[Dr.AD]

Fantastic review with nice photos! The car itself generates "mixed feelings", but the review is very good!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

However, the car did showcase some of the accessories from Mercedes for the A-Class, which includes the dual dashcam package that is priced at Rs. 58,939:

This one caught my attention, because of my bad experience with similarly high-priced BMW dashcam. These are some ridiculous prices for dashcams. BMW dual dashcam, called BMW Advanced Eye 2.0 is priced at MRP of some Rs. 70k and retails somewhere about Rs. 50k after some discounts. But the video quality is only at par with any Rs. 10k dashcam, and the software is full of bugs. Overall, the BMW dashcam is not better than any typical Rs. 10k dashcam. The only advantage is that it very nicely integrated with the car and has lot of features related to integration with car electronics.

I wonder how does the Mercedes dashcam fare in comparison. Is it worth Rs. 59k price tag? What are the Mercedes owners' experiences of this dashcam?

[speedmiester]

A great review as always. A baby Merc in the familiar sedan form.

Got to know from a very well placed source that the A-Class has received tremendous response in terms of pre-booking. The waiting period will be in multiple months.
Hope Mercedes prices it sensibly.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Request to mods:
Pls remove the word ‘Limousine’ from the title of the thread. It can be replaced with something more correct like ‘sedan’

For the US market - the car is named A Class Sedan, UK it is A Class Saloon, and here it is A Class Limousine.

We need to live with it.

Originally Posted by Dippy

The media drive cars were CBUs and hence the spare wheel in the boot. The locally produced cars will have the spare wheel in a wheel well below the boot floor as told to me by Mercedes at the drive.

Great to hear that!

Will keep a watch on ownership reports and add an update to the review accordingly.

Originally Posted by condor

Not sure how it looks in person, but from the pics the dash looks a bit confused: looks Two layered, bulbous, with those overdone a/c vents. And a very sleek display console that is not styled the same as the rest of the dash (which looks retro-ish).

If you like minimalist dashboard designs - then this will surely not appeal to you, even in person. This dashboard has been designed to catch the buyer's attention - be it day or night!

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

For the US market - the car is named A Class Sedan, UK it is A Class Saloon, and here it is A Class Limousine.

We need to live with it.

An A Class and Limousine, just don't go together in the same sentence
If this is a Limo, what are S Class's and Maybach's?

Great little car nonetheless; Mercedes could have given the diesel some more power though.

[The21st]

The previous A class looks like the elder siblings. Personally I love this design more than the old one but still there is a feeling that this new design is screaming that it is an entry level Mercedes more than the old one.
The claimed fuel efficiency of 21.35 is nice.

[Attorviator]

Hi, I believe those are Michelin Primacy* 3MOs

Alloy wheels look nicer from a distance than up close. These 'aero alloys' are a side-effect of the 0.22 drag co-efficient. Our test car came with Michelin Primary 3MO in 205/55 R17, but we also spotted Bridgestone Turanza T005 RFT tyres in the media fleet:

P.S. that Diwali-esque interior lighting is sure to cause headaches for photo-sensitive people! Lighting even the AC vents seems a tad bit over-done IMHO. Essentially, it's money which could have been spent in bumping up engine performance

[rrsteer]

Great review and so many pictures, wow!
Why was the traditional T-bhp review feature - what you like/ won't like not added to the review? Had that not been omitted wouldn't have read the full review - which I am glad I did, because of the level of detail.
Probably would add some numbers for Mercedes depending on how its priced, but feels like a pointless car to me.

[GTO]

Thanks Crazy_Driver & Chetan_Rao for a truly comprehensive review done in record time ! I find it hard to believe that you guys only drove the car on Friday, and had the review ready by Sunday morning! Accurate observations, great detail & phenomenal team work .

