AUTOCHECK INDIA: MERCEDES'S NEW LUXURY HATCHBACK FOR INDIA :- "THE A CLASS"

The first in its segments The Mercedes A-Class is a luxury hatchback.... In Europe these Luxury Hatchbacks are know as HOT HATCHBACKS.... These kind of cars provide a large punch engine with a big boost which delivers a lot of power on the throtle but still it comes in any hatchback package.... The Company has targeted the growing urban youth population for the A-class car... The company hopes that this car unique in its category would be a huge hit...The exclusive stylling with rich interiors packed by world class sporty engine is just what the youths of India wants...Well many cars have tried to target this category but seems that the German car maker has bagged it all.... The new Next-Gen design aspects of the Merc's designer would be definitely a Buzz maker in the market... Now the company has stated that The A- class is exclusively made for the Indian Market and the export options are not to be looked upon this early... Well at the first glance the A-Class looks nothing less than a space ship... The futuristic design and the glamour lines from the car is defintely the heart stealer... Now lets have more Brief review of the car...

The Various models provided under the A-Class Flagship:-

1.> Mercedes-Benz A-Class A180 CDI Style ---------------------Rs 23,17,917
2143cc Diesel, Automatic, 20.06kmpl (Ex Showroom Price)

2.> Mercedes-Benz A-Class A180 sport Petrol -----------------Rs 23,73,667 1595cc Petrol, Automatic, 15.5kmpl (Ex Showroom Price)

The Engine and The Performace :-

The specifications:-

ENGINE:-

FUEL            :-   PETROL
INSTALLATION      :- FRONT , TRANSVERSE
TYPE                     :- 4 Cyls, 1595cc Direct-
injection turbo
BORE/STROKE          :- 83.0/73.7 mm
POWER                        :- 122bhp @ 5000rpm
TORQUE                     :-   20.39kgm @ 4000rpm
POWER/WEIGHT      :- 88.72bhp per tonne

TRANSMISSION

TYPE                    :- Front-wheel drive
GEARBOX          :- 7speed dual clutch,
                                      automatic

DIMENSIONS:-

LENGTH             :- 4292 mm
WIDTH               :- 1780 mm
HEIGHT              :- 1433 mm
WHEEL BASE    :- 2699 mm

CHASIS & BODY:-

CONSTRUCTION      :- Five Door, Monocoque,
                                        Hatchback
WEIGHT                     :- 1375Kg
TYRES                         :- 225/45R17
SPARE                        :- Space Saver

SUSPENSION:-

FRONT     :- Independent, MacPherson struts,
                            Coil Springs
REAR        :- Independent coil springs

STEERING:-

TYPE :- Rack and Pinion
TYPE OF POWER ASSIST :- Electric

BRAKES:-

FRONT       :- Ventilated Discs
REAR          :- Discs
Anti-Lock   :- Yes

PERFORMANCE:-

0-60 :- 4.30 sec
0-100 :- 9.76 sec

ECONOMY:-

TANK SIZE :- 50 Liters
MILEAGE :- 15.5Kmpl

Well the car is every bit of sport integrated in it.... It is alot bigger looking car , having the dimensions as equal to the fiesta saloon the car definitely exceeds the hatchback mark... The shear size means alot less power!!!!!!!! definitely not the case in this car... The car has a mighty V6 engine and have tons of power... The car definitely would blow your mind away with its speed... The real fun starts when you get behind the wheel the car,,.. It really feels big, premium and luxurious...The car has PADDLE-SHIFT gears behind the steering wheel which gives it a sporty feel.... Well for a really big car of this size the 1.6 liter petrol does seem a little under powered... but in the city traffic we wouldnt complain at all as it provide a amply amount of torque ... but in case of empty road you would find the torque a little bit lagging behind around the 3000 rev mark.... The steering is very sharp and responsive, it points the car exactly where you wanted it to go... The body does have a advantage to it, cruzing at high speed due to the weight and low slung body there is absoluately no body role.. The car grips to the road quiet well and holds up in the tight corners.. Though there is a visibility issue for some of the short-height drives as the front mirror is little narrow and the dash sits quiet high... but the rest seems absoluately fine....

The Interiors and Space:-

Well before talking about the interiors i would like to talk about few more design bits of the car... The most amazing design feature of the car is the GRILL.. It just looks like the galaxy of stars and is really impressive,,, it kind of provide attitude and subtle to the cars design.. The cross body lines of the car takes the car to a whole new level.... The zig-zag body lines provide the aggression to the Merc and makes it look substantially more cooler and youthfully...the back tail gate is also designed great but the rear window is little bit too short which provides less visibility and allows less light into the cabin... the tail lights with bright LED's look really cool and match up with the design really well.... The Mercedes engineers have definitely got the right formula to design the cars for the young generation.... the Mercedes A-Class defies all the aspects of a conventional looking Mercedes and provide the customers with a whole new segment of customers....

Now coming to the interiors of the car.... Well the car cars a dark leather upholstery with a dark dashboard which really gives that sportyness and stealth look the car reallt wanted..The car's dashboard sits really high and have all kinds of controls mounted into it ... the sporty silver cross vents looks really cool and expensive with the central control screen sitting on the top of the dashboard really gives you the feeling of a glamours car...there are lots and lots of storage space provided in the car... The steering wheel is mounted with the paddle-shift gear and the A/C , window controls , stereo and bluetooth buttons on the steering wheel really makes the car feel glamourous...

The dails look really sporty and the blue amber glow behind the dials really make it look special and expensive.... There is a digital display with the parking sensors and the climate sensors and full pressure and various other indicators....
The dials do pop out and looks really ambient , clear and expensive...

The Second Row Seats really provide good head room

The Central Dash control with wooden trims.....

The seats are really well cushioned and feels really comfortable,, they are big and sporty looking ... The second roow seems a little bit cramped but the leg room is quiet deent comparing to other cars of this category... the dark upholstery does make the cabin space look more cramped and less spacious but does seems to bother much.. There is memory seat adujuster for the drivers seat and the wide panaromic sunroof just makes you a lot happy... The car hos got a great sound system and really keeps you happy all the time.. there is bluetooth connectivity and auxiloury port for ipads also... there is a bright big display screem which shows almost all informations, from SAT-NAV to FM RADIO and other sensors..all in all the whool cabin space feels worth every penny and does seems fully loaded..

THE VERDICT:-
The A-Class represents an important milestone for Mercedes-Benz. A completely new class of vehicle down to the last detail, the A-Class has been born out of a clean sheet of paper and sees the German luxury car maker usher into a new class of personal transportation that packs the classic Merc DNA into a smaller, more intuitive package. At Rs 21.93 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) for the A180 CDI Style model, the A-Class may be priced a tad higher than expected but is still the most affordable three-pointed star you can lay your hands on. Browse through comprehensive coverage on the A-Class for the all the information you ever needed about this luxury hatch

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