2019 Mercedes A-Class - Perfect Car!

The 2019 Mercedes A-Class is an entry-level Benz finally worthy of the badge, as long as you set aside some cash for options

SPLIT, Croatia – Whether it’s trying to reason with a five-year-old demanding chocolate chip pancakes for dinner, or trying to understand why a luxury automaker like Mercedes-Benz insists on pushing its lineup downmarket into more, shall we say, “realistic” price points, you can’t help but ask – why bother?
The main issue with this niche is, it’s difficult to see the value in these cars. Where a base B or CLA start just above the $35,000 mark, many lesser-priced compact cars match these two in terms of refinement, and handily outdo them as far as standard equipment goes. Seriously, have you been inside a loaded Honda Civic or Mazda3 these days, let alone a Volkswagen GTI?

It’s tough to make a case for cars like the B and CLA, but the A is a different breed of “entry level” Benz. It’s been around in Europe for more than 20 years, but now the A-Class is finally, officially, coming to Canada. It seems as though Mercedes has learned a lesson or three from the B, CLA and GLA, because the A is legitimately worthy of the badge.
When it hits Canadian dealers this November as a 2019 model, the A-Class will be available in one flavour – the A 250, powered by a slightly evolved version of Mercedes’ familiar 2.0-litre turbo-four. Other markets get the choice of an A 180 with a four-cylinder turbodiesel, or an A 200 with a 153-horsepower, 1.3L turbo-four, on top of the A 250.

So, we’re a little short-changed in terms of choice. This isn’t a first for Mercedes, considering the otherwise lovely C-Class wagon can be had with just one powertrain. But that’s OK, because the A 250 makes a healthy 221 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s a punchy little engine, with more than enough juice. Wring it out and, working with the standard seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, it hardly breaks a sweat. No, it doesn’t feel as quick and percise as a Golf GTI, and if you nail the throttle hard enough, a bit of torque steer gets through and wiggles the wheel a touch, but the A 250 is a snappy little bugger nonetheless.

It drives like a Benz should, too. Fitted with the upsized 19-inch wheels, the A 250 can get a little jittery over rough patches and you might notice some extra whistling around the sunroof, but it’s otherwise fairly quiet and it soaks up bumps quite well. Throw it a set of twisty roads, and while there are more fun cars out there for the price, the A 250 takes a corner quite well. Base A 250s will be front-wheel-drive, while four-wheel traction will be optional.

The other sticking point with the B, CLA and GLA are their cabins. Very little of that applies to the A-Class. It’s not flawless – there’s some hard plastic in a few places, and the sun visors and steering column stalks feel chintzy. But in the bits that do matter are soft to the touch, the knurled switchgear on the steering wheel and climate controls add character, and the seats are supportive. The A-Class is roomy; headroom is plentiful all around, but tall front occupants might compromise rear-seat legroom. The A can swallow 370 litres of cargo behind the rear seats. It doesn’t have the supple leather of an S-Class, or the classy open-pore wood as pricier Benzes, but the A’s cabin is miles ahead of its entry-level siblings. Fair warning: Don’t expect a standard heated steering wheel – it’ll be optional. Come on, Mercedes. A heated wheel is standard in a $20,000 Kia Rio.

What is lifted straight out of pricier Benzes is the pair of crisp digital displays spanning most of the dashboard. Two seven-inch screens will come standard, but you’ll have the ability to upsize them to 10 inches. This is the basis for MBUX – that’s M-B-U-X, not em-bucks – the automaker’s new infotainment system. Not unlike Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, you can configure the all-digital gauge cluster to display a ridiculous amount of information, from almost nothing at all to full or partial maps, trip information, fuel consumption data, etc. You can essentially make it as clean and simple, or as cluttered and complicated, as your heart desires.

The central screen is more traditional in its operation, handling climate control – don’t worry, there’s a second set of hard buttons below – along with GPS navigation inputs, vehicle settings, etc. It’s controlled via touchscreen – finally – or a touchpad on the centre console. It’s intimidating at first, but if you’ve spent any time with a smartphone, you will get the hang of it. One rather neat aspect of the navigation system is the “augmented reality” component.
Full Review http://driving.ca/mercedes-benz/reviews/road-test/first-drive-2019-mercedes-benz-a-class

interior 2018 Test Drive Features

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