First Drive
Mercedes-Benz A160 CDI
Test date 20 September 2008
Price as tested £17,128
What is it?
This is the Mercedes A-class fitted with the least powerful version of the company’s recently revised 2.0-litre turbodiesel unit and a CVT (Constantly Variable Transmission).
The gearbox has five ‘fixed’ ratio positions in its ‘manual’ model, but moves steplessly when left in automatic.
What's it like?
For my money, the A-class is one of the classiest superminis or small family hatches that you can get.
The interior is genuine Mercedes, albeit on a budget, and the fit and finish of our test car was excellent. My only reservation about the standard car is that there is no reach adjustment on the steering wheel.
The driving position is pretty good anyway, but there's no harm improving it.
Now, how much of an improvement is the CVT gearbox? The unfortunate answer is 'none at all'.
A gentle prod of the accelerator gets you tickling along smoothly in slow-moving town traffic, but that's about as good as it gets.
Push the pedal to the floor and the engine revs fairly freely to 4200rpm and stays there. Lots of noise, but little action: it would be misleading to suggest that there’s no acceleration, but it’s not far off the truth.
It's almost impossible to pull onto a free-moving motorway without sending trucks swerving from Lane 1 – and overtaking anything quicker than a tractor on A roads requires nerves of steel.
The reward for this lack of performance, if you inch your way through town, is effortless fuel economy – up to 48mpg if my experience of inner-London traffic is anything to go by.
Should I buy one?
The lack of automatic diesel superminis means that, if you can stand the price, the CVT A-Class has its market pretty much sewn up.
And, in town, it makes a good case for itself, being smooth and relaxing in stop-start traffic. But if you plan to spend time on the open road then steer well clear.
Ed Keohane
First drive data
How much?
- Price as tested £17,128
- Price as tested £21,740
How fast?
- 0-62 mph 15 sec
- Max speed 106 mph
How big?
How thirsty?
- Combined 57.6 mpg
- CO2 emissions 128 g/km
Engine
- Layout 4 , 1991 cc
- Max power 80 bhp at 4200 rpm
- Max torque 133 lb ft at 1400 rpm
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