[Merc_Freak]

Looks are appealing, equipment list is plenty, and seems like a good package overall to enter into the luxury car segment. The only thing that doesn’t sit well with me is the pricing. It honestly seems quite shocking to me that such a small entry level car from Mercedes is priced 40L ex showroom, considering that just 6 years ago, I bought my E-Class at 44L OTR
! This car is not a good deal to buy right now, but with good discounts around the festive season, can become a great deal.

[Venkatesh]

2021 Mercedes-AMG A35 review

https://youtu.be/9IH_bwj6oOo

[MCR]

When you think you are the only Luxury car manufacturer in the country and turn a "blind eye" to the competition
Comparison Credit : Carwale

[yoakki]

Originally Posted by MCR

When you think you are the only Luxury car manufacturer in the country and turn a "blind eye" to the competition
Comparison Credit : Carwale

The same can be said for BMW 2 series Gran Coupé, so this argument doesn't really stand -- although I agree both cars are overpriced as heck.

[MCR]

Originally Posted by yoakki

The same can be said for BMW 2 series Gran Coupé, so this argument doesn't really stand -- although I agree both cars are overpriced as heck.

The 2 Series Gran Coupe is around 7 Lakhs cheaper as compared to the 3 series. So Technically speaking (ignoring the discounts part) there is a price gap. However, the A Class Limousine is actually trying to compete with a 3 Series price wise. This is silly and that is what I wanted to highlight.

[sampadroy]

Mercedes has got no chill! Another silent price increase from MBIL!
Seems like these new increased prices will come into effect from the next quarter...

The old ex-showroom prices (was anyway overpriced!) of the A-Limo:



And now, the new ex-showroom price of A200 (Direct 1.3L increment):



The new ex-showroom price of the A200d (Direct 2.3L increment):

[ajmat]

In a mad lapse of judgement, I decided to consider some new cars to test drive and I looked at the A200! Despite the small engine, I kept an open mind

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

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!

The dashboard is busy, you do feel you got your moneys worth. However, the gear stalk is a disappointment. You like it to to be substantial and stand out from a normal control.

I drove this straight after testing the 220i M Sport. The fascia in that car is classy, discrete and not like so much like an Xmas tree.

Originally Posted by GTO

Complaints about sub-par NVH in a car like this is inexplicable when you consider that 10-lakh rupee Hyundais are butter-smooth.

The engine was fairly smooth and refined. Not silent but acceptable.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Interior quality isn't disappointing IMHO, it is only the space and the feature set that might be disappointing to those used to Mercedes standards.

Interior quality is decent but not up their compared to the bigger Mercedes saloons.

Originally Posted by mudhasir

I read in few places and also in media reviews that the A class will have dedicated spare tyre space under the boot and that only media drive vehicles had placed it open in the boot.

They've done a BMW and levelled the area around the spare wheel to create a bottom layer. This ensures a flat floor although the boot is long and shallow.

Drove it mainly in traffic. As a city car, it was a hoot to drive. The small engine means less weight over the wheels. The DCT was well matched and it was fairly eager into corners. By comparison, the M220 was a little nose heavy although its steering had better feel. Once you understood the engine sweet spot, it was quite peppy and easy to slot into traffic.

I liked it however - Rs 50+ big ones for this, I find it difficult to stomach this. Another test would be to drive it on a highway to understand whether it could actually sustain press-on driving.

As a classy quality commute car for the wrong side of Rs 35 Lakhs may be but not at this price

[Crazy_Bean]

Team,

" Can someone help start a new thread for my car search"

Looking for a performance car with a 70 Lac budget. The car will be driven 99% of the time with maybe 1-2 passengers. The usage will be in Delhi NCR. Ground clearance is helpful given the road conditions. The car needs to be an amalgamation of daily usage and performance thrills (Wont be just a weekend car). Looking to own the car for 5-7 years minimum so novelty shouldnt wear off.

