Model tested: Mercedes A-Class A180 CDI Elegance
Price: £17,197
Date tested: August 2007
Road tester: Stuart Milne

Overall rating: 81%
Since the first A-Class of 1998, more than 1.1 million have found homes worldwide. Now in its second generation, the A-Class has grown and features over 200 patented designs.

1. Looks
The second-generation A-Class has a sportier stance than its predecessor – especially in three-door form. It has a pair of sweeping headlights up front, a bolder grille and flowing lines along the side.
8/10

2. Looks inside
The A-Class' interior is immediately recognisable as a Mercedes. High quality materials and an excellent fit and finish are employed throughout. Only the faux wood trim flanking the centre console cheapens the look.
9/10

3. Practicality
Offering a saloon car-sized cabin in a supermini-cum-MPV-sized car, interior space is excellent. The boot capacity is 395-litres but the rear seats can be folded or removed to increase this to 1,955 litres.
9/10

4. Ride and Handling
Despite the A-Class' lofty driving position, the car's ride and handling are more than competent. There's plenty of feel through the steering wheel, and bodyroll is absent.
8/10

5. Performance
The A180's 2-litre diesel engine produces 109bhp and 185lb/ft of pulling power to give a 0-62mph time of 10.8 seconds and a top speed of 115mph.
8/10

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6. Running Costs
Our test car averaged 45.3mpg – less than Mercedes' official 54.3mpg figure – and its emissions of 142g/km of CO2 (137g/km for the manual version) place it in tax Band C, which currently costs £115 per year. Insurance is group 7E.
7/10

7. Reliability
our A180 felt solid, free from squeaks or rattles, but the A-Class scores below average for the cost and frequency of breakdowns, largely due to its repair costs.
8/10

8. Safety
Scoring five stars in EuroNCAP crash tests, standard equipment includes two-stage airbags which deploy according to the severity of the collision and head/thorax airbags which replace the side airbags (in addition to driver and passenger airbags).
9/10

9. Equipment
Despite the £14,000 starting price, basic models are poorly equipped – the entry-level Classic does without air-con and alloys. Our test car featured electric rear windows, air-con, alloys, a cooled glovebox, a 12v socket in the rear, automatic headlights and wipers and a bulb failure indicator.
7/10

10. X-Factor
Combining Europe's love of small cars with Mercedes' iconic badge was a very smart move. But looking beyond the badge, the A-Class is a superb package which could be considered against far larger cars.
8/10