The future didn’t
used to look like this
Mercedes-Benz
A200 AMG Line
Month 5The story so far
Nicely-spec’d version of the
fourth-gen Merc hatchback with
sensible 161bhp petrol engine
+Wonderful interior with seats
as comfortable as they are
stylish and highly effective
voice-activation- Grumpy transmission that
favours a mix of economy and
wheelspin away from the lights
Price £28,700 (£31,710 as
tested) Performance 1.3-litre
4-cyl, 161bhp, 8.0sec 0-62mph,
139mph Efficiency 53.3mpg
(official), 45.1mpg (tested), 123g/
km CO2 Energy cost 13p per
mile Miles this month 1358
Total miles 8211LogbookSci-fi car grounded. By Ben Whitworth
Last month I grumbled about the
Leaf ’s awful driving position. The
list of irritants continues, I’m afraid.
The packaging is embarrassingly
poor, and cabin space is modest at
best. Above 60mph wind and tyre
noise are intrusive. The connectivity
app that was catastrophically bad
has been upgraded – it’s now just
acceptable. There’s only one USB
port, the screen graphics are lousy
and the sat-nav/infotainment
system feels archaic – unimpressive
for a car at the vanguard of modern
mobility. The button-splattereddash and centre console are pure- The automatic emergency
braking is so hypersensitive and
throws out the anchor the moment
I enter a car park. The car bings and
trills incessantly. It’s also frumpy,
ungainly and inelegant.
And to cap it all off, I lost
not one but two fresh tyres to
punctures, both within weeks of
each other. Fortunately Kwik Fit’s
mobile service was able to source
replacement Dunlops – but at £194
a pop, including fitting, it was an
expensive month.
One of two things happens when
you’re showing someone around
your A-Class and you tell them the
interior is smarter than an S-Class’s.
Some will love the screens and the
seats; others will shuffle quickly
away, in case your gullibility is
Don’t get me wrong, there is a
great deal of good to be said about
the Leaf, which we’ll come to
next month. But hell, there’s a lot
of disappointingly sub-standard
stuff to wade through first.
@benwhitworthcars, but if you do follow our route
of specifying the Premium package
and Augmented Nav package
(together adding nearly £3k on top
of AMG Line trim) then you get a
fantastic merging of instrument
screen and central touchscreen, a
brilliantly effective voice-activation
system, and augmented reality on
the sat-nav. This really is better than
the S-Class.
Does it drive like a big car? No,
although it’s more grown-up than
most hatchbacks. And it falls
well short of big cars on its range
between fill-ups. With big cars,
it’s not unusual to go 500 miles. In
the A-Class, you’re looking out for
pumps (the sat-nav helps a lot here)
soon after 300. When the car is so
comfortable and refined, that feels
like an unnecessary interruption.
How roomy is the interior?
Everyone in an S-Class has more
room than anyone in an A-Class.
S-Class boot space varies depending
on version, but generally it’s 510
litres for a short-wheelbase and 530
for a long-wheelbase. That’s far
more than the A-Class with its rear
seats up: 370 litres, same as an Astra,
more than a Focus, less than a Golf.
But drop the rear seats and it grows
to 1210 litres. That’s big enough tocarry the bags of a family of four
going on holiday for a week. But
of course two of those people
will have to stay at home. But
still, it’s a great interior in terms
of design, practicality and feel.
@ColinOverlandNissan Leaf Tekna
Month 8Price £28,390 (£30,055
as tested) Performance
148bhp e-motor and
40kWh battery, 7.9sec
0-62mph, 90mph
Efficiency 370Wh/m, 0g/
km CO2 Energy costs 3.6p
per mile Miles this month
1099 Total miles 8263LogbookThe story so far
Original Leaf was an innovator;
does it still stand out?
+Running costs; brisk in town- Cramped; low-fi infotainment
infectious. So what do those big
car/small package claims actually
amount to? Let’s break it down.
Does it really have more tech than
an S-Class? The A-Class debuted
the new MBUX interface. You don’t
get the full monty on entry-levelOur cars
APRIL 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 137Is the A-Class really a
big car in a small body?
It’s certainly pricey enough. By Colin Overland
Luggage for four
leaves you with
seats for twoIf only we’d
picked the
hover-drive
option