Need list:
1. Fast and exhilerating
2. Ground clearance
3. Moderatly comfortable
4. Looker/ Presence
5. Petrol
6. SUV/Hatchback shape preferred
7. Fuss free to maintain
8. Good exhaust (Prefer pops and bangs)

Shortlist

1. Mercedes A35, GLA35
Pros:
- Love the interiors
- Tech
- Sporty feel
- Price (Within budget)
- Feels young

Cons
- Exhaust
- A35 (Ground clearance)
- 4 cylinder


2. M340i
Pros:
- Power!!
- Tech
- Sporty feel
- Price (Within budget)

Cons
- Exhaust
- Looks quite ordinary to common eye
- Ground clearance
- Feel is quite basic (Interior/exterior)


3. 330i
Pros:
- Price
- Comfort
- Tech

Cons:
- Not a sports car feel
- Exhaust
- 4 cyclinder

4. C43 (less preferred)/ GLC43 (Mainly)
Pros
- Ground clearance
- Tech
- Body style
- Power

Cons
- Fuel efficiency
- Price


What do you guys think and should i consider other cars in the budget.

[romil.shroff]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Bean

What do you guys think and should i consider other cars in the budget.

Just few pointers from my end:

1) A35 AMG, although very expensive for its segment, comes with a standard 8-year warranty on the engine, transmission and turbocharger. This is a massive plus, in my opinion.

2) BMW M340i is my favorite pick from all the options you've mentioned. Compared to the A35 AMG, it gets 50% more cylinders & displacement, 25% more power and 20% more torque! The upfront premium of 5L will be recovered at the time of resale.

3) Any specific reason you haven't considered the new Audi S5? It's pricey but with mouth watering discounts, it could be an amazing purchase. It has super cool paint options and slightly better ground clearance than A35 and M340i. Plus, it has slightly better ride compared to the above two. However, it'll depreciate quicker than its competitors.

4) Jaguar XE P250 is a good option too but I guess, you avoided it considering its reliability and After Sales Support of JLR.

5) GLC 43 AMG is a lucrative option as well but is also the most expensive one from this list!

[Cresterk]

I have been offered an A35 amg sedan for 0% roi. It’s Mercedes finance, not lease and I just need to pay the road tax + insurance as down payment and can get the entire ex showroom price as an interest free loan. I was considering a GLA 220d and I had never considered getting a petrol car but being offered an AMG does feel tempting. The total price is around 72l onroad here in Kerala.

Is the suspension too stiff and unusable as a daily driver? The price is above my budget but it’s doable if the A35 holds more resale value than the normal GLA. Would I even be able to find a buyer for this 5 years down the line?

[TheARUN]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I have been offered an A35 amg sedan for 0% roi. It’s Mercedes finance, not lease and I just need to pay the road tax + insurance as down payment and can get the entire ex showroom price as an interest free loan. I was considering a GLA 220d and I had never considered getting a petrol car but being offered an AMG does feel tempting. The total price is around 72l onroad here in Kerala.

Is the suspension too stiff and unusable as a daily driver? The price is above my budget but it’s doable if the A35 holds more resale value than the normal GLA. Would I even be able to find a buyer for this 5 years down the line?

Very tricky situation you are in, but trust me, most of us would love to be in the situation you are in

0% interest is not really 0%, it comes with inflation factored in to the present value of money. This is the best deal you can get however you look at it.

The Used car market for Germans is going to be brutal. Out of warranty Germans and going to be beaten down terribly, that is a harsh reality you would have to factor in.

As a daily driver, this is going to be hard to beat. The compact dimensions would be a boon in the city and the heft is going to pop eye balls all day long

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by TheARUN

0% interest is not really 0%, it comes with inflation factored in to the present value of money. This is the best deal you can get however you look at it.

I'm still going to be paying around 20l extra over the normal A class I was looking at. Granted this is a more valuable car than that but it would only make financial sense if the resale is also proportionally higher. I guess this is the new way of discounts since offering actual discounts were phased out with Merc's new inventory model.

The Used car market for Germans is going to be brutal. Out of warranty Germans and going to be beaten down terribly, that is a harsh reality you would have to factor in.

