Does being FWD as opposed to RWD put you off the new A class?

FWD or RWD that is the choice for an A Class


  • Total voters
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I just had a flashback to being at Brands Hatch in my youth watching FWD minis battling RWD 3 wheeling Imps ! Then along came the Galaxies, Falcons, Escorts which possibly makes your point Steve !
 
Mercedes-Benz know what they're doing. They know their target audience in this segment and will have designed the car accordingly :)

For a car like an A-class, FWD is absolutely fine. Probably better in reality - easier for the target audience to drive (weight over the front wheels better/easier to control in snow etc) and probably better in terms of floorpan design?

As already mentioned, this is a family/shopping/urban car - not a Lotus Elise or M3 type car.

On a MB forum like this, you're bound to get the typical 'I am a driving god, RWD or nothing for me' type response - but in reality most buyers aren't.

I haven't owned many (hardly any!) FWD over the years, and do prefer RWD, but I can see FWD being the practical design choice for this segment - as have MB themselves :thumb:

Has FWD affected general sales of other comparable cars in this segment? Not significantly at all, I would suspect. Mini anyone?
 
BMW 1 series still pips it to the post according to a recent autoexpress group test. Want ultimate driver enjoyment in the segment, get the BMW

In a group test performed by autocar the focus trounced the bmw 1 series. As much as i like BMW the focus is by far a better car, but i could be biased as i did a lot of driver development on the original focus most of it at knockhill and around cumbria
 
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Back in the old days cars were RWD, I bought my first brand new car in 1985, it was FWD. It did feel a little different, but that may have been just down to the car rather than the drivetrain.

Now in a RWD Merc it doesn't feel a million miles different to the FWD's I'd been in for 25 years, but then I don't drive like Ken Block, or Jeremy Clarkson with his smoking rear tyres either. Conclusion is, as long as it drives OK and works reliably I suspect the average driver doesn't care.
 
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/mbclub-polls/145212-does-being-fwd-opposed-rwd-put-you

Everything puts me off in the new A class.:
 
Has FWD affected general sales of other comparable cars in this segment? Not significantly at all, I would suspect. Mini anyone?

Would RWD actually harm sales?

BMWs 1 series sells well, it has a defining feature as dies Audi's A3 with an interior befitting of a car costing over £40k. Whats the A classes one.

In cars sized as the A, 1er, A3 something else needs offered over above the norm. With the 1 series I can see it, with the A3 I can almost see it but the A is harder to pin down.

Its not been set up with massive comfort in mind or spaciousnous unlike the last one. The last one had a USP, space, comfort and easy access for old people. Not glamerous ones but ones that got chequebooks open.

This one is trying to be sporty, but BMW out does this as its RWD. RWD would have brought additional sales in from BMW 1 series drivers as its IMHO a more attractive car with slightly better trim and cabin design.

The mini's USP is style. The MB isn't quite as distinctive, although nice, to pull that off.

Engineering a hatch off a RWD platform for MB would have been easier I would have guessed.

In a group test performed by autocar the focus trounced the bmw 1 series. As much as i like BMW the focus is by far a better car, but i could be biased as i did a lot of driver development on the original focus most of it at knockhill and around cumbria

I drove a Mk1 and Mk2 focus. For FWD cars they were decent, but not IMHO RWD pleasant. Auto expresses review of Focus/Golf/BMW and IIRC A3 was that the Focus was a keen drivers choice, but the new 1er still pipped it. Anyone considering a focus won't be considering an A class or 1 series and vice versa.

Whats really interesting is this poll. So far RWD and FWD are matched for preferrance, people actually would choose a FWD over a RWD car. There's a whopping surprise in there for me anyway.
 
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the new Audi A3 sportback would be my choice .. elegant, stylish, crisp, beautifully built (cheaper than A class) and does not shout look at me. Soon available in quattro.

next would be the new Golf, which again, to my eyes, is just right.

The A class is far too busy, and looks like a Renault Scenic with an MB star on its face.
 
Feeling stupid as I'd been assuming the A was RWD for some reason. Of course it is FWD. :doh:

To be fair, it'll be competing with A3 and 1 series hatch. A3 doesn't get slated for being FWD. Sure some 1 series buyers want RWD but do the majority actually care or even know which are the driven wheels? If it wasn't for BMW's marketing department I bet even fewer would care!

Disappointing that the CLA will be FWD though. :(

The difference is small but you can feel the difference driving a RWD car and it's definitely my preference.
 
