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
    68
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Sorry guys my mistake I thought the 1 was a 3 door only.
 
Same question could be asked of many cars I guess - CLS vs. E-class for example?

And a welcome choice that is. Plenty space in the base product....

Looks.

The C Class saloon still has the look of middle aged sales rep at best, and oap at worst.

The CLA conveys and altogether younger image.

....Given that a heavily stylised body usually costs in terms of interior space - is the FWD platform a better start point re packaging to achieve reasonable space within a sleeker shape and reasonably small footprint?
 
Just read the What Car? test of A200 cdi sport Vs A3 2.0 tdi 150 se Vs 1 series 118d se Vs Golf tdi 150 se.

A class pretty much gets slated, comes last out of all 4. They sum it up :

For: Sharp styling; smart interior; mercs good reliability record

Against: High price; poor ride; sloppy handling; noisy engine

Verdict: A long way off the pace in too many important areas

1st A3 - 5 stars
2nd Golf - 5 stars
3rd Bmw - 4 stars
4th Merc - 2 stars

:fail

IMHO it is the best looking when you see them side by side though
 
So the RWD BMW came 2nd from last? Beaten by a Golf and an Audi A3...

High price and noisy engine on the Merc won't be countered by a RWD chassis.

Looks like there's more to a good/bad hatchback car than front/rear drive layout :thumb:
 
I think most are missing the point of this thread.

Steve was asking if Mercedes had missed a trick by going FWD in regard to getting a younger more driver focused audience into the brand.

What Car? is aimed at the demographic who probably already aspire to owning a Mercedes anyway.
Steve was asking why Mercedes had marketed the new A Class as the young, sporty, driver focused car and then not made it anything like that apart from in the looks department?

Mercedes will get the What Car? customers anyway, regardless of anything other than badge and looks, but they had a real chance here to make it 'the hot hatch to own' with the EVO readers too.
Which, once hooked on the A Class may move onto the AMGs etc.


I guess this forum is definitely more What Car? than EVO.

Don't get me wrong, I group myself in the former these days, but I never wanted a Merc till recently as until recently I wasn't middle aged.
 
I think you have answered the question.

Yes Mercedes have marketed the A Class as a "sporty car" in the UK at least.
Yes its image is based more on looks than substance.
Yes Mercedes still relies on brand image to sell product and does so very successfully.
Will it sell? Only time will tell but initial sales demand seems favourable.

ps it should perhaps be noted that quite often UK buyers only get the option of bling'd up sporty versions of MB models with more utility trimmed [ and often considerably cheaper!] models not imported. Have a look at the more utility C Class Coupe models on the German website to see what I mean. There may be cheaper basic A class equivalents we will never see. While it might be argued that these are the models the UK market wants the more basic models available elsewhere may in the end be the governing factor in the overall market success of the car worldwide. As I have said I think the key to the success of this "FWD platform " may in fact be the forthcoming CLA and GLA models rather than the hatchback.
 
Steve was asking if Mercedes had missed a trick by going FWD in regard to getting a younger more driver focused audience into the brand.

Nissan Juke Nismo, Citroen DS3, Mini - are all making a play for the same market segment - FWD no barrier to sales here.



Mercedes will get the What Car? customers anyway, regardless of anything other than badge and looks, but they had a real chance here to make it 'the hot hatch to own' with the EVO readers too.
Which, once hooked on the A Class may move onto the AMGs etc.

There is an AMG version planned I think which, if executed well, should appease the EVO crowd.

Note the brand deviation from the core business models in the aforementioned cars though - Nismo, DS, Mini. Surely MB should be promoting smart in a similar way and as a method of getting a younger crowd into MB showrooms. The performance MBs can follow as they grow/age. Don't BMW do just that with Mini?
 
But to me FWD cars are OK when you start to press on, they start to become fun, but that is why I like RWD cars so much, they are fun when just pootling round.


