First Drive | 2019 Mercedes Benz A Class | Driving.ca

Mercedes-benz is no stranger to let’s call it pushing its cars into more realistic price points but with today’s compact cars being as good as they are it’s tough to see the value in something like an entry-level mercedes like this be 2019 a class sometimes you have to ask yourself why bother the 2019 a-class may see a solid case for the premium hatchback it’s been

Around in europe for more than 20 years but only this year is it coming to the us and canada as a 2019 but even then we’re still a little short change across the globe the a-class is available with three new engine options and two transmissions including a turbo diesel but we canadians only get the top of the lion 2-liter turbo 4 but that’s okay because it makes

221 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque paired to the standard 7-speed dual-clutch automatic and all-wheel drive it’s a snappy little car steering is just absolutely numb at low speeds but it wakes up with some feel the faster you go road noise is minimal but you might notice some extra whistling around the sunroof at highway speeds the closely-related cla and

Gla have seen their fair share of flag when it comes to they’re in tears but that is so not the case with the a-class as long as you aren’t counting on the supple leather out of the s-class you will not be disappointed but the real story inside the a-class is the tech a pair of sharp seven inch displays lifted right out of the e-class spending well so the dashboard

Will be standard this is home to mb us mercedes’s new infotainment system the gauge cluster can be configured to display an array of information think out is virtual cockpit while the center screen can be manipulated by a touchscreen or a new touchpad on the center console it might look a little intimidating at first but if you spent any time with a smartphone you

Will get the hang of mb ux in no time and once you do you’ll never go back to any other infotainment system it’s that good mb ux also includes a new voice command system it’s actually one of the more natural systems you could use and it’s activated simply by saying hey mercedes followed by your command that said it can be spotty and certain commands will trip it

Up naturally the a-class is chock-a-block full of active safety features blind spot watering adaptive cruise control a 360-degree camera i could go on but you get the idea when the a-class launches in canada this november it’s clear it won’t really be everyone’s cup of tea on one hand it’ll certainly appeal to those who are inseparable with our smartphones those

Types of consumers will just love the tech but on the other hand if all you want is more of a nicer or premium hatchback then you’ll probably be better off with something like a fully loaded volkswagen gti unless of course you go all up with the options at that point the a-class comes into a league all of its own with its thoroughly impressive tech just be prepared

To spend more than a few bucks on the options for driving dossier i’m nick regine

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First Drive | 2019 Mercedes Benz A Class | Driving.ca By Driving.ca