As you may recall, I am intrigued by the possibility of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class coming to the US. It would be a good car for customers in the 20-30 age range who want something small and sporty to zip around in. In other words, this would be a fun car for somebody without kids. If you look at the prices of similar sized vehicles, the MSRP would do best in the mid to high $20’s. The competition is right there:
- $25,475 — Volvo C30
- $28,145 — Audi A3
- $28,900 — SAAB 9-3
- $29,995 — Lexus CT Hybrid
- $30,950 — BMW 128
- $34,865 — Mercedes-Benz C300
Like the Volvo C30, the A-Class would have seating for four occupants. That’s a good idea as three in the back would not be realistic. As to the interior, we can only hope that the production vehicle is not so edgy. It puts me … well … on edge. I don’t really care for the red lighting. Everybody wants to have their own coloring, but I must say that red would wear on me after a while. I would prefer a soothing color such as green or blue. But that’s just my opinion. However, the seats look perfect for a sporty hatchback. They have plenty of bolsters for when it’s time to make some moves in traffic.
Hopefully, the A-Class will leave concept status for production in the US market. See the article Best Upscale Small Cars by US News & World Report and you will see that this type of car is already being marketed by the competition. Mercedes-Benz needs to get it here soon or they will lose that important slice of the US market.