Mercedes benz A-class

ElRazur · 3 Oct 2006 at 19:36

Looks like this will be our car of choice from the fto. I dont exactly know much about them but can the petrol heads and clarksons in here please educate me.

I have read reviews about them and inspected one inside out but didnt do any test drive. we are after the avantgarde spec (1.6) and in auto/triptronic.
Speaking of the auto/triptronic, do the vehicle come in full auto or all the auto are semi-auto (triptronic). How is the servicing, reliability, mpg, comfort...? Is there anything i should know/i should avoid? Thanks.

PS
We are looking to pick something from 2000 onwards.

Firestar_3x · 3 Oct 2006 at 19:48

I had a drive of one for about 10mins, great for round town (which is the location i had a go) but my dad hated it on the motorway, its not a bad place to be but its not great, and it didn't drive very well, oh and this one was thrown together.

Not a fan

volospian · 3 Oct 2006 at 20:40

Got a 55 one, the 1500 engine. Completely different than the older model, but basically the same premise. My wife bought it as she has two crushed disks in her spine and finds it the easiest car to get in and out of, plus she says the seats are really good for her.

It's OK, but the build quality is still a bit suspect, it's already had to have a whole new dashboard fitted because of an annoying rattle. They had it back in the garage 5 times to try and fix it before they just gave up and changed the whole dash unit

Quite thirsty, but my missus drives everywhere in 3rd gear anyway. It's not too bad when I try and drive it economically.

Actually the 1500 has a surprising amount of poke. It's obviously underpowered, but it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Otherwise, it's quite nice for what it is. A mate had the earlier model and he really liked it.

[TW]Fox · 3 Oct 2006 at 20:55

Every time Elrazur posts one of his many 'my next car threads' I always think he cannot possibly find anything more totally different from his last suggestion.

Every time, he proves me wrong.

Usel · 3 Oct 2006 at 21:02

[TW]Fox said:
Every time Elrazur posts one of his many 'my next car threads' I always think he cannot possibly find anything more totally different from his last suggestion.

Every time, he proves me wrong.

Quite

Siliconslave · 3 Oct 2006 at 22:45

my mum has one, don't entirely know why - i keep trying to convince her to sell up and buy a focus c-max or something, but its pretty damn horrible car. Its a 1.4L - ie the slightly longer one, the 1.4 is pretty nippy and actually has not too bad torque - the traction control is good, but it damn well needs to be, any hint of wet and its all over the place

Horrible at high speeds, all kinda twitchey and insanely wallowy in the corners. Sitting in the back makes most people feel sea sick although you do get some pretty decent leg room.

The build quality on ours is great and the load space is supurb, not a bad car all in all around town, but i really wouldn't if i were you!

fonzee · 3 Oct 2006 at 22:53

we got '00 one me tinks... 1.6 engine... bout 35mpg iirc. Nice ride overall. Seats are ok, not perfect for positional comfort. Quite a smart little car. Lots of space inside. Build quality aint great, must admit. Could do a lot worse tbh.

rG-tom · 3 Oct 2006 at 23:03

my mum has a 1.6 avantgarde in auto, 52 plate...it's her third as she absolutely loves them....they're perfect for what she wants though. lots of legroom for when i need to be a passenger too, not bad but expensive for what they are and all 3 have had niggly faults with something or other, be it the gearbox or traction control.

Tom.

Trickle · 3 Oct 2006 at 23:07

I'd sooner have an Audi A2

Firestar_3x · 3 Oct 2006 at 23:11

Trickle said:
I'd sooner have an Audi A2

Hmm hard one to call, long as it aint the gutless 1.4TDI.

NickXX · 3 Oct 2006 at 23:16

A-Class = creaky, unreliable, understeery heaven.

Avoid like the plague.

Morba · 3 Oct 2006 at 23:27

ElRazur said:
Looks like this will be our car of choice from the fto. I dont exactly know much about them but can the petrol heads and clarksons in here please educate me.

I have read reviews about them and inspected one inside out but didnt do any test drive. we are after the avantgarde spec (1.6) and in auto/triptronic.
Speaking of the auto/triptronic, do the vehicle come in full auto or all the auto are semi-auto (triptronic). How is the servicing, reliability, mpg, comfort...? Is there anything i should know/i should avoid? Thanks.

PS
We are looking to pick something from 2000 onwards.

our, we?
i thought the car was yours, not a joint ownership!

NickXX · 3 Oct 2006 at 23:31

rG-tom said:
my mum has a 1.6 avantgarde in auto, 52 plate...it's her third as she absolutely loves them....they're perfect for what she wants though. lots of legroom for when i need to be a passenger too, not bad but expensive for what they are and all 3 have had niggly faults with something or other, be it the gearbox or traction control.

Tom.

My mum had two. We had constant faults with the pair of them. One had £3k's worth of warrantee work done on it before we got rid of it.

Memphis · 3 Oct 2006 at 23:34

NickXX said:
A-Class = creaky, unreliable, understeery heaven.

Avoid like the plague.

Should suit Elly down to the ground then.

ElRazur · 4 Oct 2006 at 08:46

Morba said:
our, we?
i thought the car was yours, not a joint ownership!

My gf stays with me and i have lil boy. Buying a car aint no longer my decision alone......She is also giving part of the money hence the term "we"

ElRazur · 4 Oct 2006 at 08:50

[TW]Fox said:
Every time Elrazur posts one of his many 'my next car threads' I always think he cannot possibly find anything more totally different from his last suggestion.

Every time, he proves me wrong.

What do you suggest then?

panthro · 4 Oct 2006 at 08:53

To be honest, Im just glad your not importing that freakishly nasty jap thing that you suggested a while back.

Jonny69 · 4 Oct 2006 at 08:56

[TW]Fox said:
Every time Elrazur posts one of his many 'my next car threads' I always think he cannot possibly find anything more totally different from his last suggestion.

Every time, he proves me wrong.

Babies on their way this time I reckon

El you randy old dog you

Jonny69 · 4 Oct 2006 at 08:59

ElRazur said:
My gf stays with me and i have lil boy. Buying a car aint no longer my decision alone......She is also giving part of the money hence the term "we"

Aaaaa I was right, that'll teach me to not read the whole thread :cool:

For my useful input to this thread my dad has a reasonably new Merc and he's had a whole host of problems with the electrics. I know these problems are across the range and Mercedes have got themselves into brand problems over it so expect the A to have a few annoying glitches.

Bill101 · 4 Oct 2006 at 09:17

Just remember that your dealership servicing costs are the same as the guy who brings in his 'S' Class.
They do not reward 'spirited' driving and can be very heavy on the front discs, a guy in work went through 4 warped discs in 6 months

Mercedes benz A-class

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