Would the Mercedes-Benz A-class have played well in America, one wonders? The entry-level Mercedes is a brilliant technical concept, with a sandwich floor that allows the fuel tank and spare wheel to sit under the passenger floor and that also swallows the engine in a frontal impact. But the desire to sell more cars sits, to me, uneasily, with the luster of the three-pointed star. In short, Mercedes has been devaluing one of the most respected hallmarks in the world in a Faustian swap for market share.
The A-class itself is actually pretty good, if you want a really roomy small car that has fabulous resale and don't care too much about sporty driving. I drove a 170CDI LWB Elegance which, translated, is the 1.7-liter, 94-horsepower, four-cylinder common-rail direct-injection turbodiesel in a lengthened frame, with the most uplevel trim package. (The LWB, for long wheelbase, is 6.7 inches longer than the regular A-class.) In the UK, it's a $22,000 proposition, without the UK's sales tax. That's a lot of money for a small car which has good, if hardly scintillating, performance.
Inside, the car suffers more than any Mercedes from cheap componentry, which seems out of keeping with the brand, if not the price. The LWB version seems almost as big as an S-class, and the rear seats move forward, allowing the futuristic-looking device to swallow almost as much luggage as the Mercedes top liner.... Read full article