Mercedes invited me to the Cotswolds to drive their most current A-Class as well as try out its new state-of-the-art MBUX system. This is an crucial introduce for the brand, especially in the UK. So exactly how does it drive as well as what about that all crucial Mercedes-Benz individual Experience?
What has Changed?
One of the engineers on hand told us, disallowing a few nuts as well as bolts, this vehicle is a total clean sheet, re-design, however you can’t tell to look at it. sure it looks better, absolutely a step ahead as a design, however in that subtle method that only German vehicle makers seem to be able to achieve. They take an existing model, make it look even better, whilst not alienating owners of the previous design or hurting their residuals as well much either.
The new design will be a lot of recognisable from its new lights with both the front as well as rears slimming down for a sharper look.
Mercedes told us the present UK fleet of A-Class automobiles is around 70% diesel. The new W177 designated vehicle is 12 cms longer, 1.6 cms broader as well as has 29 litres of additional area in the boot. It introduces in the UK this month, at first with 3 engine choices.
The entry design is the A180d SE with its all new 1.5L turbo diesel engine (116hp, as much as 68.9 mpg) offered from £25,800.
The petrol A200 (163hp, as much as 51.4 mpg) is up next with a 1.3L turbo petrol motor, offered from £27,500.
The present top of the tree is the A250 2.0L turbo petrol engine (224hp, 45.6 mpg combined) from £30,240.
While more engine choices are guaranteed for later, so far there’s no mention of a plugin hybrid like those already offered in the C-Class as well as E-Class ranges. just like BMW-i, Mercedes have a sub-brand for their full battery electric automobiles (BEV) which will begin deliveries of the very first EQ design next year.
Back to the present, the slick 7-speed double hold automatic gearbox (with paddles) is the only one offered if you want to buy an A-Class ideal now. however that’s no hardship, it’s incredibly smooth as well as when you go automobile you never go back.
A 6-speed handbook is coming by the end of the year if you truly want it as well as there’s talk of a 9-speed automobile appearing in the future too. A 4MATIC all-wheel drive version is guaranteed for early 2019.
There are 3 trim levels to select from, SE, sport as well as the tasty AMG Line choice that both our test vehicles were fitted with.
As normal you can go nuts with options. For example the Multibeam LED headlights as well as 64 colour interior ambient lights are offered as part of the £3,595 premium plus bundle that brings a hold of other upgrades too.
Ride & Comfort
The old car’s trip had a track record for being rather difficult as well as Mercedes state this, together with minimizing road noise, were top of their listing of things to repair in the new A-Class. While the more affordable designs get rear torsion beam suspension, the higher priced A200 AMG Line as well as A250 AMG Line have an independent multi-link configuration instead.
Our test drives were over a great mix of road types as well as both our diesel as well as petrol test vehicles were quiet, smooth as well as comfortable. task done.
The tranquil interiors were only disturbed when the power units were pushed. As you’d expect the performance of the 1.5 diesel (0-62mph in 10.5 seconds) might finest be referred to as ‘adequate’, it’s not an engine option I would personally consider. The 1.3 petrol on the other hand feels a lot more vibrant (0-62mph in 8 seconds) as well as it’s the one I’d plump for.
The Tech
But lets deal with it, you’re most likely right here to checked out about the innovation in the new car, so what’s it like?
Mercedes state the tech in the new A-Class has trickled down from their flagship S-Class model, as well as it shows. Daimler have once again teamed up with Harmann to create the NTG6 with NVIDIA hardware that powers the MBUX.
A pair of 7″ screens are basic across the range. They do look a bit on the little side as well as they have a stepped bezel around the displays. however upgrade just the middle screen to 10.25″ (available with the £1,395 executive package) as well as then they both online behind a single, flush piece of glass that sweeps from behind the wheel to the middle of the dash providing a extremely awesome flight-deck look.
If you want to go big you can select two of the 10.25″ screens (1920 x 720 pixels, 200 dpi) with the £2,395 premium package
The screen in the middle of the vehicle supports capacitive multi-touch as well as if you own any type of wise phone from the last few years then you already understand exactly how to utilize its Linux powered UI. Usefully you can rearrange the icons on the house screen just like your smartphone too.
The steering wheel has touchpads on each side enabling basic up/down, left/right swipes as well as pushes to choose each screen option. Customisations are plentiful as well as if you ever get lost then a long press of the ideal hand Back button will return you to the default display.
