Up a Notch: Mercedes A250

Picking up the vehicle from Armstrong Prestige, I went over everything before I left the yard. Easy to install the phone, check; a beautiful dash-based display with the standard Mercedes touch pad, check; silver metal trim and suede seating with really nice red stitching, check; 165kW, 350Nm 191cc, 4-cylinder, turbocharged engine, check; stunning 18-inch 5-star alloy rims with two-tone colouring, double check.

Now let’s see how she performs. Off up the hill to get that first heart-pounding acceleration, it offers superb cornering and plenty of power. After my last experience in the A200, the A250 takes it up a notch in both looks and drive experience. Increasing it by 45kW and 100Nm of torque may not sound like much, but it’s a definite improvement on agility and feel.

The A250 has a smaller feel but there’s plenty of room for four adults on a trip and it’s a good looker, with nice lines on the exterior. I liked the A200, but where it fell down for me was performance, which the A250 more than corrects, giving it the power to go with the looks.

Not a bad price either for what you’re getting with fuel consumption of 6.6 Litres per 100km.  All in all, it’s a great car and if you’re a family traveller or a person wanting a smart, great technology-filled vehicle at a great price, this is the one.