A-Class (W176) [Official] Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W176)

[TuNeS]

alebonau: red a250 and command pack
others I can recall,
clip : mountain grey a250
mercer.dk : black a250
kdcorp : mountain grey a250
fortuner : red a220cdi
tonoboon : black a250
gumpy: White A200 (Command, Exclusive, Vision) Sept/Oct ETA
joyjas: White A250 (Aug-Sep ETA)
frostee White A250 (mid Aug ETA)
bknight: White A250 (Command & AMG Executive pack) (Aug ETA)
TuNeS: White A250 (Mid June ETA)

Only another 2 weeks for me! I dropped my personalized plates off today and there was 1 white A250 there waiting for its owner……... Salesman told me that new orders are waiting till November/December. There is a massive interest in them!

 

[suey]

wow... after reading this forum from page 1 to 82, I have been tempted to change my order from A200 CDI to A250!

But in any case the thought that I am buying this car cause of the fuel economy aspect kept pulling me back.

However whilst I am in the process of getting a A200 CDI ordered in mountain grey, I am concerned that if I get a current MY13 build with COMAND Online that it will never be updated to handle iPhone online connectivity. Has anyone heard concrete evidence to suggest that MY13 build cars can have their telemetric's updated to handle the iPhone and Andriod bluetooth profile so you can also go online with these more modern phones? I wam worried that that if this doesn't happened I will be stuck paying for online capability when I can't use it!

The other option is to wait for MY14 build, but then I have to wait longer for it!

 

[clip]

Yeah look I don't want to put a downer on something that's being well enjoyed. If you love it you love it...

But yeah from my point of view the near unanimous criticism of the suspension and the reason why Merc have released the lowered comfort suspension confirms that there's something off with the suspension.

For me i'm just sick of sports suspensions anyway... not sure where you're based but Sydney's simply not the best part of the world for such setups.

hey I hear you Gumpy, but don't agree. Our aussie version with amg sports sus tune is perfect - in that it does exactly what it should, but there's the problem. This is a car tuned for fast direction changes that people want from a road going sports car, and one that could also go straight to the local raceway for a track day. Unlike, say a GTI, it is less of a compromise. If you've had much to do with GTI owners that buy them as a drivers car, as opposed to a shopping cart, you'll know that one of the first mods that are done is suspension. The A250 doesn't need that, and what's really good about that is that the whole package is designed and tuned correctly. Its not like they've just lowered it, whacked on some stiffer springs and stuck a set of big hoops on it.

So I don't believe that MB offering the comfort sus is recognition that there's something off with it. Just recognition that some will prefer a less hard edged setup, more of a compromise - and it may well turn out to be more popular. But I reckon the A250 concept designers are rolling their eyes at the thought of it. For me, I couldn't be happier. If it wasn't as good as it is, I'd be disappointed and probably whining about having to do some suspension mods

 

[clip]

Congrats Clip on the delivery of your new Baby ...sounds like it was all worth the wait !

Thanks Shillo, it certainly was worth the wait. For the first time ever, a new car has exceeded my expectations.

 

[clip]

To the guys (and gals) who already have a A250 Sport, how have you found traction? Also, I've seen one reviewer claim it drives like a diesel, i.e. picks up really quickly but tapers off higher in the rev range... Has that been your experience? Or does it keep pulling to the redline?

Cheers guys!

Give me another week or so and I'll let you know. Still taking it easy at the moment.

 

[clip]

Hey guys who own them I would love to hear some stories about features you have found or are using. I would love to know how you access your playlists on an iPhone from the COMAND system, and any information you have on the Linguatronic system as well.

I'm just after something to keep me salivating until I own one myself.

I use the linguatronics all the time. Most times its easier for me than using the dial or looking at buttons. It works really well, never had a misunderstanding. I did do the individualisation setup, so maybe that helped. I've copied all my music onto the hard drive. Can't be bothered having to copy music onto the phone, then having to plug it in every time I get into the car. I just copied it all onto SD cards (I had most on them anyway as I use them in my tablet). A 2gb file transfer only takes a couple minutes - I loaded 6gig on the weekend. The thing that surprised me was the Gracenote data base works not only with CD, but with the HD (handbook says Gracenote only works with CDs). So I get all the album art, song and album info displayed. You can search heaps of ways using the linguatronics, but I like using the search by covers that brings up an itunes style rotating screen selection that shows the album cover art. I then use the linguatronics to replay tracks, go to next / previous, go to next folder, search for playlist, genre, album, artist, track etc etc.
Works the same for radio. If the station name is displayed, you just ask for that e.g ZZZ, or you can set up voice tags too. So if for eg 103.9mhz is a regular favourite but does not display a name, you can tag it with a name and then call it up by that, rather than saying 103.9.

