Cut Price luxury at the cost of brains.

I write this post beaming with happiness! The reason? I drove a Mercedes today, my first one!

So the story starts somewhere in march when Mercedes announces that it will launch the new A class hatchback in India! That day i made a commitment to myself that i will drive it, and today i was standing there in the showroom of Mercedes waiting for the salesman to bring the car from inside the garage.

Now driving A class today wasn't exactly the part of the plan, we were going for the test drive of the new skoda Octavia but the test car was broken. Now when i go for a test drive of a car i don't go home without taking one even if i have to go to another showroom and drive totally different car. So i went to Mercedes showroom and took one for a drive!

Now the question of the hour, HOW was it??
I think this is one of the biggest letdown i have ever had in my life!

The car without a doubt looks the part. It grabs ones attention very easily because of its stunning looks. It also has stunning interiors but that part is only for the driver as it gets pretty claustrophobic in the back.

SO WHAT IS wrong with it??

1. Very slow! it has a massive 2.2l diesel engine which ironically produces only 110 hp!

2. Slow gearbox. Despite having paddle shifts the changes are slow though they are very smooth.

3. Noisy, you expect a Mercedes to be silent, almost mute, this isn't.

It feels like you are sitting in a normal diesel hatchback rather than a luxurious one!

4. Boot space. when you open the lid for the boot you are in for a surprise as there isn't one! :P. Whatever of boot space had been there is occupied by the spare tire. So if you want to go on a long drive you either carry a tire and don't change your clothes wherever you go for days or you take clothes with you but don't reach the destination at all.

What if i don't care about boot space, engine output, gearshift speed, etc, etc, then go for BMW 1 series its better fun to drive and for the love of god its a rear wheel drive hatchback!

So to sum it up the Mercedes is like an Iphone, extremely costly with no features whatsoever and pretty much useless. So like the Iphone it will only be bought by people who are extremely brand conscious and CATASTROPHICALLY stupid!

Seriously if you buy this you need to get yourself tested. I'd rather buy a superbike for 25 lac rs than buy this car.

BUT still this was my first experience of driving a german luxury car and i will never forget it even though how senseless the car is and the only good thing about it is the driving seat, it still will be one of the most memorable drives of my life.

There is still a lot of time before i buy a car an even when i'll buy one it wont be an A class so till then, a guy on a moped it is :)