Let’s face it – there’s nothing more frustrating than buying a car and being incredibly impressed by its performance, only to find out that it doesn’t live up to it in the long-term. With this thought in mind, the importance of choosing a car that you’re confident will live up to your expectations is huge. Today we’re looking at some of the key things you need to know about the Mercedes A-Class – hopefully, this will help you decide whether this iconic and clean-cut hatchback actually lives up to your expectations.

Key Features of the Mercedes A-Class

When it comes to modern vehicles, features are everything – indeed, in many cases, modern designs are becoming more and more feature-heavy, and this places a substantial amount of pressure on car manufacturers to live up to expectations. Fortunately, if you’re the sort of person who enjoys a vehicle that can do it all, the Mercedes A-Class might be just the car you need.

First of all, let’s consider the basics. The Mercedes A-Class is a front-wheel drive car – however, you can also get yourself an all-wheel-drive model with the A 220 petrol, AMG 35, and 45 models. 0 to 62mph is achieved in between 3.9 to 10.6 seconds, making it a solid contender in terms of acceleration – not the whizziest car on the road, but by no means shabby. However, as a premium hatchback, comfort is really the name of the game here, not racing.

Comfort is one area where the Mercedes A-Class excels – with a cargo volume in the boot of up to 420L, or a whopping 1210L with the seated area, it’s large and spacious, helping make those long journeys much less cramped. Furthermore, the comfortable and luxurious interior design certainly help make this stunning hatchback model something a little extra special – it’s no surprise then why so many people enjoy driving it.

That’s not all from the feature front – the Mercedes A-Class is designed with countless high-tech features that are there to help make your life a little easier. From the user experience module to the full smartphone integration, there’s more tech in this excellent vehicle than most people will need.

But, of course, this raises a significant question – how does it actually perform? While the Mercedes A-Class sounds good on paper, does it actually live up to these expectations in reality?

How Does the Mercedes A-Class Perform in Real Life?

After three years of use, our conclusion regarding the Mercedes A-Class is simple – this is an excellent car for city driving and commutes, offering excellent practicality around tight bends, narrow parking bays, and the like. The car performs excellently in terms of manoeuvrability, which is – of course – vital for inner-city use. Furthermore, the high-tech features truly help to take the edge off those dull and tedious drives that can otherwise be something of a drag.

However, if we were being picky, the Mercedes A-Class falls down a little when it comes to fuel usege. This is not the end of the world – only dropping roughly 8mpg  between city driving and long commutes – but we thought it was worth noting.

Overall, we can’t be too harsh on the Mercedes A-Class. It’s a great little vehicle with countless exceptional technologies included – and, for a change, they seemed to genuinely work well. The main drawbacks have to be the price when bought new, and the economy of the vehicle – but, if you can justify the extra cost of those, then you’ll be getting a comfortable and luxurious driving experience that’s second to none in its class.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been looking for a new car that can do it all for an excellent price – sorry to burst your bubble, but the Mercedes A-Class might not be the best option for you. It’s not cheap to run, nor does it come with an overly affordable new price tag – although, it does retain its value well in terms of depreciation, which is worth considering.

While the Mercedes A-Class falls down in terms of affordability, it more than makes up for this with its practicality, comfort, and style. In fact, you might just find that you enjoy (or, at the very least, don’t dread) those long morning commutes while stuck in traffic. If you have a spare £25k/£30k, this vehicle is recommended. If the new price tag is a struggle for you, then consider buying used – you could bag yourself a bargain.

FOR

Great tech features
Stylish looks
Comfortable interior
Holds its value well
Reliable

AGAINST

Fuel economy
Asking price when bought new

9/10