Star Score: A Detailed Test Of The Mercedes-Benz A-class Sedan

Bottle caps with code, knuckle dusters for meat, heated slippers - China is generous with all sorts of unusual entities. The only question is - how useful are they … What are we for? Yes, just a small Mercedes-Benz sedan, albeit made in Germany and addressed to the whole world, appeared not least for the sake of Chinese consumers: in the Middle Kingdom, they love everything three-volume. But why is the A-class sedan interesting and, most importantly, useful for us? Especially with the lively and generally similar four-door CLA coupe, which has been on sale for a year now
Interior
Practicality
Technics
Riding
Equipment
Competitors
Output

Video: Star Score: A Detailed Test Of The Mercedes-Benz A-class Sedan

Отличия серверных жестких дисков от десктопных — Video: Мерседес А-класс седан 2019. Тест и обзор. Самый дешевый седан Mercedes 2023, February

Bottle caps with code, knuckle dusters for meat, heated slippers - China is generous with all sorts of unusual entities. The only question is - how useful are they … What are we for? Yes, just a small Mercedes-Benz sedan, albeit made in Germany and addressed to the whole world, appeared not least for the sake of Chinese consumers: in the Middle Kingdom, they love everything three-volume. But why is the A-class sedan interesting and, most importantly, useful for us? Especially with the lively and generally similar four-door CLA coupe, which has been on sale for a year now

First of all, the fact that this is a sedan without any reservations: albeit small, but a full-fledged and practical option for pragmatists. In addition, it is the cheapest Mercedes-Benz in the classic four-door form factor in general.

We tested a well-packaged version of the 200 in the Sport trim level with a 150-horsepower engine and front-wheel drive. The price of such a car is 2,380,000 rubles, that is, 120,000 less than a similar CLA.

Interior

Our A-class sedan deftly balances between thoroughbred "Mercedes" and economy class solutions. For example, he has an expensive and stylish key, but you will have to get it not only to show off: without pressing a button, the car will not unlock the doors. The beautiful interior panels and the central tunnel are pleasant to the eye and to the touch, only if you press harder and you will get not premium backlash at all. There are no superfluous sounds, but I wonder what will happen to this silence of thousands in 20-30 kilometers. And after 100,000 km?

The dual-screen MBUX complex seems complete until you discover the lack of built-in navigation. Yes, and greet the branded multimedia with gestures or exclamation "Hey, Mercedes!" it makes no sense - you will not get it. But in terms of visual effects - order. There is a lot of light and color in the cabin - thanks for the mood. That is, danke schön. Or 谢谢?

The center duct nozzles, panel outlines and door cards are beautifully highlighted. At night it is even too beautiful: the riot of New Year's garlands can tire someone. However, this is treated by adjusting the brightness through the central display menu

The backlight has a dozen modes and even some benefit: in response to temperature control, the climate control ducts turn red or blue

I remember that the A-class at some point was the most technologically advanced and fashionable Mercedes on the planet. The MBUX multimedia seemed cosmic, and the graphics and functionality of the displays connected into one unit were incredible. Over time, the smartest on-board systems became familiar and even imperfect in places (for example, how about convenient buttons for changing music tracks?). But still, there is still nothing like this in the golf class

Both 10.25-inch screens (in the top version) are easy to configure. The left one, that is, the dashboard, is convenient to adjust with buttons and mini-sensors on the left steering wheel spoke. Right (multimedia) - sensors on the right spoke, touchpad on the central tunnel or your own fingers. The response is almost smartphone-like, you get used to it instantly

Now about the unusual. You will definitely develop a strange manner of feeling the top of the "tidy" or moving your finger across the screen in search of the display interface. All from the fact that the displays do not have a visor. And eyes and hands remember …

Information and settings - if not the ocean, then the sea. On-board computer, climate, driving modes, the state of the car at the moment, interior illumination themes, custom settings for Mercedes Me, favorites … The only upsetting thing is navigation: it is not in our car. And the call button is

Manual adjustment of dense, well-profiled seats. But there are enough settings: lumbar support, cushion angle and length, longitudinal adjustment, height and tilt. You can customize the standard A-class seats for yourself in a few seconds

Practicality

What to take from a small sedan with a length of four and a half meters? The second row of the A-Class does not draw on the status of spacious, but the roof here does not put pressure on the head, unlike the "let it be coupe" CLA. And since the car has grown some kind of trunk, you can safely approach the back of the "ashka" with a pair of travel suitcases. True, there is a nuance …

Putting two suitcases flat in a 420-liter trunk will not work - the molding of arches and hidden lid hinges interferes. Top loading also jamb - too narrow opening. The only loading option is transverse, in the configuration "one suitcase lies, the other is placed on its side." In the remaining space, you can try to stick a cabin size bag

A folding sofa can help with the transformation. We pull the levers straight from the trunk - and the back rests down to an almost flat floor

The raised luggage floor has nothing to hook on - no hook or eyelet. And under it - no spare wheel, no stowaway. The tool contains a repair kit that is doubtfully useful in our conditions, a removable towing ear and a subwoofer. And if so, in an emergency, act like an adult: take out your phone and call for help

There is no center armrest in the A-Class backrest by default. But there is a narrow folding section that will allow you to fit skis into the cabin. Or a shovel. Or what's your longest?

The rear landing is comfortable: there is room for your feet, and your knees will not rest on the backs if your height does not exceed 185 centimeters. Three of us in the back row? Despite the center headrest and belt, this is more of a gamble than a balanced and sensible idea

The back row door pockets hold compact bottles or mini-thermos. Give the larger containers to the front passengers - they will sort it out

Amenities include separate air ducts, a folding minibox with a pair of USB Type-C sockets, window regulator buttons and ceiling handrails. Need more? For a surcharge, there will be a center armrest

Technics

The reality of small Mercedes is as follows: front-wheel drive and the presence in the range of engines of a 1.33-liter "four", which was recently glorified by the Renault Arkana crossover. But jokes about a tiny engine are not needed - despite the volume, it is great, and we will talk about this in detail below. And the rest of the Mercedes continues to be a Mercedes.

The decently redesigned MF platform with aluminum elements, MacPherson strut front and rear beam is identical to the A-Class hatchback and CLA four-door. For a surcharge, a simple but effective beam can (as in our case) be replaced with an advanced multi-link … and not get a striking difference in driving. For obvious reasons, the same suspension is installed on all-wheel drive versions, but there is one caveat: in Russia, all-wheel drive is available only for hatchbacks.

The 1.33-liter M282 aluminum turbo engine with a high compression ratio was developed by Renault and Mercedes together: the block is French, and its head is German. In the 200 version, the supercharged motor develops 150 forces and 250 Nm of torque

The steering column, typical of Stuttgart cars, operates a seven-speed robotic gearbox with a pair of clutches. Depending on the driving modes, the transmission either briskly and imperceptibly jumps up the gears, or "sports" holds the lower gears, adding excitement to the ride

AMG styling does not turn the A-Class into a hot sedan, although it adds visual impact. But in the Sport version, extreme Russians get a 15 mm lower suspension and a steering wheel with a variable gear ratio. A small step towards a full-fledged AMG

The edge of the front bumper is rather low: 18 centimeters is almost guaranteed contact with the curb. And given the cost of the AMG package, taking care of the plastic "nose" of the A-class is an important and responsible duty

The ribs of the stylish but useless rear diffuser rest against a 26-centimeter step. Quite safe for parking, but be careful with high obstacles

Riding

The compact A-Class rides lightly, but not Mercedes-like resiliently. If your area is crawling with speed bumps or conspicuous holes, you will find the short-travel suspension stiff. At the same time, the chassis swallows small defects in the canvas and metal joints of overpasses quietly and quite civilly.

And if in terms of comfort adaptive shock absorbers could come in handy, then with handling everything is much better: "passive" chassis is not at all tar in the barrel of drive. The sedan steers clearly and cleanly, and turns almost any curvature into turns with excitement and joy. No laziness.

The lightweight steering wheel transmits enough information from the front wheels, and there is simply nothing to criticize about it. However, if you wish, you can add a little "gravity" by switching to Sport mode. But the brightness of the accelerations will please more in it: the robotic box will hold down the gears, allowing the motor to remain in good shape, and you will briskly shoot at medium speeds.The only drawback of this mode is the overly loud voice of a small turbo four starting at four thousand rpm and beyond.

However, nothing prevents you from configuring an individual set, choosing, say, comfortable settings for gas and sporty ones for the steering wheel. Or even activate the surprisingly organic Eco-mode and feel a little imposing Mercedes spirit. Thanks to MBUX, you can customize the driving parameters in a couple of moments, almost without being distracted from the road.

According to the passport, the A200 sedan spends 8.1 seconds to accelerate to a hundred, (in which it loses slightly to the hatchback, but, for example, outperforms the CLA), and the dynamics does not seem sluggish or, God forbid, boring: in city mode, the A-Class is quite for itself a lighter capable of eating about eight liters per hundred at a brisk pace. Not a bad indicator, honestly.

As for the suburban or even more autobahn speeds, it is not the 150-horsepower engine that upsets here, but the noise insulation that is mediocre for Mercedes. Despite almost a record streamlining for sedans (drag coefficient - 0.22, like that of the Porsche Taycan), there is a hum from the road and tires in the cabin. A budget Mercedes-Benz is a budget Mercedes-Benz.

Equipment

By the way, the "budget" one is 1,850,000 rubles, in which the base sedan in the Comfort configuration is estimated. The "entrance ticket" to the world of Mercedes-Benz will give LED headlights, climate and cruise controls, a fabric interior, heated front seats, a couple of small screens for tidy and multimedia, an emergency braking assistant and 16-inch "stampings" on the hubcaps. Need more? By itself!

Excluding the charged AMG A 35, the A200 sedan has four trim levels: Comfort, Style, Progressive and Sport. But it is much more convenient to look closely at the list of additional equipment, and Mercedes has a decent one. You can get navigation with ten-inch displays or Multibeam adaptive light for 280,800 and 150,000 rubles, respectively. Retractable "not dirty" rear-view camera - another 40 thousand. A set of branded cables for USB-C jacks? Prepare 6,000 rubles. From the relative exoticism of the A-class, you can fit a parking assistant and extended infotainment functions with voice commands and user profiles.

However, if you are too lazy to poke into the configurator, then the second from the bottom Style version for 2,030,000 rubles is cast 16-inch wheels, salon leatherette, leather steering wheel and, for example, folding sofa backs in addition to the "base".

Slightly higher - the Progressive grade with 17-inch wheels, carbon-like interior trim and multi-wheel with nappa. You will have to pay for this already 2,260,000 rubles.

Our car is in the top version of A200 Sport (from 2,380,000 rubles), but taking into account the options it costs an impressive 2,809,599 rubles. Here is an AMG package with a body kit and a special radiator grille, 18-inch wheels (for a surcharge there are 19 inches), lime (literally) veneer, ambient lighting and a little bit of little detail. At the same time, as we remember, the sedan is devoid of a significant part of the interior options. And if it is (for some reason) important for you to fit all of the proposed additions into the format of a small car, you should know that breaking through the ceiling of three and a half million is not so difficult. And this money is already the territory of the charged AMG 35.

Competitors

Audi A3

Ингольштадтский седан - главный соперник A-классу. Базовый вариант почти на двести тысяч дешевле Мерседеса: от 1 645 000 ₽ за 150-сильную версию 35 TFSI. Так же Audi близка по технике, грузовым возможностям и динамике. При этом проигрывает в оснащении и гаджетизации. Из плюсов A3 - возможность доплатить за версию 40 TFSI со 190-сильным мотором (от 1 980 000 ₽) и её полноприводное исполнение quattro (от 2 065 000 ₽)" style="width: 823px; margin-right: 8px;">

BMW 2-Series Gran Coupe

Четырёхдверное седано-купе приедет в Россию весной - с 1,5-литровым турбомотором в 140 сил, передним приводом, тем же количеством передач в роботизированной коробке и с многорычажной задней подвеской уже в базе. Цены известны: всё начнётся с 2 280 000 ₽ за базовый вариант 218i. При этом BMW предлагает внести предоплату и со скидкой в 290 тысяч получить фиксированную серию Online Edition. Увеличить цену Gran Coupe помогут опции, которыми традиционно щедр конфигуратор. А помимо гражданской обещана заряженная M235i мощностью 306 сил и полным приводом за 3 490 000 ₽. Как мы видим, баварский компакт целится скорее не в A-класс, а в «купешный» Mercedes-Benz CLA" style="width: 823px; margin-right: 8px;">

Mazda3

«Самый доступный вариант» японского седана - одновременно единственный на нашем рынке. Поэтому за 1 570 000 ₽ Mazdпредложит не слишком резвый 120-сильный атмосферный мотор Skyactiv-G, шасси с «Макферсоном» и полузависимой балкой, достойно оснащённый салон с двухзонным климат-контролем и 444-литровый багажник" style="width: 823px; margin-right: 8px;">

Mercedes-Benz CLA

Иронично, но равный по силе соперник А-классу живёт с ним под одной крышей. Купеобразный CL- это тоже четыре двери, превосходная обтекаемость кузова, достойное оснащение и багажный отсек. Который, к слову, на 40 литров больше, чем у седана. Но покатая крыша делает сомнительным приобретение CLв качестве семейной машины. Как и ценник в 2 500 000 ₽ за базовую 150-сильную версию CL200. Зато, доплатив ещё 400 тысяч, можно получить 190 лошадей и 6,3 секунды до сотни. Для седана такой апгрейд пока не предусмотрен" style="width: 823px; margin-right: 8px;">

Mercedes-Benz CL Ironically, an equal rival to the A-class lives with him under the same roof. The coupe-like CL is also four doors, excellent body streamlining, decent equipment and a luggage compartment. Which, by the way, is 40 liters more than the sedan. But the sloping roof makes it dubious to buy the CL as a family car. As well as the price tag of 2,500,000 rubles for the base 150-strong version of the CL200. But by paying another 400 thousand, you can get 190 horses and 6.3 seconds to a hundred. For a sedan, such an upgrade is not yet provided

Output

The A-Class Sedan is a cheerleader into the world of Mercedes-Benz. Moreover, it is of high quality. Most of what the warehouses of the “three-beam” brand are rich in is available to the sedan, so it’s easier to get a taste of it. And the compact size and not the most outstanding trunk in this case do not play a significant role: they buy this Mercedes because they want a Mercedes. With its spirit, chips, gadgets, special effects and even silhouette, but at an unusually low price.

At the same time, even without a mountain of options, the A-class sedan does not turn into an empty gaudy basket, but remains interesting as a car. Like a full-fledged sedan, in the back row of which full-fledged people will sit. It's a pity that there are no such sedans in Russian car sharing yet. And in the minds of the public that "has not yet saved up, but is already rolling", the most affordable three-volume Mercedes continues to be the coupe and slightly pretentious CLA.