Mercedes-Benz A-class Limousine review, road test

In order to save fuel, both, the A 200 and A 200d get a coasting function, wherein the gearbox switches to neutral so that the engine revs fall to idling RPMs when driven at steady speeds. The moment you get on the throttle, it engages a gear automatically.

The diesel simply outclasses its petrol counterpart with a city and highway efficiency of 12.54kpl and 17.72kpl, respectively, versus the A 200’s 7.23kpl and 12.27kpl. While both use shorter gearing, the diesel gets an additional eighth gear, so its motor is spinning at 1,600rpm at 100kph, while the petrol’s 7-speed makes the engine spin at 1,900rpm in top gear. What helps the diesel’s case is its far more effortless character, whereas the petrol seems to work much harder to make progress, leading to higher consumption. Interestingly, both cars are equipped with engine start-stop technology to reduce fuel consumption while idling, but during our tests, the petrol switched the engine off more often compared to the diesel.

We put the A 35 AMG through our highway cycle, and it returned a respectable 11.82kpl. We didn’t do a typical city cycle, instead we measured the efficiency after a rather spirited drive and the A 35 managed 5.1kpl.