As I posted elsewhere ;) :-

The " thing " about FWD is packaging. With-- in most cases the engine and gearbox and differential mounted transversely and no intrusive propshaft --a huge amount of car/van internal space is liberated. The lack of a propshaft, rear differential and drive shafts also allows the development of simple [ cheaper?] rear suspension elements freeing up the rear of the car which makes offering a "hatch back" much easier In many ways its easier to engineer "safer cars" with a transverse engine gearbox layout since in the event of a heavy collision the largely "uncompressible" engine/gearbox "block" is spread over a wider cabin front bulkhead area than the fore and aft engine "spear of destiny" orientation more likely to intrude into the passenger compartment. The economic arguments for FWD are pretty unassailable I'm afraid despite their poorer handling characteristics. The handling/ packaging "solution" might possibly answered in the new Mercedes A CLASS with its transverse engine gearbox layout and its "on demand" 4WD system which may give you the more desirable neutral handling throttle steering people crave with that additional cabin space and hatchback layout. Mercedes should steal a march on the opposition by offering it on more models than the ridiculously priced AMG model.:fail
 
Grober, thing is, that on demand 4wd system has a drive shaft going to the back, so the space element is lost. So if the car has been designed to take it, then it can take RWD as the design is in place.

I agree with the packaging benefits, but MB went away from clever packaging by abandoning the sandwich floor lay out of its predecessors
 
My biased opinion is that a FWD hatchback should be practical, like the Honda Civic, which has a 477 litre boot compared to:

Focus 316
Golf 350
1 series 360
A-class 341

I'm sure this doesn't tell the whole story as rear occupant leg room may well be very different but it's still a consideration. Two points spring to mind:

1- as far as I know of the above cars only the Civic uses a rear trailing arm suspension. So it's likely that customers who buy the Civic don't care that the car is not the last word in ride and handling but appreciate the added practicality.

2- All the above cars except the Civic have a smaller boot than my Audi A2 (390 litres). So in the past decade most family hatchbacks have become more economical but not better designed IMHO
 
wemorgan said:
My biased opinion is that a FWD hatchback should be practical, like the Honda Civic, which has a 477 litre boot compared to:

Focus 316
Golf 350
1 series 360
A-class 341

I'm sure this doesn't tell the whole story as rear occupant leg room may well be very different but it's still a consideration. Two points spring to mind:

1- as far as I know of the above cars only the Civic uses a rear trailing arm suspension. So it's likely that customers who buy the Civic don't care that the car is not the last word in ride and handling but appreciate the added practicality.

2- All the above cars except the Civic have a smaller boot than my Audi A2 (390 litres). So in the past decade most family hatchbacks have become more economical but not better designed IMHO

Notice that the RWD one hasn't got the smallest boot. Leg room iirc isn't a 1 series strong point but if space for back seat passengers is an issue at 1 series price level larger cars offer more space.

MBs missed a trick and could offer more powerful models below the AMG 45 if rwd was there
 
I would never have guessed that the 1 series would have a larger boot than the Focus. I see the Fiesta has 295L, which makes the Focus seem worse still. Maybe Ford want people to buy a C-max if they need a 1/2 decent sized boot.

But back to the A-class. 341L is OK and similar enough to the Golf that also comes in 4WD variants.
 
I find it unbelievable , and I have friends who say this, that they can't tell the difference between a fwd car and a rwd car. I think the fact is, us guys on the forum, love and understand cars and believe it or not we are in the minority. If Merc is going to survive and still make the mad c63 and SLS etc, they have to appeal to the mainstream. Unfortunately for us, the A class does this.
 
Tinck said:
I find it unbelievable , and I have friends who say this, that they can't tell the difference between a fwd car and a rwd car. I think the fact is, us guys on the forum, love and understand cars and believe it or not we are in the minority. If Merc is going to survive and still make the mad c63 and SLS etc, they have to appeal to the mainstream. Unfortunately for us, the A class does this.

Rwd never hurt BMW sales in this sector and it appealed to more enthusiasts. Not one sale I bet of the new a class would be lost if it were rwd but more gained.
 
MBs missed a trick and could offer more powerful models below the AMG 45 if rwd was there


Ford Focus RS 350 bhp and front wheel drive and having had one i can confirm it handled the power very well.. Dont get me wrong if you abused it there was still a little torque steer, but it amazed me how well it coped..


As for the debate, i realy dont think average joe cares, he just thinks, that looks nice in red, i'll take it..
 
horses

It's horses for courses.

FWD Suits the A Class.

I drove all the way up to Lillehammer in the depth of Winter in a FWD VW T5. Running on standard M+S Tyres.

But I would not want FWD in a large motorhome like we have now. So we have a 6 Wheel Motorhome driven by 4 Wheels in RWD form. This is shod with Winter Tyres.

But if I needed 4X4 0r 6X6 i would not be driving on those low profile elastic bands they have on many Chelsea Tractors.

TM
 

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