It comes with a complimentary 8 year powertrain warranty which is the main reason I am looking at the entry level Merc models. While I'm ok with the 25-40k ish yearly maintenance figures for entry level germans, I do not know how much more expensive an AMG's service will be. I do not expect those ventilated brakes and other stuff to last long at all and I think most of the spare parts are imported. I am wary of being hit with S class tier service bills. I can't find information about the service costs of an AMG in India anywhere.

And of course, I expect the warranty to be contingent on following every single recommended item by the service advisor at the authorised service center. So no getting OEM parts from reputed sources without the dealership markup like many Bhpians do nor will going to a third party garage for something as simple as an oil change or alignment be feasible.

As a daily driver, this is going to be hard to beat. The compact dimensions would be a boon in the city and the heft is going to pop eye balls all day long

I'm sure its really fun to drive but will the suspension and ground clearance really be okay with our Indian roads? No real point of all that power if I have to slow down to a crawl at every pothole

[Tony2298]

We all know how much of a respect a three pointed star in the automotive industry holds in the minds of people and the respect you command after stepping out from one of them is paramount and in fact it is a dream for many people(including me ) to own a car with this badge stuck on its nose. So I just decided to drop by a nearby Mercedes Benz Showroom and check out their new entry level car the A Class Limousine, it may be an entry point offering but still remember it costs 50L OTR so it better be good out of the box, so here goes my impressions followed by a TD experience as well.

The car looks really nice and has a fresh and youthful vibe to it unlike its elder siblings which are more stately in comparison, it may upset a few loyalists but would appeal well to the younger audience who are supposedly targeted by Merc.

Speaking about the dimensions, Merc claims it is the longest, tallest and has the largest wheelbase in its segment though truth be told it is at the most as big as say a 5th gen Honda City, not bad but not that much big to justify its "Limousine" nameplate IMHO.


The display car was shod with 205/55R17 Bridgestone Turanza RFT tires and the alloy wheels looked really nice and proportionate too though I'm not so sure about the quality of the tires itself and Merc should've rather given Michelins as standard(they only offered it in the AMGs) and needless to say there were full wheel claddings all around, after all its a Merc and not even tiniest of cost cutting should be visible even if its an entry level product.


Now coming to the interiors Merc have really played it out of the park and given a very nice looking, brimming with tech cabin which also has an old-school vibe to it. The large single panel which houses both the touchscreen infotainment and the digital instrument cluster was really classy looking and very high-res too. Special mention must be made about the unlacquered wood finish which in Mercs language is the open pore wood trim was truly elegant looking and helped in adding the old school charm we love about Mercs.

The Mercs COMAND system even has a very intuitive touch pad at the center console which had a really awesome haptic feedback with a tactile sound emitted from the tweeters and the whole experience was surreal, also the sound system too which IIRC is provided by Burmester was crisp sounding as well.

Coming to the steering wheel it IMHO was the best part of the car IMO, its wrapped in an exquisite leather wrap with perfect stitching, also all the switchgears were tactile and my favorite bit were the small touch pads(similar to what we get in BlackBerry keypad phones, if anybody remembers them ) which helped in interacting with the infotainment system and the instrument cluster, also yes they also featured paddle shifters)

Space inside was much better than I expected and the promise of being the most spacious in its cabin was indeed true and even though headroom wasn't very good there was adequate kneeroom, also there were rear air con vents and armrest with retractable cupholders too though I must say the bench is best for two thanks to not so generous girth and the huge central tunnel, also not related but I must add that the ambient lighting(which has 64configuarble colors!) around the door handles, central console and air con vents did add a special vibe in the cabin and does made it feel luxurious.

Now coming to the drive experience and as you may know I'm a dieselhead so obviously I asked for a TD of the A200d, for the uninitiated the A220d is powered by a 4cylinder 2000cc Common Rail Turbocharged Diesel engine putting out 150BHP and 320Nm of torque via a 8G-DCT automatic transmission, for those keen about the gasoline version, the A200 is powered by a 1.3L Turbo Petrol engine(the same one found in the erstwhile Renault Duster Turbo and Nissan Kicks Turbo!) mated to a 7G-DCT putting out 163BHP and 250Nm of torque. Regarding 0-100 figures the former takes 8.2sec and has a top speed of 227kmph while the latter takes 8.3sec and has a top speed of 230kmph.

