Mercedes Benz A Class Review and launch date in India

2013 is a hot year for Mercedes Benz as they are planning to launch some exciting cars in the year. The most exciting will be the Mercedes Benz A class hatchback. The Indian A class is under development in Pune plant and we can expect it on late 2013. The launch date is approximately 15th December 2013. The A class will be the cheapest Mercedes to launch in India. The big question is can a small Mercedes like A class impress Indians and how practical this car will be for India.

Mercedes Benz A class Front View

Mercedes step foot on Indian soil in 1995 with the E class. From there on the company received good response from the Indian market so far. Mercedes launched the S class in 2000, C class in 2001 and GL class in 2002. But Mercedes hesitated to launch A class and B class for India.

However the new gen B class hatch was launched in India in 2012 and it is receiving good response from Indian luxury lovers. The old A class did not have a full feeling of a Mercedes it was a good car but it is not perfect in any means. So Mercedes has been pausing A class from reaching Indian soil. But now game has changed changed. Indians love small cars more than big bulky sedans. The BMW is planning to launch the 1 series and Audi will launch A1 in future.

Mercedes Benz A class rear view

We rushed to Germany to test drive new Mercedes A200 CDI AMG and here are our impressions about the car. At first look itself you will realize that A class is a bit different from other Mercedes. It is not a family hatch for sure. The A class looks specially designed for the youth with plenty of enthusiasm towards sports cars.

The 3 pointed star will be dominating the front view. It is neatly placed in the trapezoidal grille with some curvy slants. From there your eyes will turn to the scowling headlamps. The car has a long nose like of a sedan and the squared set up looks handsome. The A class looks extensively engineered like any other Mercedes though it is the cheapest Mercedes off all. The side profile has got an aggressive stance too. The character lines are intelligently drawn too enhance the sporty potential of the A class. The five spoke 18 inch alloy wheels are extremely appealing.

The rear is too intensively styled and looks like that of a mini SUV. The rear bumper and splitter together gives it a muscular feel to it. He wrap around tail lamps too looks very appealing indeed.

Mercedes Benz A class side profile

Overall the A class looks incredible from any angle and you can't turn around your neck when you see an A class passing away. You cant find any complaints about the heavy mambo design of the A class, but plenty to admire. The AMG kit on the car we tested further increases the aggressiveness of the car. The build quality will be slightly disappointing as it is not up to the Mercedes standards.

Step on the cabin of the A class and you will get the same sporty prudential in the exteriors. Quality is up to Merc standards with fit and finish as superb as in an E class. The A may be cheap but it doesn't looks in the skin.

The dashboard is designed in youth Masha flavor. The four spoke electroplated circular air vents tells you this is meant to be a sports car..Everything in the dashboard is nicely laced out like in a C class. But you will find the high resolution display oddly pasted into central console. Despite that the car has a sports oriented luxurious cabin.

Mercedes Benz A class Steering Wheel

For Indians cabin space is an important car while choosing cars. The front seats are wide and cushioned well and makes you happy. I tired out the back seat to see how it is. Despite of the buggy dimensions in the back you still get good amount of space. The seats offer plenty of legroom and under thigh support. But the tall passengers will find headroom is bit tight. The seat backs of front seats have been scooped out to offer more legroom on the back.

The boot space is not much with 341 liters with spare wheel ditched. So that is a tiny boot same as Hyundai i20.

So this is the crucial part. Lets see how the A class performs. The car we tested was A 200 CDI with 134 HP of power and 30.55 kgm of torque. 134 HP may feel a bit low but Mercedes has reduced the cock weight to 1248 kg and short gear ratios of the dual clutch automatic gearbox makes the car very agile.

Driving the A class through the German country roads is an absolute delight. A class is a front wheel drive engine but it is as agile as other other RWD Mercs. The car will maintain 200 km speeds without any fuss. We did not check the acceleration figures may be later in India. Step on the gas and the car will take off with amazing spiritless.

Mercedes Benz A class seats

It is an enthusiast radiance in handling. The car is pretty much planted on to the road and you can corner hard in high speeds with plenty of confidence. The steering is highly precise and you get a composed feel even at real hard corners. The AMG version we tested has a sporty suspension set up,

The slight undulations of the German roads thumped into the car.

Set the Suspension to normal and you will get a luxurious ride and the car feels sporty enough. But I set it back to sports mode again. Speeding through the German country roads is quite an adventure. I even skidded the rear in the corners.

The only problem I found was the Electric Power Steering. It is precise and gives you good feedback but there is a dead zone and it will interrupt you while driving. But not much in the sports mode.

Mercedes Benz A class Central Console

The A class will be loved by the youth who is hungry for speed and agility. But others will surely question the practicality of the A class. The sons and daughters of the rich Indians are more likely to buy A class. A class is fun to drive, built well, has a sporty design and a cabin with luxury of an E class. So for who wants luxury plus superb driving experience A class suits best.

The rich Indians are mostly driven by chauffeurs and they will be I the back seat most of the time. So A class is not a good chauffeur driven car. The people who drive A Class will definitely love it.

Mercedes is also developing a sedan Version of the A class known as CLA which will be in India in 2014.

Spec-sheet
Engine		Dimensions
Fuel	Diesel	Length	4292 mm
Displacement	1796 cc	Width	1780 mm
Type	4 cyl turbocharged	Height	1433mm
Max Power	134 HP at 3600rpm	Wheelbase	2699
Max Torque	30.55 kgm at 1600 rpm	Suspension
Transmission		Front	Independent McPherson Strut, coil springs,stabilizer bar
Type	FWD	Rear	Independent multi-link, coil springs, stabilizer bar
Gearbox	7 speed dual clutch auto