I went from an Audi S4 to the M3.
The Audi was great, when you were doing stupid speeds for UK roads, fun, but dangerous and completely selfish. The M3 in comparison was just a joy at any speed,

There's truth in this I think.
FWDs seem to only properly operate over a narrower speed range and feel nose heavy awkward away from it. RWDs have a sweet poise no matter the speed.
 
Last edited:
Like Fords high powered FOCUS Variants the forthcoming AMG A class appears to to have a different front suspension geometry/design ----- presumably to improve handling and power transmission to the road--- which possibly implies the normal setup may be slightly lacking in that department?:dk:
 
I had the previous generation megane turbo which once tuned would catch a fair few more powerful machines out! With a lsd they can get 300hp onto the road without too much drama too surprisingly and handle the bends even better! The mk3 meganes are easy to tune to 340hp!

So fwd is changing the playing field somewhat when it comes to which wheels should power the car!
 
Last edited:
With a lsd they can get 300hp onto the road without too much drama too surprisingly and handle the bends even better!

I think an LSD is pretty much essential for a powerful FWD car.

My Type R had one and it handled amazingly. I had to recalibrate my sense of cornering speed whenever I got out of the Type R and into the MR2. Same corner taken comfortably in the FWD Type R would leave the RWD and mid-engined MR2's tires screaming for mercy!
 
I think an LSD is pretty much essential for a powerful FWD car.

My Type R had one and it handled amazingly. I had to recalibrate my sense of cornering speed whenever I got out of the Type R and into the MR2. Same corner taken comfortably in the FWD Type R would leave the RWD and mid-engined MR2's tires screaming for mercy!

I've experienced the same with the C32 in comparison to the Megane...but in the mercs defence it is an estate lol
 
gIzzE said:
I think most are missing the point of this thread.

Steve was asking if Mercedes had missed a trick by going FWD in regard to getting a younger more driver focused audience into the brand.

What Car? is aimed at the demographic who probably already aspire to owning a Mercedes anyway.
Steve was asking why Mercedes had marketed the new A Class as the young, sporty, driver focused car and then not made it anything like that apart from in the looks department?

Mercedes will get the What Car? customers anyway, regardless of anything other than badge and looks, but they had a real chance here to make it 'the hot hatch to own' with the EVO readers too.
Which, once hooked on the A Class may move onto the AMGs etc.

I guess this forum is definitely more What Car? than EVO.

Don't get me wrong, I group myself in the former these days, but I never wanted a Merc till recently as until recently I wasn't middle aged.

Not A class though,can't see it compete with A3,in the past overtook A2 forcing Audi to stop the production of the model,which I recon was better than A class
 
Not A class though,can't see it compete with A3,in the past overtook A2 forcing Audi to stop the production of the model,which I recon was better than A class

Can't quite get what you're saying there?

A2 vs A Class.
A2 was alright, as a city car, but too small as a main car.
Also, consumption was really poor once out of town.
Trim was not great either, loads of rattles and vibrations under the dash.
Ride was also really choppy.

The A2 went up against the Smart I would say.

The new A3 is looking very good in sportback guise.
Comes with everything you need as standard, well the S-Line seems to anyway, sport seats in a really nice finish, xenons, media interface, sat nav and nice looking standard wheels.
Really just a case of ticking the box for B&O stereo and DSG gearbox.
This makes it a pretty good ownership proposition financially, as you haven't got £4000 worth of essential options on it that will loose £3000 over 3 years.
 
A2 vs A Class.
A2 was alright, as a city car, but too small as a main car.
Also, consumption was really poor once out of town.
Trim was not great either, loads of rattles and vibrations under the dash.
Ride was also really choppy.

The A2 went up against the Smart I would say.

A2 was similar price to A-class
The A2 is a genuine 4 adult seater. So as big as the A-class. A-class did have a LWB version though (cost more?) and can seat 5 adults.
A2 boot is larger than a Focus/Golf.
A2 Diesel consumption is +60mpg on motorways.
A2 is lower tax than A-class.
A2 service intervals are up to 30k.
A2 lacked performance model as seen in A-class 2.1 Evolution.
Ride is very firm on 16/17", but very passable on the 15". Too many customers bought the 16" because they look 'nice'
A2 trim does rattle.
 
