SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


A Class act: 2016 Mercedes-Benz A200 7G-DCT

Wheels of history

Posted: 28 April 2016

The numbers
Basic price with automatic, CO2 tax and VAT: R437 680
Engine: 1595 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four cylinder, turbopetrol
Power: 115 kW at 5300 rpm
Torque: 250 Nm between 1250 and 4000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 7.8 seconds (m/t 8.1 sec.)
Maximum speed: 224 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9.1 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Luggage: 341 – 1157 litres
Warranty and maintenance: 6 years / 100 000 km

About the only commonality between a Generation-2 Mercedes-Benz A200 and a new Gen-3 version is the name. The new one is bigger, has a completely different engine and automatic gearbox, more boot volume, a smaller fuel tank, and its face and features are noticeably different. Generation Three was launched in 2012 and facelifted recently, with the latest version arriving here in February this year.

It’s aimed at a much younger user base than the “granny car” of years past. More A-, B- and C-cars are going to twenty- and thirty-somethings, while the median age for buyers of E and S models has dropped from about 55 to 45. M-B brags, too, of winning buyers from other brands, with more than half its sales going to conquests.

The update includes a new arrow-shaped front bumper, redesigned tail lamps, dual tailpipes integrated into the bumper, optional LED headlamps, new instruments, uprated equipment, new colours and materials for the inside trim and a new seat design for the optional Style Line package. All front seats feature a six-centimetre extension facility for tall drivers.
 
We liked this because few driving chairs provide adequate under-thigh support and, together with the tilt function included in the all-electric adjuster suite that came with the optional seats fitted, we got ourselves perfectly comfortable. They were dressed in leather and Alcantara, had supportive side bolsters and included heating for cold winter days.

Our test car had 7G-DCT transmission, so cruise control and Dynamic Select were included automatically. In case you missed the memo, Dynamic Select offers three engine, steering and transmission modes labelled Eco, Comfort and Sport, plus a customisable Individual setup.

Here’s where we felt let down: Mercedes previously included a button labelled C-S-M. It allowed one to choose between “Comfort”, “Sport” or “Manual” modes. Its replacement, Dynamic Select, does away with Manual.
 
We would be fine with that if Sport mode followed the example of other makes and allowed the box to hold gears selected via the paddles, but it doesn’t. The result is that, should you reduce pressure on the accelerator, the ‘box defaults upward a ratio or two, so you arrive at the following tight bend in fifth gear instead of third (for example). You downshift in panic and speak harshly.

That's how M-B managed to spoil a very decent little sporty car. There’s always the manual version however, so the brilliant twin-clutch autobox can be wasted on “granny” drivers. So turns the wheel of history – pity about that.

As always, Mercedes supplies all the usual safety kit including seven airbags; Anti-lock brakes with ESP, BAS, ASR and ESR, Hill Start Assist, flashing adaptive brake lights, headlamp assist, tyre pressure loss warning, Attention Assist with progressive indicator bars; Pre-Safe; Collision Prevention Assist; five 3-point seat belts featuring height adjustment with tensioners and adaptive force limiters in the front and tensioners for the outer rear belts.

Standard equipment includes powered windows and mirrors, telephone keypad, controller on centre console, filtered manual air conditioner, Eco stop and start, runflat tyres, a 12-volt socket in the boot, interior motion sensor, rear fog lights and 16-inch alloy wheels.

The six-speaker Audio 20 music centre features twin tuner, 14.7-cm colour screen, mp3/wma/aac-capable CD player with cover display, two USB interfaces in the centre armrest box, Bluetooth with hands-free, sms display and audio streaming. Base trim is Style Line that it shares with the A200- and A220 diesels. 

Practicalities: The boot loads at mid-thigh height, is neatly square and about 10 centimetres deep, is fitted with an overhead lamp combined with a red rearward warning light and features four lashing rings and a pair of net-enclosed niches for small items. The seatbacks fold 60:40 and sport a load-through hatch that, as mentioned in an earlier report, requires the centre head restraint to be raised first.

Under the base board nestled the amplifier for the optional Harman-Kardon music system, warning triangle, towing eye and owner’s handbook. There was no spare, obviously, nor a pump kit.

As we found with the 2013 A220 CDI (now labelled A220d), head space in the back is sufficient for six-footers but knee- and foot room is tight. There are repeater vents for the air conditioning and smokers are catered for with an ashtray and 12-volt socket. The central armrest, an R1800 option, is wide enough for two and features a pair of pop-out cup holders. Storage consists of netted seatback pockets and small door bins. Entry and exit was a little awkward because the door sills are deeper than most.

As hinted earlier this little 1600, tuned to run like a two-litre, performs and handles very well. It’s neat, compact and fairly well equipped with life’s basics although we felt that cruise control and the optional reversing camera should have been standard from the start.

We liked it, but would now prefer a manual.

Test car from MBSA press fleet.


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

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