The old rotary dial has been replaced with a capacitive touchpad in the centre console. It delivers a third input technique while its haptic vibration supplies great comments for your fingers.
The MBUX system will likewise store your preferences in a ‘profile’, so you can have one set for yourself as well as one for your partner perhaps. choosing your profile will recall your seating position, much-loved ambient illumination colour as well as radio station.
The system is well believed out as well as while other vehicles have similar configurations (even the fairly new E-Class), I’ve not seen any type of that are as intuitive to use. The balance between the depth of features as well as usability seems just about right.
CarPlay, Android automobile as well as the Chinese Baidu CarLife system will all be offered after the very first OTA update to the system due about now. The centre console homes a new USB-C socket for your phone connection. Nerds like us will rejoice at this, old people will moan (get yourself a new cord or adaptor).
Voice Control
In general there are few technologies that make it into the wild in such a poor specify as vehicle voice manage systems. I’ve yet to own or drive a vehicle with a voice manage system I’d ever think about utilizing long-term.
It’s doubly discouraging as we’re all ending up being so utilized to voice recognition that really works, like Amazon Alexa, Google house as well as to a lower degree Apple’s Siri. Their tech is Cloud based as well as so is regularly improving, unlike the system in a lot of vehicles that’s already out of date the day you take delivery.
Thankfully Mercedes have seen the light as well as the new ‘Hey Mercedes’ intelligent voice recognition system really works!
As well as dialling contacts you can ask it for a weather condition update, to navigate somewhere, turn on the audio system as well as choose an input or station, turn on your heated seats as well as modification the cabin temperature for example. We did have the vehicle asking exactly how it might assist us whenever we stated the word ‘Mercedes’ though, as well as currently you cannot modification the activate word. This would be less of a issue when you’re not test driving great deals of Mercedes as well as speaking about them in the vehicle with a associate
You can state “Hey Mercedes” as well as wait on the vehicle to ask exactly how it can help, or you can introduce directly into your question, “Hey Mercedes, turn on the motorists heated seat”. inspect out our video above for an concept of exactly how it works.
Augmented truth Sat Nav
That NTG6 system I pointed out earlier makes this the very first vehicle with an AR-capable infotainment system.
The ARSN is a £495 choice that overlays map directions on top of the online video feed from the vehicles front camera. This supplies a extremely awesome next-gen experience that our German engineer summed up completely as “Mario Kart Satnav”.
The security tech includes Active Brake help as well as active Lane-Keeping help which are both basic across all models. The A-Class will be able to drive semi-autonomously in specific conditions with the Driving help bundle which will be offered in the UK by the end of the year.
OTA Upgrades
The new A-Class has a dual-line sim card onboard with a 4G connection. One line is paid for by Mercedes as well as is utilized to send your vehicle over-the-air updates. This enables new software application features to be added to the offered hardware. The system likewise enables engineers to screen which menu products are a lot of frequently utilized by drivers, enabling them to step the most prominent ones additionally ahead as well as enhance the UI over time.
OTA updates can likewise be utilized to upgrade the firmware of modules around the vehicle enabling you to benefit from fixes used from house rather than having to go to your dealership. It’s time all vehicles had this feature.
Data for things like music streaming on the other line is paid for by the customer.
Worthy Successor
The previous A-Class was a big success here, undoubtedly the UK was its largest market globally last year with sales of over 43,000 units. That makes it Mercedes finest selling (single body shape) vehicle right here too.
The A-Class is likewise an crucial halo vehicle for Mercedes. It has been successful in enticing a younger demographic to the brand as well as over 60% of its purchasers have come to Merc from other vehicle manufacturers.
For many, the in-car infotainment system has ended up being one of the most high concern features in choosing which vehicle to buy. however far too frequently new vehicle owners leave the dealerships handover in a specify of confusion as well as frequently provide up on everutilizing their vehicles features because of their clunky UIs.
But the new A-Class has moved things on. The 4th generation vehicle must only enhance its setting in the section with a state-of-the-art system that is really a happiness to use. wise house tech has transferred to the vehicle as well as now your second a lot of costly purchase in life no longer feels like it’s years behind your smartphone.