The A-Class sedan can be popular if (and a big IF) it is priced to sell. The BMW 2-Series Gran Coupe was priced to fail and most new launches from the luxury marques are overpriced today (Audi Q2 as well). If Mercedes puts a bit of VFM into the launch price, it might attract first-time brand owners as the car looks fabulous, drives well (diesel) and the rear bench is better now. There is no major deal breaker. On the flip side, Mercedes must take care not to compromise on its core values (Why car companies shouldn't move away from their core values). Complaints about sub-par NVH in a car like this is inexplicable when you consider that 10-lakh rupee Hyundais are butter-smooth.

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Why was the traditional T-bhp review feature - what you like/ won't like not added to the review?

We may or may not do it with embargo drives, because of being pressed for time. If & when the car comes to Bombay for a longer TD, we will definitely add it to the start of the review. Example, the Kia Sonet's likes & dislikes were added after a while.

[viXit]

Thank you for the detailed report, rating 5 stars.

Adding the NCAP report was a nice touch, kindly incorporate this in all the official reviews going forth, It would help to have most information in one review thread's beginning.

Few questions,

• -Does it come with ventilated or heated seats?
• -Are the headlights adaptive or normal ones?
• -I remember that many of mercedes' safety features were de-activated for the Indian market since our govt. doesn't allow the use of radar based technology, any changes of that sort this time over?
• lastly, Is the grille interchangeable with the diamond studden one??? This seems S-U-P-E-R boring

-a

[vb-saan]

Great review CD and Chetan!

I really like the A-Class sedan (I will completely resist calling this small car a limousine). Have seen a couple of them in our apartment complex and incidentally just yesterday the Grab car (Uber equivalent here in Singapore) which came for pic-up was a A-Class sedan. I see it as a more sensible or conservative version of CLA, and in that sense the backseat was pretty comfortable. I believe this has all the right ingredients to be successful in India, provided they price it sensibly. Anything around the vicinity of 330i Sport pricing could make it difficult for the A.

[sachin2612]

Looks like Jack of all trades, master of none.

Hope Mercedes learns from Audi Q2 and BMW 2 series and price it sensibly.

[AMG Power]

The Apollo Alnac is a tyre that is very common, low priced, lacking in brand equity yet will do everything that a Michelin XM2 will do equally well if not marginally better.

Shift to the Mercedes and there is a feeling of dejavu. It is not just Merc but all the big 3 that are losing on their earlier sheen, desirability and engineering quotient. Because others are catching up in key areas of engine, transmission, suspension and handling.

Why would anyone want to fork out good money for a Renault-Nissan designed engine in a Merc when a far better VW designed engine is available in the Octavia? I exclude the ones after the badge but those interested in the price / performance / handling ratio.

This lackadaisical approach in key areas makes the performance variants of these marques their only area of superiority. And at the top end, the S 650 / Maybach, the A8 60 TFSI and the 760Li still shine through. A few like the 330i and the 530d also hold their ground.

Except for these, at the entry and and mid levels - an almost equally good experience can be had for much lower money.

Maybe it’s good times for us customers.

[kamilharis]

Thank you CD and Chetan for the quick review of baby Merc.

I really hope that this car is priced well so that some of us can fulfill the dream of owning a 3 pointed star.

The interior looks stunning at the night with those illuminated Aircon vents, are you watching BMW? You keep illuminating that ugly grill to make sure that it is not left unnoticed.

I would like to see some funky colors on this A-class, similar to what we see in the Tiagos I would say.
Shades of Red, Yellow, Orange, and why not a green (AMG shade) ?? Anyway this is targeted at the youth and they don't need that boring white or silver!

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Except for these, at the entry and mid-levels - an almost equally good experience can be had for much lower money.

But we must also admit that these A-Class or 2 Series are made for those who wish to own the badge at least. The badge is the priority here with these entry-level Mercs. Who wouldn't love to see a 3 pointed star in his garage, while sipping a morning coffee. ? I wish!

[Venkatesh]

Mercedes-AMG A35 review

https://youtu.be/tj1pXTywwqA

[veedub89]

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-rev...t-drive-420085

Autocar India's review of the A35 is out!