But where the linguatronics really works well is with the nav. Just tell it the town and street name in one go, she repeats it back and asks if you want set street number or just go to destination. A simple yes please, or go to destination and its done. It's got it right every time so far, but if its not sure, it pulls up some alternatives, and rather than trying to repeat it e.g. mooloolaba, you just say the number beside it. You can also tell it to be quiet too! There's heaps of voice commands, pretty much everything can be done by voice.

It works just as well for the phone. Comand pulls in all your contacts, then its simple using linguatronics to call them up. If you have addresses in there, I'm pretty sure the nav can access them too. So no need to create them individually in the nav setup.

Its a great system, and best thing is it just works. If I get bored on the weekend I'll do a quick video demo and post it up.

 

[mini_cooper4]

It's not by choice that I only have an A-class profile pic. If MB could keep up with demand I would be driving mine since March.

Yes, I'm also pointing out how many of the posters are owners or future owners

 

[gumpy]

hey I hear you Gumpy, but don't agree. Our aussie version with amg sports sus tune is perfect - in that it does exactly what it should, but there's the problem. This is a car tuned for fast direction changes that people want from a road going sports car, and one that could also go straight to the local raceway for a track day. Unlike, say a GTI, it is less of a compromise. If you've had much to do with GTI owners that buy them as a drivers car, as opposed to a shopping cart, you'll know that one of the first mods that are done is suspension. The A250 doesn't need that, and what's really good about that is that the whole package is designed and tuned correctly. Its not like they've just lowered it, whacked on some stiffer springs and stuck a set of big hoops on it.

So I don't believe that MB offering the comfort sus is recognition that there's something off with it. Just recognition that some will prefer a less hard edged setup, more of a compromise - and it may well turn out to be more popular. But I reckon the A250 concept designers are rolling their eyes at the thought of it. For me, I couldn't be happier. If it wasn't as good as it is, I'd be disappointed and probably whining about having to do some suspension mods

On your first paragraph i don't think we disagree, from a track perspective it's fantastic. One of my first posts said that at speed i feel the setup is very good. It's the low pottering speeds where i feel it falls down. So on the track yes you'll get very sharp but a smooth ride. Through the twisties it's fantastic. Just through the burbs at normal sub 60kph speeds i felt let down by the car. My initial preference in car, the 1 series, was to be speced with adaptive dampers for similar reasons.

Re GTI, this is why it's generally really applauded, it's soft for pure track but for everyday living + weekend twisties it's almost perfect. Only setup i like better is the MX5 (i could never own one).

On the 2nd paragraph i think we do disagree, it was covered in the news paper article in one of the posts where the MY14 updates were posted that it was a MB reaction to criticism. Lets look at it this way, MB wouldn't have released the option for MY14 if it weren't for the overall reaction to the suspension. Yes they may have been rolling their eyes but still there were pressured into doing it.

 

[gumpy]

Not in Sydney gumpy, and times I've visited I've not driven got taxis instead. Am not sure of the unanimous criticism. The criticism I know centred around the overseas version with run flats. Ive driven the a250 on all sorts of roads and I don't have a problem with the suspension but then car I had before was a hot hatch and I think the a250 is a good balance of handling road feel and comfort. But yeah for those not wanting the AMG tuned suspension merc gives you the choice

Yeah, and obviously the techs at AMG thought it was the right tune also. I guess it's a sign that when they attach the word AMG to something it's not just for the sake of it.

I'm not going to go through all the reviews both Aus and abroad to prove one way or the other but if you don't agree on unanimous you'd agree a lot of the reviews mention the harshness of the suspension? For real enthusiast it's not an issue but for the general public I feel it is and it's what their comments reflect. Going from a Polo GTI into a 370z to the A250 I was like "bah this is too much" I guess we'll simply disagree here, nothing wrong with that.

 

[gumpy]

wow... after reading this forum from page 1 to 82, I have been tempted to change my order from A200 CDI to A250!

But in any case the thought that I am buying this car cause of the fuel economy aspect kept pulling me back.