If you’re after a quality, stylish, comfortable as well as functional hatchback, with a gorgeous interior as well as an infotainment system that’s class leading, then look no additionally than the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class.
www.mercedes-benz.co.uk
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Mercedes invited me to the Cotswolds to drive their most current A-Class as well as try out its new state-of-the-art MBUX system. This is an crucial introduce for the brand, especially in the UK. So exactly how does it drive as well as what about that all crucial Mercedes-Benz individual Experience?
What has Changed?
One of the engineers on hand told us, disallowing a few nuts as well as bolts, this vehicle is a total clean sheet, re-design, however you can’t tell to look at it. sure it looks better, absolutely a step ahead as a design, however in that subtle method that only German vehicle makers seem to be able to achieve. They take an existing model, make it look even better, whilst not alienating owners of the previous design or hurting their residuals as well much either.
The new design will be a lot of recognisable from its new lights with both the front as well as rears slimming down for a sharper look.
Mercedes told us the present UK fleet of A-Class automobiles is around 70% diesel. The new W177 designated vehicle is 12 cms longer, 1.6 cms broader as well as has 29 litres of additional area in the boot. It introduces in the UK this month, at first with 3 engine choices.
The entry design is the A180d SE with its all new 1.5L turbo diesel engine (116hp, as much as 68.9 mpg) offered from £25,800.
The petrol A200 (163hp, as much as 51.4 mpg) is up next with a 1.3L turbo petrol motor, offered from £27,500.
The present top of the tree is the A250 2.0L turbo petrol engine (224hp, 45.6 mpg combined) from £30,240.
While more engine choices are guaranteed for later, so far there’s no mention of a plugin hybrid like those already offered in the C-Class as well as E-Class ranges. just like BMW-i, Mercedes have a sub-brand for their full battery electric automobiles (BEV) which will begin deliveries of the very first EQ design next year.
Back to the present, the slick 7-speed double hold automatic gearbox (with paddles) is the only one offered if you want to buy an A-Class ideal now. however that’s no hardship, it’s incredibly smooth as well as when you go automobile you never go back.
A 6-speed handbook is coming by the end of the year if you truly want it as well as there’s talk of a 9-speed automobile appearing in the future too. A 4MATIC all-wheel drive version is guaranteed for early 2019.
There are 3 trim levels to select from, SE, sport as well as the tasty AMG Line choice that both our test vehicles were fitted with.
As normal you can go nuts with options. For example the Multibeam LED headlights as well as 64 colour interior ambient lights are offered as part of the £3,595 premium plus bundle that brings a hold of other upgrades too.
Ride & Comfort
The old car’s trip had a track record for being rather difficult as well as Mercedes state this, together with minimizing road noise, were top of their listing of things to repair in the new A-Class. While the more affordable designs get rear torsion beam suspension, the higher priced A200 AMG Line as well as A250 AMG Line have an independent multi-link configuration instead.
Our test drives were over a great mix of road types as well as both our diesel as well as petrol test vehicles were quiet, smooth as well as comfortable. task done.
The tranquil interiors were only disturbed when the power units were pushed. As you’d expect the performance of the 1.5 diesel (0-62mph in 10.5 seconds) might finest be referred to as ‘adequate’, it’s not an engine option I would personally consider. The 1.3 petrol on the other hand feels a lot more vibrant (0-62mph in 8 seconds) as well as it’s the one I’d plump for.
The Tech
But lets deal with it, you’re most likely right here to checked out about the innovation in the new car, so what’s it like?
Mercedes state the tech in the new A-Class has trickled down from their flagship S-Class model, as well as it shows. Daimler have once again teamed up with Harmann to create the NTG6 with NVIDIA hardware that powers the MBUX.
A pair of 7″ screens are basic across the range. They do look a bit on the little side as well as they have a stepped bezel around the displays. however upgrade just the middle screen to 10.25″ (available with the £1,395 executive package) as well as then they both online behind a single, flush piece of glass that sweeps from behind the wheel to the middle of the dash providing a extremely awesome flight-deck look.
If you want to go big you can select two of the 10.25″ screens (1920 x 720 pixels, 200 dpi) with the £2,395 premium package
The screen in the middle of the vehicle supports capacitive multi-touch as well as if you own any type of wise phone from the last few years then you already understand exactly how to utilize its Linux powered UI. Usefully you can rearrange the icons on the house screen just like your smartphone too.
The steering wheel has touchpads on each side enabling basic up/down, left/right swipes as well as pushes to choose each screen option. Customisations are plentiful as well as if you ever get lost then a long press of the ideal hand Back button will return you to the default display.
