Mercedes Benz A Class A180 CDI Review

Good Points
The A180 CDI (Manual 6/Diesel) has great power delivery and a steady power-band, a forgiving clutch, great seat adjustments and easy to fine tune, good front and rear visibility, one command stem allows for easy operation of turn signals and windsheild wipes, etc., good trunk space for the size of the vehicle, great fuel economy and comfortable seating for four average adults.

Bad Points
When the adjustable steering wheel is set in the lowest position the wheel blocks the speed dial from the 60km to the 140km marker, but I will guess that this is relative to the driver's height and driving position. The wing mirrors visibilty takes some time to master.

General Comments
I rented the car for 3 days in Nuremberg, Germany and drove to the Alsace region in eastern France. The Mercedes A180 CDI (Manual 6/Diesel) had great performance and handling on the autobahn at a crusing speed of 160/70 km/hr and the car was able to sprint pass an Audi 1.8TT at a brisk 195/200 km/hr; quite suprising. The seats could wear thin on your back and legs after 2.5/3 hrs. of driving and thats about the average 'fatigue time' for most cars or SUVs I've driven. The orientation of the reverse gear (left of gears 1 and 2) takes some focus and mental note taking. If you are not used to a 6 speed gearbox you can mistakingly select a forward gear (gears 4 or 6), because of where a reverse gear would be placed on a 5 speed vehicle. Even though I had some resevations when it came to renting the vehicle (My 1st choice was a Peugeot 407 for 1 week) the A180 CDI turned out to be quite a dynamic vehicle.