depending on which engine and tyre combination you go for. The best mix for ride is the smallest petrol engine on the least aggressive 16-inch wheels. On the bigger diesel engine models such as the A200 CDI, the extra weight of the engine demands a stiffer suspension set-up, which detracts from the ride quality. That problem is compounded if you select the larger 17- or 18-inch wheels. Generally, the A-Class's ride quality on the German roads we drove was good. We'll have to wait and see how the A-Class does on our considerably less smooth roads.

The new A-Class is considerably heavier than the old one, but this doesn't pose much of a problem for performance as power and torque has increased significantly across the engine range. The entry-level petrol engine is now a 1.5-litre unit developing 95bhp and 103lb ft of torque at 3500rpm.That's good for a 0-62mph sprint in 12.6, which is quicker than the previous base 1.4. The lowliest 1.6-litre diesel manages 62mph in an unremarkable 15secs and will struggle to reach 105mph. Slow, in other words. By comparison, the 140bhp 2.0-litre diesel is, relatively speaking, a hot hatch, recording 0-62mph in 9.5secs and a top speed of 124mph. That's quicker than the 2.0-litre petrol engine, but the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine is the rocket of the range, getting to 62mph in 8.0secs and on to a top speed of 140mph. Mercedes opted for turbocharging on its petrol 2.0-litre instead of the usual supercharger because it was much easier to package in the very tight confines of the A-Class's engine bay.

4Car drove the 136bhp petrol engine A-Class coupled with a five-speed manual gearbox. It did feel swift and very responsive, although it's not the most refined engine when pushed. The 2.0-litre diesel was a better driving experience, delivering waves of low-rev urge from its generous 221lb ft of torque. The new six-speed gearbox fitted was also a joy to use, with a direct and pleasingly mechanical feel to it. And while the 1.8-litre diesel didn't feel underpowered, we felt that the Autotronic continuously variable transmission (CVT) fitted to our car didn't get the best out of it. This is the first ever CVT transmission that Mercedes has offered, and at low and mid-range speeds, it is smooth and refined, doing away completely with the usual shift-jolts. At higher speeds with press-on driving, though, it can hesitate annoyingly and can be caught out with big on/off throttle applications.