However whilst I am in the process of getting a A200 CDI ordered in mountain grey, I am concerned that if I get a current MY13 build with COMAND Online that it will never be updated to handle iPhone online connectivity. Has anyone heard concrete evidence to suggest that MY13 build cars can have their telemetric's updated to handle the iPhone and Andriod bluetooth profile so you can also go online with these more modern phones? I wam worried that that if this doesn't happened I will be stuck paying for online capability when I can't use it!

The other option is to wait for MY14 build, but then I have to wait longer for it!

Mate I currently massively regret waiting for the My14...

I thought about it, my routine is get in the car, turn on my podcast and start driving. I get to work about half way through my podcast which i finish on the drive home. I don't need the net on my car. it'd be dangerous to get the net on my car... If i need the net i should be pulling over and using my iphone as i would normally... and the net on the iphone will work better than via the car (just like using the net is much easier on a tablet than it is on the PS3 etc) the phone browser will update, run different plugins etc...

As for the CDI, i'm currently mulling over whether I should change my petrol order to the diesel seeing I drive 90km a day. On the test drive, the diesel was really flexible and at 100kph it was sitting at 1.6k rpm.

As for the A250 the 2L is a cracker of an engine ... but do you want all the other stuff it comes with? if so change, it's still pretty damn efficient and extreme value. You pay 5-6k (vision pack) more for the 2L engine, better exhaust, better wheels, alarm, a bunch of red stuff, sports suspension (for me a negative but for you could be a tick) and non runflat tyres. If the A250 could come with normal non-lowered suspension and normal bumper and light coloured interior it'd be my choice.

 

[gumpy]

joyjas
i considered the driver assist pack seeing 80% of my driving is on cruise control... should i add it?

 

[db.]

i considered the driver assist pack seeing 80% of my driving is on cruise control... should i add it?

I didn't like the Driver Assist on my test drive, too many beeps and flashing lights in traffic. The Radar Cruise control would be awesome, but likely to make you very lazy.

 

[OZ A250]

joyjas
i considered the driver assist pack seeing 80% of my driving is on cruise control... should i add it?

I added it to my order, Gumpy. I thought it was pretty good value, and the distronic plus worked very well during my test drive. I like the blind spot assist too.

 

[OZ A250]

Yeah, and obviously the techs at AMG thought it was the right tune also. I guess it's a sign that when they attach the word AMG to something it's not just for the sake of it.

I'm not going to go through all the reviews both Aus and abroad to prove one way or the other but if you don't agree on unanimous you'd agree a lot of the reviews mention the harshness of the suspension? For real enthusiast it's not an issue but for the general public I feel it is and it's what their comments reflect. Going from a Polo GTI into a 370z to the A250 I was like "bah this is too much" I guess we'll simply disagree here, nothing wrong with that.

I remember someone mentioning that comfort lowered suspension was not an option with the A250 AMG exclusive package. I think its only an option for base model A250's.. I could be wrong.

 

[joyjas77]

joyjas
i considered the driver assist pack seeing 80% of my driving is on cruise control... should i add it?

Hi Gumpy,

I absolutely love cruise control, as it helps with fuel economy, keeping a steady speed and hopefully avoiding speeding fines. But with all the cars I've owned to date I've always thought that it would be great if I didn't have to cancel cruise control whenever I came up behind slower cars and was unable to overtake at that moment. I honestly didn't know such a cruise control existed. By the way the A Class standard cruise control in my mind is awesome as I'd like to keep a constant speed and I know that it will not slow you down if you go over the speed you set (another thing that I've always wanted).

When I saw the A-Class had the distronic cruise control function I wanted to try it out. The dealer showed me it working and it just blew my mind, since then I've driven the A class a couple more times and had a little chance to explore. I know that it is not cheap to get the driver assist package for just the distronic cruise control but in my mind that is something I'm willing to pay a little for. The other functions like blind spot assist is quite good too, as well as lane assist. Of which I tried them both. I know that some people will say that you need to ensure you are not lazy, but my opinion is I may never see what it has done for me but I know I've nearly changed lanes before and realised that someone was there as I was about to change. So personally I feel that it is excellent value for money as I plan to keep my car for long term. And yes don't implicity trust any of these things but they at least in my mind can make things a little easier, and a little safer so for the price I'm quite happy that I've got them.

If you're using cruise control often you might find distronic quite useful. Like I said I love that it will just slow down as the traffic slows down right to a stop. If you're considering it, go and test drive for that feature. If you're like me then you will probably get it. I got COMAND because of the driver assist package, so then it makes it a very expensive add-on.

Hope my thoughts can give you a little help Gumpy.

