Test drive Mercedes Benz A-class w169 2004-2007 hatchback

Project "A"

Come closer and close your eyes. Open the door and slowly plunge into a comfortable and tenacious chair. Lower your hands to the steering wheel finished with soft skin.
 

Turn the key in the castle and continue to enjoy silence. Feel? A-class is small, but Mercedes!

 

At first there was an idea. When the management of Mercedes-Benz decided to realize the quality and reliability of their own cars in small forms, the engineers have a reason to think. To make Stuttgart cars closer to the people meant to seriously revise the approach to ensuring security.

The idea was followed by the embodiment of a solution called the Sandwich principle. It was supposed to resolve the contradiction between the compact dimensions and safety of passengers. To do this, the engine and the transmission were partially moved forward, partially removed under the body, so that with a frontal collision the units would go down and not harm the salon.
 

And then there were Swedes. More precisely, one, from whose behalf of the Mercedes will he will be trembling for a long time. This is the journalist Robert Collin, who 10 years ago managed to turn over the test A-class and, of course, accuse the Stuttgarts and their technique of what happened.


The Germans did not believe the Swedish journalist and conducted a long investigation, but the suspension was still reviewed, clenched, reduced so, now, now they can’t turn the car, even if you really want to.
 

However, the incident with an inverted car slightly influenced the reputation of Mercedes. Rather, on the contrary: in 1999, a compact car entered the ten best -selling cars in Germany, and about a million motorists around the world chose a compact Mercedes. Moreover, more than 80% of buyers

A-Klasse have become new customers for a car brand from Stuttgart. Who now doubts that there is no bad publicity?!
 

Prices
The basic equipment Mercedes A150 in a 3-door body costs from 17,900 euros. A five -door hatchback with the same engine costs from 18,600 euros. The basic configuration includes the ABS anti -lock system, the ASR anti -wings system, the ESP course stability system, the BAS emergency braking system, the front and lateral airbags for the driver and the front passenger, the steering wheel, air conditioning, the fog lights, and the electric windows.
 
The windshield and hood of the current generation A-Klasse form a straight line smoothly passing into the roof. Stylish sidewalls with stamping and moldings echo the style of senior Stuttgart models, and short overhangs with an impressive (for the segment) wheelbase are expanded by doubts about the stability of the mini-mass. And the A-class strongly resembles Smart, only in a more serious and practical performance.
 

But it is worth looking into the salon, as it becomes clear that everything is in an adult way: the plastic is soft to the touch, wooden inserts and leather-made steering wheel and parking brake. On the steering wheel there are a phone control buttons and an on -board computer. The steering wheel is still one, but the functions on it are from both. The quality of fitting parts is exceptional.
 

The current A-Klasse exceeds the previous model in all significant for comfort for the internal dimensions: the internal width of the body at the level of the passengers shoulder increased by almost 97 mm, in front armrests by 95 mm, and the free space in front of the knees in the rear of the cabin is almost 30 mm. The distance between the front and rear seats is 805 mm, which is comparable to the middle class sedan.
 

Our test A-Klasse in the Elegance configuration is equipped with a 1.7-liter 115-horsepower engine and Autotronic variator. This checkpoint has three modes, two of which C (comfort) and S (standard) are switched by pressing the button. The third manual is initiated by the impetus of the selector to the right or to the left and imitates the switching of seven virtual gears.
 

Oddly enough, it was not the slowness or the slow of automatic modes that prompted me to use the manual method of switching. It’s just that in the machine gun the tachometer arrow did not reach the cut -off (6,000 rpm), stopping at 5,500 rpm, and in the manual honestly stretched to the limit.

In the standard, you can’t get enough of the variator!

 

Some journalists decipher the Litera S as a sport (Sport), and they are not far from the truth. Ashka briskly leaves the start, switches without hesitation and makes other motorists respect the compact class of Mercedes. For connoisseurs of a comfortable and economical driving style, there is a Comfort mode. Here, the dynamics and speed of gear shifts were sacrificed to increased smoothness and silence of movement.
 

Modern a-class is a simple and pleasant car. This applies to both light steering fluffs (with an electric power) and an excellent (and non -disconnected) ESP system, which protects against drifts and arrogant drivers from themselves. However, the suspension can not be called a customary ride, and for this, Mercedes-Benz has reasons. This is an old story: one Swedish journalist one day
 

The car was provided for the Olympus test, the official Daimlerchrysler dealer


Text: Alexander Korobchenko
Photo: Roman Ostanin
 
 
 

 
 

Source: Wheel magazine [No. 113/2007]