The old rotary dial has been replaced with a capacitive touchpad in the centre console. It delivers a third input technique while its haptic vibration supplies great comments for your fingers.
The MBUX system will likewise store your preferences in a ‘profile’, so you can have one set for yourself as well as one for your partner perhaps. choosing your profile will recall your seating position, much-loved ambient illumination colour as well as radio station.
The system is well believed out as well as while other vehicles have similar configurations (even the fairly new E-Class), I’ve not seen any type of that are as intuitive to use. The balance between the depth of features as well as usability seems just about right.
CarPlay, Android automobile as well as the Chinese Baidu CarLife system will all be offered after the very first OTA update to the system due about now. The centre console homes a new USB-C socket for your phone connection. Nerds like us will rejoice at this, old people will moan (get yourself a new cord or adaptor).
Voice Control
In general there are few technologies that make it into the wild in such a poor specify as vehicle voice manage systems. I’ve yet to own or drive a vehicle with a voice manage system I’d ever think about utilizing long-term.
It’s doubly discouraging as we’re all ending up being so utilized to voice recognition that really works, like Amazon Alexa, Google house as well as to a lower degree Apple’s Siri. Their tech is Cloud based as well as so is regularly improving, unlike the system in a lot of vehicles that’s already out of date the day you take delivery.
Thankfully Mercedes have seen the light as well as the new ‘Hey Mercedes’ intelligent voice recognition system really works!
As well as dialling contacts you can ask it for a weather condition update, to navigate somewhere, turn on the audio system as well as choose an input or station, turn on your heated seats as well as modification the cabin temperature for example. We did have the vehicle asking exactly how it might assist us whenever we stated the word ‘Mercedes’ though, as well as currently you cannot modification the activate word. This would be less of a issue when you’re not test driving great deals of Mercedes as well as speaking about them in the vehicle with a associate
You can state “Hey Mercedes” as well as wait on the vehicle to ask exactly how it can help, or you can introduce directly into your question, “Hey Mercedes, turn on the motorists heated seat”. inspect out our video above for an concept of exactly how it works.
Augmented truth Sat Nav
That NTG6 system I pointed out earlier makes this the very first vehicle with an AR-capable infotainment system.
The ARSN is a £495 choice that overlays map directions on top of the online video feed from the vehicles front camera. This supplies a extremely awesome next-gen experience that our German engineer summed up completely as “Mario Kart Satnav”.
The security tech includes Active Brake help as well as active Lane-Keeping help which are both basic across all models. The A-Class will be able to drive semi-autonomously in specific conditions with the Driving help bundle which will be offered in the UK by the end of the year.
OTA Upgrades
The new A-Class has a dual-line sim card onboard with a 4G connection. One line is paid for by Mercedes as well as is utilized to send your vehicle over-the-air updates. This enables new software application features to be added to the offered hardware. The system likewise enables engineers to screen which menu products are a lot of frequently utilized by drivers, enabling them to step the most prominent ones additionally ahead as well as enhance the UI over time.
OTA updates can likewise be utilized to upgrade the firmware of modules around the vehicle enabling you to benefit from fixes used from house rather than having to go to your dealership. It’s time all vehicles had this feature.
Data for things like music streaming on the other line is paid for by the customer.
Worthy Successor
The previous A-Class was a big success here, undoubtedly the UK was its largest market globally last year with sales of over 43,000 units. That makes it Mercedes finest selling (single body shape) vehicle right here too.
The A-Class is likewise an crucial halo vehicle for Mercedes. It has been successful in enticing a younger demographic to the brand as well as over 60% of its purchasers have come to Merc from other vehicle manufacturers.
For many, the in-car infotainment system has ended up being one of the most high concern features in choosing which vehicle to buy. however far too frequently new vehicle owners leave the dealerships handover in a specify of confusion as well as frequently provide up on everutilizing their vehicles features because of their clunky UIs.
But the new A-Class has moved things on. The 4th generation vehicle must only enhance its setting in the section with a state-of-the-art system that is really a happiness to use. wise house tech has transferred to the vehicle as well as now your second a lot of costly purchase in life no longer feels like it’s years behind your smartphone.
If you’re after a quality, stylish, comfortable as well as functional hatchback, with a gorgeous interior as well as an infotainment system that’s class leading, then look no additionally than the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class.
www.mercedes-benz.co.uk
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