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MERCEDES-BENZ A200 HATCH AMG LINE

TEXT: Richard Wiley (Ultimate Drive) F ew would disagree with my assertion that if you make positive statements about yourself, there’s a concomitant need to live up to the claims. So, in the car world we’ve had – among many others – statements such as “Everything keeps going right” and “The best or nothing.” The former was associated with a Japanese make that’s made mighty inroads in RSA (and Africa) and inevitably led to the appearance of cynical home video clips depicting when things didn’t go quite right. It’s the latter though that is of relevance here as the subject of the review is a recently updated Merc which, given that it features a rather significant bought-in component, has a lot to live up to even if the advertising tag line is infused with more puffery than the more quantifiable claim from Toyota! The Merc referred to is the recently refreshed A200 AMG Line in hatchback form, and given that advertising slogan, and the fact that this model carries a

price tag in RSA that makes it surely the most expensive 1300cc car in the country, it came under the closest scrutiny from me. If I heard you react with surprise given that this Merc carries a 200 badge on its rump but is actually a 1300, I would fully understand as in the days of yore, the model nomenclature of a Merc very closely mirrored the cubic capacity of its engine. Things are different today though as this 1332cc engine, dubbed the M282, is not only much smaller than the badge suggests, it’s also shared with Renault and Nissan with the former having done most of the development work as far as I can establish. Two issues arise from this. Firstly, you can be absolutely sure that were the A200 really powered by a 2,0 litre engine, the badge on the back would never read A130. Draw your own conclusions, if you will. Secondly, and I have no wish whatsoever to suggest that Renault is not equipped to design efficient and durable engines, it seems incongruous to me that the world’s

oldest car company should be producing cars adorned with the three-pointed star that are powered by engines sourced from another alliance. Clearly, the bottom line is all-important and reflects the fact that M-B are avoiding the huge costs that are incurred today in producing small capacity engines that comply with stringent emissions regs. Now for the specifics. That four-cylinder M282 engine is a 16-valve turbocharged device that delivers 120kW and 270Nm all of which is directed through the front wheels via a 7-speed dual clutch gearbox. Outright performance figures suggest that 100 can be attained in a competitive 8,2s and for those who wish to swell the cash coffers of the nearest traffic department, a top speed of 225km/h is claimed. In terms of thirst, I recorded 9.4L/100km over a week’s varied use, some way off the typically optimistic figures bandied about by the M-B script writers. It’s not outright pace, though, that matters too much in everyday driving

44 FEBRUARY 2024