Hot hatches aren't meant to be luxurious. Hot hatch means sporty ass hatchback. Look at it's competitors, build and material quality but sticks to sportiness and blends in. The only reason someone will ever buy an A250 is because the 'badge' or an A45 wannabe. Never seen a GTI with an R body kit 🤷🏻♂️
I dunno. I think there is definitely a space for warm hatches, not least because some people don’t want to spend as much as their hotter siblings cost. The A250 (or anything really in this Golf GTI-ish power output region) makes a nice daily, plenty of torque, comfy suspension, but as the B-roll shows, it doesn’t mind being driven spiritedly along a mountain pass.
Chasing Cars your point makes sense, I have driven an R and it's not a good daily car, it's not comfy as my GTI.. but Mercedes must've put more effort onto designing the taillights to make it look aggressive. If that makes sense to you.
Its a really nice looking car but the question is, has MB improved some of their service and after sales support. I had heard that it was a bit ordinary, as I am currently driving a Lexus, so I can attest to what excellent service is like.
Chasing Cars As I have never been fortunate enough to have bought a premium or even brand new car, what does great aftersales entail? Is it just in regards to servicing the vehicle?
MaZEEZaM It can range from just being treated politely, and believed by service personnel if you report a rattle or fault, and having this properly investigated - right through to the Lexus end of the spectrum, where the dealer collects your car for service from your home and leaves you with a loan car, and reverses that process at the end of the day. Seamless!
Raven16691 Well, that’s a good question. Why do both exist? I’m not even sure. What I do know is that the A-Class sedan has a little more rear headroom than the CLA, and the exterior styling is more conservative. I suppose that might suit some small four door buyers.
Chasing Cars I wouldn’t mind betting it’s a U.S thing where if you listen to most they seem to dislike small hatch backs, I also think it’s why there’s a A3/S3/RS3 sedan.
Great review Tom - I’d have the AMG 35 or 45 or stick to a Megane RS280 that seems a value buy - actually rather than an A250 4matic I’d go for a Golf R I think 🤔 if wanted AWD
$65-70k AUD is a lot of cash for this small a car, but the plushness and the serious tech factor make it a compelling proposition if you want a premium badge.
Waylon Payne Entry-level Model 3 money, sure. That car is a bit quicker and obviously zero tailpipe emissions but this high-spec Benz has far higher levels of specification, a higher quality interior, less weight and a totally different form factor. Whatever works for you!
No problem, glad you enjoyed it! The equivalent BMW was the outgoing 125i, which used a two-litre turbo petrol to make 165kW/310Nm. There won't immediately be a new 125i when the new-shape 1 Series launches in Australia in the coming months.
Chasing Cars Sorry Tom, I own this car too in mountain grey color and it’s a W177 A250 AMG Line but it’s not a 4Matic version. I just wonder how come you have it in 4Matic version. It’s ok, I’ll check this out with Asian Mercedes Group later. Thanks anyway.👌
First Mercedes launched the 250, after a couple of months they added the 250 4matic version, simple as that. At least here in Europe... you should have waited.... 😉
WinkelHoof Oh I see. Yes, this is an awesome car. Unfortunately the version wont be coming in to my country. But anyway all is not lost. I have already ordered mine the latest AMG A45S hatchback. Delivery is expected by end of this year. 😉
As much as this looks really nice, I'm just not sure I could buy another Merc after having quite a poor experience with the C200 Bluetec that we bought for my Mum. The 1.6 Turbo Diesel is such a slow and laggy motor, run flats give a harsh ride and cost alot to replace ($300 per tyre), the non command navigation system is very glitchy and slow and all the other random issues such as doors randomly opening whilst driving have really disappointed us. We're now looking at replacing it with a Lexus IS300 as we have had several Lexus vehicles with no issues.
Sounds like a disaster. As with many entry-level luxury cars, the A-Class (and C-Class it seems) are very specification-dependent. This A250 4Matic w/ IRS+adaptive dampers is great, but an A200 AMG Line w/ torsion beam on fixed dampers I drove six months ago was deeply average. The glitches in your mother’s car are inexcusable but the other elements of spec show that the effort really isn’t put into the entry-level grades.
@@chasingcars Thanks for the reply Tom, what are your thoughts on the Lexus IS300 Luxury? I know it's getting a little old now but after selling an 08 RX400h with over 300,000 km's on it and now also owning a 2016 RX450h with nearly 40,000 km's we are very confident in the Lexus brand.
If I’d been burned and was after a really easy, reliable experience, I’d want to buy a Lexus too. Nothing wrong with the IS300 - which steers and rides well - though I felt like the turbo and 8 speed auto combo was a little clunky at times.