By the way I can totally understand your thoughts in regards to the suspension. When I had an A200CDI on order I asked for comfort suspension. I would have loved it if you could get all the sports stuff without the car being lowered. Personally i don't find the suspension that harsh, but then again I still don't own a car, and really driving it and a short test drive are two different things.

 

[joyjas77]

Mate I currently massively regret waiting for the My14...

If I didn't adjust my order I would be driving around in a very new A200CDI by now fully optioned, but when I decided to add the sports packs it pushed me back and then with the shortages.

But myself loving technology I couldn't have helped myself I wanted to wait to ensure I got the newer COMAND system so I would have asked them to change the build date anyhow.

 

[joyjas77]

To add to the debate about whether or not the suspension is harsh. I can see both points of view, there were quite a few reviews that mentioned how harsh the ride was, people complaining about run-flats being harsh and noisy.

All of this is subjective. Myself I'm willing to overlook any of that to have the car that I fell in love with. Personally I didn't find the A200 with runflats and AMG Sport Package too harsh. I tried to take it on some rougher roads to get an idea of how harsh it would be.

But then again, my one concern now with the A250 is that it doesn't have run-flats. I personally feel that the security of having runflats in the event of a puncture is awesome. My wife wouldn't know how to change a tyre and so it would give me peace of mind to know that she could continue driving home when the unavoidable happens. You are limited to 80km's but that is only when the tyre is totally flat, you could get a tyre repair kit like comes in the A250 and get it temporarily going for much longer distances, or you could just pump it up at each town to extend the range. I think these benefits outweigh the extra harshness of the suspension in my mind.

I've never owned a sporty car before so I guess I'm going to have a bit of a learning curve. But in my mind when you order a sports car you expect the suspension to be more harsh. I had an RX-2 years ago that i lowered and the suspension in that was more harsh that the A250 in all honesty, that car for such an old car handled brilliantly. I was able to hammer it through 10km/h hairpins at 80km/h (I was able to see if anything was coming the other way mind you). So I'm expecting this car will handle like it is on rails. But now I'm a little older, hopefully a little wiser (and not so stupid), and I have a family who I would love to see grow up so i don't drive like that anymore.

But despite me feeling the ride is not too harsh, if there was some boxes to tick to have the ride height at normal height with comfort suspension on the A250 I would most likely tick them. Why, because i feel the comments in regards to all of the cars handling wise was great anyway. I'm personally not going to ever take this onto a race track, so whatever benefits to racing their may be by having it set up that way I would forgo them to have a little more creature comfort.

 

[OZ A250]

Just a bit of topic has anyone had a novated lease before?

Hi Bknight,

I have just signed up a novated lease for the first time. It took a bit of number crunching to make sure it was going to work for me, but it all looked good. I signed up a 3 year, 15000km per year lease, hoping that the depreciation wont be too bad over 3 years.

 

[Frostee]

Hi Bknight,

I have just signed up a novated lease for the first time. It took a bit of number crunching to make sure it was going to work for me, but it all looked good. I signed up a 3 year, 15000km per year lease, hoping that the depreciation wont be too bad over 3 years.

I have just been through the same exercise, based on 15,000km per year. I had signed up but then backed out of it with no penalty as I found the MB Agility financing worked better for me. For me there was no significant financial benefit having a novated lease, and the real attraction for me with Agility is that you just hand back the car at the end of the period. When I did the novated lease numbers the residual after 3 years was $26,650 including GST which I am certain would be lower than market price for the vehicle in 3 years time. At that residual and privately selling I reckon there will be a few grand in it to be made when settling the lease, but I just couldn't be bothered with the hassle at the end.

Had I been doing more km's it probably would have been more attractive. On top of that with all servicing being covered the only expenses I have are fuel, rego and insurance so there's not a lot there do deduct before tax.

When is your new car arriving? If it's still a ways of here's a word of advice, find out what rate of interest is being used for the novated lease and check what they're using closer to the time. As of last week when I made my final decision, the recent RBA rate cut hadn't yet flowed through (and may not) to the rates used for novated leases. When you sign up to a novated lease they reserve the right to pass through increases in costs - similarly they should pass through cost reductions, but in my experience you will have to chase them. I'm hoping that I may see a little benefit flow through on the rate MB Finance before my car arrives in August. The Finance guy at the dealership seems to think there may be some softening from the current 6.5%.

I've had novated leases before and they work well, but just didn't suit me this time around.

 

[Shillo]

I hope the New MY14 Grille looks similar to this Revozport Carbon version.

Anyone seen a pic of it yet ?