We recently spent some time behind the wheel of the smallest four-door member of the Mercedes-Benz family. We drove the Mercedes-Benz A200d Sedan to bring you this review.

Late in 2023 Mercedes-Benz South Africa introduced a revised A-Class into our market. We were recently loaned one of the updated A-Class derivatives to drive and interact with on a first-hand basis. The car placed in our care was the Mercedes-Benz A200d Sedan. 

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Entry point

There was a time when, if you wanted a Mercedes sedan, the most wallet-friendly version and the smallest in the range was the C-Class. As that model grew in size, a new entry point to Three-Pointed saloon ownership was needed. Enter the A-Class. This little car fulfills the space once occupied by the likes of the 190E. At four and a half metres it is larger than the 190, but the lines and general shape hide its overall size well. The shape and face are, arguably, the nicest in the segment.

Check out our A45S track video at this link.

Speaking of the visage, it is where Mercedes stylists have made a few changes. The headlamps have been restyled, as has the grille and lower section of the front bumper. There have also been changes to the LED taillamps. Only ardent Merc fans, or those who see the pre- and post-facelift cars side-by-side, will be able to tell them apart. At any rate, our loaner stood out thanks to a (n optional) lowered ride height and (optional) 19-inch AMG alloys in contrasting black. In fact, it was the same combo as the images above.

More Changes

The mid-life refresh of the A-Class included a few changes in the cabin as well. The driver is now met by a steering wheel that is reminiscent of that found in other current-day Merc products. It has the firm’s capacitive buttons. We still struggle to make accurate adjustments with this system. Thankfully, part of the upgrade is a physical volume control.

Another change is the adoption of two, ‘free-floating’ screens atop the facia. Our loan vehicle had the optional touchscreen, so the car has two 10,25-inch full colour displays. The instrument cluster can be set-up to display info as required eg navigation, trip info, etc. The overall appearance can also be changed based on your mood or driving attitude.

The second display is a touchscreen interface to engage with Mercedes’, now familiar, MBUX system. The screen offers crisp colour graphics and is fast in response. There is also a voice-activated assistant to control multiple functions. There is mobile phone connectivity via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, as well as a wireless charging port.

The cabin has a nice, high-tech feel to it and displayed none of the creakiness that we’ve experienced with a few other A-Class loaners. Perhaps Mercedes has addressed this issue with the refresh. Mercedes says that the boot volume is 395 litres, which makes is more voluminous than some larger SUVs.

On the move

The Mercedes-Benz A200d Sedan is, as you may have guessed, powered by a turbodiesel powerplant. The inline four has 110 kW of power and a healthy 320 N.m of torque at its disposal. The transversely mounted engine sends all of its power to the front wheels, which is unlike most other Merc products. The engine is a refined unit that most people would be hard-pressed to guess it is diesel fed.

An eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission sends power to the front wheels. The unit is best left to its own devices as it is well calibrated to the power delivery from the turbodiesel engine. The transmission shuffles near seamlessly between its eight ratios in a surreptitious manner.

The engine isn’t a firecracker, instead you drive the car on the wave of torque to make progress. Interestingly, the fuel consumption figure we average for the duration of our loan period was pretty close to the manufacturer’s claim. Typically there is a substantial gap between OEM claims and real-world numbers, but that was not the case here.

Summary

The Mercedes-Benz A200d Sedan is a stylish prospect has has the hallmarks of Mercedes. It is good-looking, has a modern cabin with good space for passengers and cargo. There is also good application of technology in the MBUX system as well as what’s under that sloping bonnet. But, and there is a big but…

The list price of the Mercedes-Benz A200d Sedan is just shy of a million rand. Yep, a million. Once you start to add the optional bits and pieces, Night Package, AMG wheels, LED multi-beam headlamps, etc, the price heads for R1,2m pretty quickly. We know that cars are expensive these days, but that is a LOT of money for what, in essence, an entry-level model.

Model: Mercedes-Benz A200d Sedan
Price: R944 450
Engine: 2,0-litre inline four, turbodiesel
Transmission: eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, FWD
Max power: 110 kW
Max torque: 320 N.m
Top speed: 227 km/h
0-100 km/h: 8,4 sec
Fuel consumption: 4,8-5,4 L/100 km (5,6 as reviewed)