Mercedes-Benz A-Class Review - A Class Above

It arrived in resplendent white, adorned with the AMG Line body addenda and it was good. Under that stubby white bonnet lived just three cylinders. In a Benz. I was vexed, but intrigued, Mercedes has plotted an upward trajectory of note with the A Class and I was anticipating more of the same. But first a short history lesson.

We all remember it, right? A tall box of blandness only a grandmother could like. Born in 1997 with a re-sculpting in 2004 so mild - it just looked like they designed the same car all over again. Then came 2012 and with the third instalment ceased at last to be a mommy-person-van or MPV as it's also known.

I mean no offence, I consider myself a mommy-person when it comes to my own vehicular requirements what with schools and shopping and sports and such. It went from 'bloated Honda Jazz' to 'your GTI, I'm having it' overnight, and was blessed ultimately with an AMG iteration so potent they needed to invent the hyper hatchback class of motorcar just for it.

No shortage of premium surfaces or technology in the A-Class

Fast forward six years later and you'll arrive here, at the 4th coming. And while this is no AMG it does have some of the accoutrements, not that it needs many - the pure shape is creased to a sharp point, a slipperier looking car than the one it replaces. It is in a word, handsome. The resultant ‘premiumness’ finds its way into the cabin also. Leathery and lit, a cosseting techno bauble from which to command. Best believe there is no shortage of connectivity options here, whilst safety levels are precisely what you'd expect from a German manufacturer at the top of its game - which Mercedes certainly is.

But first, the fundamentals

Its tiny 1.3-litre four-pot engine (shared with Renault and Nissan), has been blown to the high heavens to the tune of 120kW and 250Nm, and is mated to a seven speed dual clutch transmission. The result is convincing in a feverish straight line, but should you settle into a more mundane rhythm you should achieve close to the claimed 5.6l/100km.

I achieved a 6.4l/100km, but I sometimes suffer from a heavy foot. The soundtrack is deeper than you'd wage, always urging you to be left in Sport mode where it can do the most damage possible to the fuel gauge. It will do 0-100kph in around 8 seconds which is pretty much warm hatch territory. More importantly it doesn't shy away from bends either thanks to a flat stance between the apexes. I'll be perfectly honest - I really wasn't expecting a 'mere' A200 to be this much fun to drive.

Okay, let’s wrap this up

It's not perfect. I think the whole centre console area needs revisions, it feels far too inefficient, fiddly even. But would you believe that this is my one and only criticism?

The A200 is sublime. Its performance is impressive considering the smallish engine, never short on shunt and with sporty handling to boot. I even think that at R529k it is reasonably priced. It helps to think of it not as an expensive hatch, rather a right-sized Mercedes-Benz. Already this excellent A200 is being made redundant thanks to the launch of the A35 hot hatch, and even that will bow down to the eventual A45 AMG. But measured only as a great car, the A200 is just so. A happy, happy surprise.

Mercedes-Benz A200 AMG Line Specs:
Price R529,000.00