SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
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I confess that I have always written off Mercedes’ A-class offerings as “little old ladies’ cars” built purely for those who want a nice safe little runabout, but with the added cachet of having the three-pointed star up front.
There is no denying that the “A” cars and their sisters in the “B” class are pure-bred Mercedes, although Americans dismiss them as too small and some unkind Europeans have even accused the boys and girls from Stuttgart of cheapening the brand.
Be that as it may, the smaller offerings from MB do come with all the right credentials in the way of somewhat conservative styling, excellent build quality, a full complement of safety kit and price tags reflecting the fact that this is an aspirational brand. In plain English: “You want it, it’s going to cost you.”
It was with some misgiving, then, that I accepted an A200 with Autotronic (CVT) shift for testing recently. The 2 034 cc naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine puts out 100 kW at 5 500 rpm, with peak torque of 185 Nm coming in between 3 500 and 4 000 rpm. Both figures are on the lower side of average for this capacity, so with a heavyish body and automatic ‘box, I wasn’t expecting fireworks.
The transmission is one of the newly popular breed of constantly variable units pioneered by Dutch truck builder DAF, in a little Renault-engined city car that they produced, in the ‘sixties and ‘seventies.
A sliding belt moving up and down on two opposing cones provides a stepless interface between the drive from the engine and the front wheels, keeping the engine spinning in its most efficient rev range for the road speed required by the driver. This translates into slightly better overall fuel economy, no noticeable gear changes, especially on kickdown, and a strange sensation of speed increasing while revs remain constant.
In “C” transmission mode, selectable by means of a button next to the gear lever, shifting is either conservative or conventional depending on your interpretation, while “S” for sport mode hangs on to “gears” just a little bit longer, providing an altogether more dynamic driving experience.
For most enjoyment though, an override divides the gearing into seven distinct steps, providing all the fun of a manual ‘box without the hassle of using a clutch. And this is where the car’s darker persona kicks in.
When Mercedes Benz transplanted electronic stability and handling programming, as used on its bigger cars, over to the A-class (something to do with Swedish road testers and elks, but that’s another story), they also transferred a clever system that determines how quickly and dynamically you are driving, and tweaks up the suspension accordingly.
The result is a sweet old lady car that becomes a teenage hellion when you treat it roughly. Well, almost. The A-class won’t completely transmogrify into a girl racer, but it does come close if you push its buttons hard enough.
While my evil twin was thus abusing the dinky little “A”, he figured that Mercedes’ are traditionally popular with farmers, so why not see how the little one fares on typical Midlands’ dirt roads? Answer: Just like a bigger Mercedes.
On our favourite provincial dirt road and on a stretch of washboard that had previously rattled the composure of a popular “lifestyle” pickup, the A200 proved competent, comfortable and thoroughly ladylike - a true candidate for country living, in fact.
So would I buy one? At the end of my allotted time with the A200, I was almost sorry to see it go – it had proved that first appearances and long-held prejudices can be misleading. It is a well-built, safe and thoroughly nice little car with room for four fully grown people, adequate storage and luggage space (a full trolley of groceries if you pack creatively) and all the performance its target market wants.
My preferences run to more overtly sexy beasts, so I wouldn’t choose one for myself. For my sister though, I probably would.
The numbers
Four cylinder in line, 2 034 cc
Power: 100 kW at 5 500 rpm
Torque: 185 Nm at 3 500 to 4 000 rpm
0 – 100 km/h: 10,1 seconds
Max. speed: 200 km/h
Fuel Index: 8,6 l/100 km
CO2 gm/km: 200
Luggage space (dm3): 224 to 1 120
Tank: 54 litres
Maintenance plan: 6 years/120 000 km
Basic price: R 252 000
As tested with Autotronic and comfort pack: R 281 500
Our report on the 2016 A200 is here
This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.
What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to in order to kick back and relax. So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8