138 CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | MAY 2019Reversing intotomorrowThe A-Class is a lovely car but its priorities are upside-down and
back to front. How about making it drive better? By Colin OverlandMercedes-Benz
A200
Month 6The story so far
Nicely spec’d version of the
sensible 161bhp petrol version
of the fourth-generation
Mercedes hatchback
+Seats as comfortable as they
are stylish; highly effective
voice-activation- Transmission offers both
economy and wheelspin
Price £28,700 (£31,710 as
tested) Performance 1332cc
turbo 4-cyl, 161bhp, 8.0sec
0-62mph, 139mph Efficiency
53.3mpg (official), 47.9mpg
(tested), 123g/km CO2 Energy
cost 13.6p per mile Miles this
month 2224 Total miles 10,435If you had three minutes in which
to convey to a random stranger the
essence of the A200, you’d simply
invite them to climb aboard and
use the Active Parking Assist with
Parktronic feature.
This has everything. A clumsy
name. A non-frivolous price (in our
case, it comes as part of the £2395
Premium Package). And a decep-
tively complicated user experience.
It starts when you press the P
button on the centre console. This
gets the car to start looking for
suitable spaces and sounding a
gentle ‘bong’ telling you to glance at
the central screen, where you’ll see
rectangles representing your choice
of spaces. Using the touchscreen
or touchpad or mini touchpads
on the steering wheel, you select
your preferred space. It tells you to
engage reverse gear and prepare to
brake, and then it starts parking.
It does this with the unhesitant
decisiveness of a machine, not adriver. If it’s a tight angle it spins
the steering wheel like a coked-up
croupier, getting the front wheels
pointing in the optimal direction
before the car starts to move. And
when it reverses, it does so quickly
and without the reversing sensors
sounding – which, if you’re used to
reversing sensors, is unsettling.
You soon learn to trust that the
steering wheel and throttle are
under expert automated control,
but you’re unsure about braking.
Having been warned that you need
to prepare to brake, you don’t know
if that means you are required tobrake as part of the parking process,
or you should be ready to brake
in case a cat or a pigeon makes
a sudden appearance before the
reversing camera.
Adding further to the awkward-
ness is the uncertainty about where
to look. Mirrors? Shoulder? Central
screen, which is showing the image
from the reversing camera, with
your projected route superimposed
on it? You end up darting your eyes
around between all of these, so not
really looking properly at all.
When human and machine
have successfully parked the car, it’s
sort of impressive that the car did
some of the work, but you’re never
far from the feeling that it was an
unnecessary palaver. Parking isn’t
that difficult the old way, is it?
Maybe your random stranger,
enjoying their three-minute visit
to the future, will be indifferent
to these concerns. They’ll love
the seats, the screens, the voice
activation, the augmented reality,
the 64-colour ambient lighting, the
fabulous audio.
Because it is a lovely cabin – and
the novelty hasn’t worn thin in six
months – but it’s in a car that really
isn’t very special to drive.You’re never far
from the feeling
that it was an
unnecessary
palaver. Parking
isn’t that hardG oodbye
AMG Line spec
is spot-on: turns
heads and brings
a useful level of
equipmentLogbookCount the cost
Cost new £31,710 Private sale
£25,205 Part-exchange £26,905
Cost per mile 14.5p Cost per mile
including depreciation £1.24 Alex Tapley