On firing up the A220d you're greeted by a mild clatter which does settle down after a while, you can tell its a diesel but its not an irritating clatter. As you start driving and after reaching normal speeds you would be passed off if its a petrol, also the 8G-DCT is quite smooth in its operation without having that trademark slow speed jerkiness we usually associate with DCTs and the downshifts are quite snappy as well, also as usual you can change the drive modes as well which alter the steering feedback, throttle sharpness, gearbox behavior and air conditioning, also regarding air conditioning it was quite effective as well though the switches for operating them felt a bit plasticky and not befitting in a Merc, a single thing which I was disappointed inside the cabin.

Since the test drive was within city limits I couldn't push the car to higher speeds so can't comment about the high speed stability but I can definitely comment about its low speed ride quality and I must say Merc have done a rather commendable job with the suspension tuning of the A Class, it absorbs the bumps and imperfections with a soft, velvety feel and TBH riding over bad roads in the A Class was quite enjoyable! The steering too was über light at low speeds and the turnings were quite easy too, again I can't comment about its sharpness and behavior since the TD was too short and in the city limits only.

At this point I must tell some other points about the A Class, since Merc is expecting a lot of first time buyers they are offering an industry first 8years standard warranty on the drivetrain, suspension and electrical components, also what makes it unique is that it is transferrable too which means the warranty would still be honored even after the car has changed hands, also the A Class does come packed with Mercedes me Connected car tech too, regarding pricing I must say Merc has been pretty competitive to and the price for A200 petrol is 44L and A200d diesel is 46L ex-showroom India. The car is currently having a 6month waiting period as well.

To sum it up Merc has done a commendable job with their new A Class limousine, this car is far more practical than the erstwhile CLA coupé and is a whole lot more desirable than the earlier A&B Class hatchbacks though still something like a Škoda Superb is a far better value but the thing is that 3pointed star is too desirable to let go off and I guess which makes it a winner product for Mercedes Benz India.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I have been offered an A35 amg sedan for 0% roi. It’s Mercedes finance, not lease and I just need to pay the road tax + insurance as down payment and can get the entire ex showroom price as an interest free loan. I was considering a GLA 220d and I had never considered getting a petrol car but being offered an AMG does feel tempting. The total price is around 72l onroad here in Kerala.

Is the suspension too stiff and unusable as a daily driver? The price is above my budget but it’s doable if the A35 holds more resale value than the normal GLA. Would I even be able to find a buyer for this 5 years down the line?

Update on this. Talked to the dealer and apparently the offer is valid only for the A35 amg sedan. Despite my best efforts, the GLA is only offered with the usual 7.49% interest rate sadly. I decided to decline due to worries about ground clearance on Kerala roads. Feel free to DM me if anyone here is interested in the A35 sedan and I will pass on the details.

[FlyinLow]

I have been looking around in the used car market for 530d M Sport with white interiors, with a budget of about 50 - 60L. Failed to locate any since a while.

Then turned my eyes towards the preowned or new recent 330Li M Sport, but I literally hate that dark mocha seats they come with. I prefer only the longer wheelbase ones but the prices are shooting northwards.

Tried the 2 series and disliked the compact space.

Then turned my eyes towards the Merc E200/220d (82.7L++ onroad). Found the following short comings (just not done for a car of this segment):
- No phone charging pads in the front
- No 360 deg camera, no HUD
- Too much clustered controls on the steering
- Compromised boot space
- Manual steering adjustment
- Initial pick up is a drag


Checked out the Current C200 (64.2L++ onroad):
- Awesome interiors, but there's a 4 -5 mths waiting period and no discounts
- Prices will rise by about 2.2L ex S-R in the new year
- No 360 deg camera (how foolish)
- The front seats side bolters on the back felt uncomfortable

Checked out a preowned A200d:
- Fits most check boxes but its an entry level Merc after all
- Rear seat knee space is fine, but there's very little room to slide your boots under the front seats
- No 360 deg camera here either
- Not sure if it justifies 42L+++ price tag

I'm confused.