8th Apr 2005, 15:32

My transport Manager hired me an A class for a trip to Bristol from Birmingham, thinking it was top of the range!

How wrong can you be?

The car was the most unstable vehicle I have ever had the misfortune to drive. I currently have a c180 on short term loan and that drives like a bus!

Its surprising with the name Mercedes and aura that surrounds them, how bad they actually are.

29th May 2005, 04:42

Good engine pity about the rest of the car. My A-Class rattles, groans and stinks of petrol from an intermittent fault, the fault has never been traced.

31st May 2005, 02:47

The A Class is a brilliant car - on paper and in the showroom. Compact outside and marvellously roomy inside, even in the standard, short wheelbase form. Furthermore, the seats may be removed to convert it into a moving van.

However, the kudos it has statically soon desert it on the move. The performance is stolid, except for the A190, the steering so wooden that it barely feels connected to anything, requiring manual centering to be done on almost any turn, the ride lumpy and never smoothing out and the noise on acceleration unbearable.

Cap this off with cheap interior trim that falls apart too readily and you wonder how the heck can M-B charge the prices they do for this little runt, with some buying it willingly for the "allure" of a three-pointed star.

Thankfully, the second generation model is far removed from this.

21st Mar 2006, 15:00

I have had my LWB "A" 160 elegance for 5 days and covered about 400 miles. It has all of the toys like full leather heated seats electric sunroof etc. It is just under 3 years old and covered 19000 miles It has 16" AMG wheels. I am very pleased so far. Sticks to the road like glue, no pitch and role. Yes the ride is a bit rough on poor roads The tyres roar a bit. It seems well made and still looks and feels like new.

Peter A|

1st Sep 2006, 08:47

My mum has a A-class and she loves the way it looks. Especially the design of the windows down either side. It looks great, but unfortunately she says that it is hard to park and steer, even though it's the size of a garden pea. Driving it is like driving a go-kart apparently!