The main aspect of the A2 was its completely unique aluminium body structure which probably made it too expensive to produce in the longer term. It was a true one off design unlike the latest A3 incarnations using the FWD MQB platform, shared with the new Golf, SEAT León and upcoming Škoda Octavia.
The first Mercedes A class also had a unique platform which again proved to expensive to produce. Unlike Audi who have access to VAG's comprehensive " build yourself a wee car" kit of parts Mercedes had to go to Renault for their floorpan/chassis design for economies of scale on the new A class . :(
I agree the A3 Sportback version turns out to be the better car on both a practical and possibly visual level also.:thumb:
 
A2 was similar price to A-class

Agreed, over priced for what it was.

The A2 is a genuine 4 adult seater. So as big as the A-class. A-class did have a LWB version though (cost more?) and can seat 5 adults.

Not as big inside though.


A2 boot is larger than a Focus/Golf.

Yeah, good boot space considering the size of the car.


A2 Diesel consumption is +60mpg on motorways.

Hmm, maybe if you stick to summer, empty roads and do 10mph under the limit.
More like 42-46 doing 70mph over a journey.


A2 is lower tax than A-class.

Yeah.


A2 service intervals are up to 30k.

Good thing considering it was a sealed bonnet and so many felt tied to Audi.


Ride is very firm on 16/17", but very passable on the 15". Too many customers bought the 16" because they look 'nice'

I didn't find it too firm, just very choppy.

A2 trim does rattle.

The main beam behind the dash is bolted up too tightly, it causes vibrations, slacken the bolts just a smidge and it stops the buzz.


Our old A2...

a2rear.jpg


a2int2.jpg


I really liked our A2, an all round nice car that did what it was meant to, and it looked a bit funky too.
 
I think most are missing the point of this thread.

Steve was asking if Mercedes had missed a trick by going FWD in regard to getting a younger more driver focused audience into the brand.

What Car? is aimed at the demographic who probably already aspire to owning a Mercedes anyway.
Steve was asking why Mercedes had marketed the new A Class as the young, sporty, driver focused car and then not made it anything like that apart from in the looks department?

Mercedes will get the What Car? customers anyway, regardless of anything other than badge and looks, but they had a real chance here to make it 'the hot hatch to own' with the EVO readers too.
Which, once hooked on the A Class may move onto the AMGs etc.


I guess this forum is definitely more What Car? than EVO.

Don't get me wrong, I group myself in the former these days, but I never wanted a Merc till recently as until recently I wasn't middle aged.

I put the what car? test results on to support the argument that they should of made it RWD.

A firm ride in a sporty car is almost expected but a firm ride and crap handling means Mercedes have got it wrong somewhere along the line.

The A class being FWD would put me off, but having a poor handling car thats labelled as being a sporty would put me off even more regardless of whether it's RWD or FWD.
 
gIzzE said:
Can't quite get what you're saying there?

A2 vs A Class.
A2 was alright, as a city car, but too small as a main car.
Also, consumption was really poor once out of town.
Trim was not great either, loads of rattles and vibrations under the dash.
Ride was also really choppy.

The A2 went up against the Smart I would say.

The new A3 is looking very good in sportback guise.
Comes with everything you need as standard, well the S-Line seems to anyway, sport seats in a really nice finish, xenons, media interface, sat nav and nice looking standard wheels.
Really just a case of ticking the box for B&O stereo and DSG gearbox.
This makes it a pretty good ownership proposition financially, as you haven't got £4000 worth of essential options on it that will loose £3000 over 3 years.

I don't know why but can't stand A and B class,they remind me of a VW Sharan never driven one,don't wont either.What I like is small coupe like BMW 1 series-compact nice looking .
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom