Mercedes-Benz India get serious and their first offering for affordable luxury is out in the form of the new A-Class hatchback. Will it enthral the audience? We assess the situation the Car India way
It is the smallest Mercedes-Benz car you can buy and, yes, it has all the bells and whistles you’d expect of a Mercedes. For an on-road price tag of just over Rs 25 lakh, you get a hatchback that will set your pulse racing, quite literally! So, is this new Merc an animal or just a posh wagon? To find out, we took it out in the city and on the highway for a test-drive, which revealed a lot about Merc’s first small car for India. Read on to find out more about this baby Merc.
The first thing that one notices is the swanky and sporty design of the A-Class. The grille, inspired by SLS AMG, with its futuristic diamond-like rivet design looks fantastic. The predator-inspired headlamps with stacked LEDs add a lot of flair to the mean-looking front end. And the amazingly chiselled body work with interesting creases and lines is definitely eons ahead of the old A-Class. Besides, the long and low stature gives this A-Class a really sporty look that is further supported by the sloping, coupé-like window line. And those 17-inch wheels shod with low-profile rubber take the sportiness to another level altogether. Mercedes and Mark Fetherston, the man who created the jaw-dropping SLS AMG, have hit the nail squarely on the head yet again with the A-Class. It is a car that would appeal to a teenager and to his grandparents as well.
Supporting the sporty exterior is the aircraft-inspired interior, done up by Jan Kaul. There are not too many elements to notice inside the car, except for the excellent build quality, superb fit-and-finish and intricate detailing that perfectly complements the exterior. The cabin is loaded with leather and elements like the jet turbine inspired a-c vents, aircraft wing-like dashboard design and the easy-to-read sporty instrument console all work in perfect harmony to entertain your eyes. You also get a leather-wrapped steering wheel that feels every bit like a Mercedes-Benz steering wheel should feel.
Nevertheless, there are a few things, which, I believe, would not go down well with many Indians, such as the rear knee and head room, or rather the lack of it. There is enough room for people who are short or of average height, but if you are a tall person with long legs, then you had better reserve that front seat, which is the place you would really want to be in, anyway. The leather-wrapped racing seats – which are adjustable, by the way – at the front provide comfort along with ample support. Plus there is slightly better headroom at the front. The A-Class also features a boot, which, for India, is already occupied by a space-saver spare wheel. If you so desire, you can fold the rear seats and instantly have a large enough boot to carry all your arrangements for that weekend party at your countryside retreat.
What else you get in the cabin is the panoramic sunroof that has a sun visor, which, when opened, will allow only the sunlight to filter through the cabin, giving it an airy and roomier feel. You also get an array of features like Bluetooth, a 5.8-inch infotainment screen controlled by the ‘COMAND’ system, GPS navigation, USB and AUX connectivity and all the stuff a 20-year-old gadget freak wants in a car. Safety-wise, you get a set of seven airbags that are programmed to open depending upon the magnitude of the impact. Furthermore, the A-Class comes with all the regular safety features, such as ESP, traction control, ABS, adaptive braking, attention assist and a solid construction to further enhance the safe feeling you will get while driving this car.
The exterior, interior and safety features of this car are all great, but it is the engine that I loved the most. The 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol unit is one of the most refined motors on sale in India currently. You can hardly notice it running while in the ‘ECO’ mode as the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is in a hurry to shift up in order to keep the revs to a minimum. The downshifts are a bit slow, though. Despite that the engine doesn’t feel sluggish at all. The reason for that is the 200 Nm of torque that is available right from 1,250 revolutions per minute. Besides, the 122 PS of power also comes in handy if you decide to work that motor up on an empty stretch of road. Even though the engine is turbocharged, there is no noticeable turbo lag to play spoilsport. The engine delivers the power in a smooth and linear fashion rather than in an abrupt surge, no matter what driving mode you are in. This makes driving the A-Class a piece of cake.
Our performance test revealed that the 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, turbo motor is also ready to thrill you with its performance. It can sprint from naught to 100 km/h in just 9.7 seconds, which is quite fast for a car that weighs 1.3 tonnes. And if you get a smooth, straight stretch of road, you can also touch the claimed top speed of 202 km/h. If, on the other hand, you prefer driving it at normal speeds like a sane person, you would still like it, for its roll-on timings are also quite impressive.
But there is one downside: unlike many other Mercedes-Benz cars, the A-Class suffers from a bad ride quality. Rather unfortunate, because Mercedes-Benz cars are known for their excellent and comfortable ride quality. However, because Mercedes-Benz have equipped the A-Class with pretty stiff suspension, the ride quality takes a back seat. Plus it does not really have a suspension setting ideal for a country like ours. The stiff setting of this car makes the ride more rigid and, on typically Indian roads, the ride becomes quite uncomfortable, for the roughness of the road gets directly transferred to the cabin.
Where this stiff suspension shines, though, is on smooth roads, where you enjoy the superb handling offered by it and the low-profile tyres. A little softer suspension would really make the A-Class a more potent and enjoyable car to drive. Apart from the stiff suspension, there is nothing that will bother you. The steering is quite direct and weighs well. It gives you excellent feel and feedback. Point the nose of the A-Class towards a corner and it will do as you wish. It sticks to the chosen line and inspires confidence to push harder. The brakes are excellent, too, and have a nice bite, although the position of the brake pedal is rather awkward. It is an excellent car to drive, provided the roads are smooth. On bumpy or uneven roads the stiff suspension becomes a pain.
Apart from that, the A-Class is an excellent piece of engineering and being Merc’s first hatchback for India, it makes pretty good sense. For Rs 22.9 lakh (ex-showroom) you get to park a Mercedes-Benz in your parking and a whole lot more. You get a car that is capable of making you look young, if you are not young already, and it turns heads too with its low-slung, sporty stature. It’s also fitted with technology and gadgets and comes with an excellent and refined petrol engine that is so silent that you have to strain your ears to hear it. And a fuel efficiency of 9.5 km/l (overall) isn’t bad either. You also get all the luxury associated with the Mercedes brand. The A-Class handles very well and has superb steering and brakes that allow you to push harder without thinking about the insurance. I reckon that the A-Class will become the first Mercedes-Benz car for many new buyers who are looking to become part of the German luxury car family.
The 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol unit is one of the most refined motors on sale in India currently
Story: Ravi Chandnani
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
