New Mercedes A Class: Geneva 2012

New Mercedes A Class at Geneva

We catch up with the new Mercedes A Class (2012) at Geneva and take a look at Mercedes’ answer to the BMW 1 Series.

We had lots about the new Mercedes A Class in the run up to Geneva, but now we’ve had the chance to see it in Switzerland we’re even more convinced it could have the measure of the latest BMW 1 Series.

The current A Class was very much a car bought by middle-aged, middle-class Mercedes owners for ‘er indoors. That role will now fall to the new B Class – yes, it’s bigger than the A Class but much more in the rather staid mode of the old A Class – and Mercedes are chasing a new demographic with the new A Class – the young and the trendy.

With a style that’s not too dissimilar to the now quite good BMW 1 Series (and, it could be argued, the new kid on the block – the new Volvo V40) the new A Class seems to hit the Zeitgeist in the looks department. Which is more than can be said for the new Audi A3 which, although an all new car, does little to excite the sight sense.

Perhaps it’s the big change from the current A Class that makes the new seem more appealing, but it really does look good. It doesn’t just look good – inside and out – but it promises to offer a range of models and engines which will suit most, from a 1.8 litre, 108bhp diesel up to a the A250 with a 2.0 litre petrol turbo with twice as much power.

As with the Volvo V40, how the new A Class drives and how Mercedes price it will be key to it’s success, neither of which we will know the answer to for a while.

But the new A Class does look promising.

(44 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

By Cars UK