The Mercedes-Benz A-class has been a consistent performer for the luxury automaker, serving to both boost sales and entice younger customers to get a feel of the brand.
The A 200L (L stands for Limousine) facelift, comes hot on the heels of its successful predecessor, with its eye set on providing a luxury experience with enough technology to woo its customer base. We reviewed the A 200L’s tech and here is what we found.
Design
While not as flashy as its older siblings in the C-Class, the A 200L has a similar dash design with a 10.25-inch touch-sensitive media display and a 10.25-inch high-resolution all-digital instrument display. These two displays form a single slab which offers good visibility for the driver and the front passenger. Below the digital displays are physical buttons for climate control. The car ditches the haptic controls seen in most new vehicles, and we are not complaining. The dials are easy to access even while driving and provide good feedback, making it easy to change settings while driving.
Below the climate controls is the wireless charging system for mobile devices, with a charging pad large enough to accommodate bigger smartphones. However, there is not enough access to the charging pad, and users with smartphone displays measuring 6.5-inches or above might find it a squeeze.
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The centre console gets a stowage compartment along with buttons to choose between driving setups, volume controls, and a park-assist activation button.
The A 200L has a similar dash design with a 10.25-inch touch-sensitive media display and a 10.25-inch high-resolution all-digital instrument display | Photo Credit: Nabeel Ahmed
The driver and front passenger seats are electrically adjustable, controlled by buttons located on the door panels. They come with a memory function, allowing the driver and the front passenger to bring back their desired settings with the touch of a button. The steering wheel comes mounted with touch-sensitive buttons to control both the instrument cluster and the multimedia display. The vehicle, however, skips electric adjustments for the steering wheel.
There are four USB Type-C ports in the vehicle, two in the centre armrest, and two under the AC vents in the back.
Overall, the layout of the screens in the A 200L is easy to get used to. The build quality inspires confidence and care has been taken to render all features easily accessible.
Performance
Starting with the multimedia display, the system is responsive and easy to get used to. The interface is simple with easily accessible settings for parking assistance and other features. The visuals are crisp and with enough brightness for sunny days.
The multimedia display is powered by Mercedes’s latest generation MBUX system, with voice assistance and intuitive capabilities, allowing the screen to adapt to user preferences and display frequently used icons. The voice assistant is easily hailed by saying “Hey Mercedes” and was especially useful on busy roads. A responsive assistant, it did not miss commands or lag during our test run. However, it has limitations; it cannot open the panoramic sunroof, which gets manual controls, and users have to be very specific about their destination when asking it to bring up the map for navigation.
The 360-degree parking sensors were very helpful, especially for smaller parking spots | Photo Credit: Nabeel Ahmed
The navigation, however, is a pleasure to use and the vehicle makes good use of the Car-to-X communication feature to warn the driver of upcoming traffic and bends in the road. The live traffic update feature also comes in handy when navigating busy city roads, and we found it accurate, quickly suggesting alternate routes when it detected traffic.
The A 200 L gets “Mercedes me” app connectivity support. The vehicle also gets a key deactivation feature; a key can be left inside the car and activated or deactivated using the Mercedes me app, allowing easy access and smooth vehicle handover to authorised drivers.
Instrument display
The center diplay and the instrument display in the Mercedes A 200 L blend seamlessly with the interior aesthtics. | Photo Credit: Nabeel Ahmed
The instrument display behind the car’s steering wheel has its own set of features, as seen in other Mercedes vehicles, and can be controlled using steering-mounted controls. It has 3 display styles-- comfort, sport, and assistance. We especially liked the assistance setting for its quick response to changing road conditions, and its ability to show upcoming traffic; a great help for navigating city congestion. The controls are also responsive and offer good feedback.
Smartphone integration
The vehicle comes with wireless Android and Apple CarPlay support. The setup process is simple and using it is hassle-free. But unless users are particular about connecting these, the MBUX system should suffice for most functions.
Smart features
Apart from the expected features, the A200 L includes functionalities like keyless entry, wherein the vehicle detects the key to unlock the doors without pressing any buttons, and sensors to open the boot by using a kicking motion near the rear bumper.
Live traffic updates in the Mercedes A 200 L come in handy navigating busy city roads. | Photo Credit: Nabeel Ahmed
A good addition is the adaptive high beam assist, which switches between high and low headlight beams depending on the lighting conditions and oncoming traffic. It was useful for poorly lit roads, and though it is hard to gauge the accuracy with which it lowers the beam, it is a beneficial feature in a country where many drivers do not dim their headlights to improve visibility for oncoming traffic.
The 360-degree parking sensors were very helpful, especially for smaller parking spots. The cameras have good resolution and visual aids provided by the MBUX system, when parking, are also accurate. And though a little too sensitive for our liking, the sensors pick up even small branches of plants growing on the kerb.
The active brake assist is also quick, and it may prove a lifesaver for drivers who depend more on visual cues than parking sensors, helping them avoid cones or objects in their blind spots.
Verdict
The Mercedes-Benz A200 L, a compact luxury sedan, is designed to be an everyday companion. The vehicle is a good blend of functional features with a touch of modernity, making it a good choice for first-time drivers as well as car-and-tech enthusiasts.
The Mercedes-Benz A200 L is priced at ₹45.8 lakh.
