The Ayes have it Part 1: the A180

Mercedes-benz’s fortunes have changed for the better since the company moved away from the original boxy A-class “crossover” and replaced it with sleek and chic five-door hatchbacks. John Oxley reports on the A 180 and the go-faster A 250 4Matic.

Although it’s the smallest car in the Mercedes-benz line-up, there’s no mistaking the ancestry of the current A-class. It’s a Mercedes through and through, and that three-pointed star on the grille lets you know right away that this is a class act from a company with the longest history in the car business. The A-class range has just been updated, with the accent on value, and all models in the line-up now get keyless start, Garmin Map Pilot satnav, blind spot assistance, reversing camera, and dynamic Select Drive, which adjusts suspension, engine, transmission, steering and even the aircon, in four different driving modes ranging from Eco, through Sport and Comfort to Individual. The outside of the car has also come in for some attention, with a new black diamond grille similar to that previously only fitted on AMG versions, and there are new 17-inch alloy wheels. Power unit is a 90kw/200nm direct injection turbocharged four cylinder, driving the front wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox, and we can tell you it’s a very lively little unit, aided more than a little by all those ratios. Add in the Select Drive, and the A 180 instantly becomes a car you can chuck around with alacrity and confidence, while the suspension seems to have been specifically tuned to dial-out the twin front-drive menaces of understeer and wheel spin. Most of the time we drove in the Comfort setting, but our back roads test was enhanced by clicking in Sport. The Individual setting we would recommend only for track work, since it turnsoff the ESP. As mentioned, Mercedes makes great play on the value aspect of this latest A-class, and the standard features list is extensive. Apart from those already mentioned, you get climate aircon, the Audio 20 sound system with an eight-in display controlled by a simple mouse-like knob and buttons, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, Garmin Map Pilot satnav, an electric parking brake, keyless start, three-spoke leather-rimmed steering wheel with satellite controls, a wide angle reversing camera with dynamic guidelines, as well as front and rear parking sensors, Smartphone integration with Apple Carplay, rain-sensing wipers, and power windows with one-touch control. There’s tilt and reach adjustment of the steering wheel, and the driver and front passenger also benefit from being able to adjust the length of the seat cushion for better thigh support. There’s Speedtronic cruise control which will change down a gear on downhills to maintain the desired speed, as well as a speed limiter function. Tinted glass is fitted all round, and there are LED tail lights as, rear fog lamp, and a radio aerial integrated into the rear spoiler. Naturally there’s an alphabet soup of safety features, and no fewer than nine airbags. Our test car came with a couple of optional extras; the seat comfort package, which for $1,290 offers full electric adjustment, with memory function, as well as an automatic reversing position for the left rear-view mirror,; and Polar Silver metallic paintwork, which is a sort of pearlescent low-lustre paint job that makes silver come alive. On the road, as mentioned, the A 180 is a real joy, and we certainly didn’t feel short-changed by that lively little engine. If there were any criticisms it was that the dual clutch gearbox could be a bit chunky at low speeds, and we really battled at one point to reverse uphill and into our garage; the system was definitely not happy! However, on the plus side we were always comfortable in the car, and enjoyed the fact that fuel consumption was so low; although we didn’t get down to the claimed 5.6L/100km, we spent most of our time in the mid sixes, which isn’t bad at all!