{"id":3426,"date":"2012-12-04T13:36:01","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T13:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/?p=3426"},"modified":"2015-03-18T19:53:50","modified_gmt":"2015-03-18T19:53:50","slug":"first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/","title":{"rendered":"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_3427\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_1.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3427\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3427\" title=\"a_class_1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3427\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The new A-Class is as different from its predecessor as it is possible to be<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em><br \/>\nThe domination of Audi\u2019s A3 and the BMW 1 series in the premium hatchback market is about to be challenged by Mercedes new A-class<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is it?<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Unrecognizable\u00a0from the model it replaces, the new A-Class is longer, wider and slicker. It is not only one of the best looking hatchbacks around but it is the most affordable car with a three-pointed star.<\/p>\n<p><strong>First impressions of the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class. <\/strong>The bold muscular front is enhanced by the dominant<strong> <\/strong>new diamond grille and over-sized three-pointed star. Our test model with the AMG trim bears the most resemblance to the A-Class concept car and is stunningly finished.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What about the interior? <\/strong>Inside the interior is a delicate mix of carbon-fibre trim and minimalist sophistication and is far more reminiscent of the SLS supercar than traditional Mercedes. There is also a host of gadgetry compatible for the iPhone, iPad and optional on board high-tech functionality such as voice-activated units and iPad music and Apps can be played through the car\u2019s infotainment system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And on the road? <\/strong>At the launch we had the opportunity to drive the Mercedes-Benz A-Class A180 CDI AMG Sport.<br \/>\n<strong>Mercedes-Benz A-Class and the city:<\/strong> The A-class is light and nimble with decent feedback from the steering.<br \/>\n<strong>Mercedes-Benz A-Class and the open road: <\/strong>On the road it is<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>refined and even at high speed it is quiet while\u00a0the ride quality is easily a match for rivals.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-3428\" title=\"a_class_2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_2-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>How Much? <\/strong>Priced directly against the competitors \u20ac26,435 is the starting price for the A-Class petrol 1.8 while the 1.8 diesel starts at \u20ac28,550.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Safe?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>A host of safety features have been passed down to the A-Class from its bigger siblings including emergency braking anti-collision systems, attention assist and tyre pressure warnings as standard.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What about my options: <\/strong>Power for the new A-Class comes from a 1.8-litre, 2.0 litre and 2.5 petrol engine. Diesel engines include \u00a01.8 and 2.0 litre options. All models are available with a choice of three specifications and equipment lines \u2013 Style, Urban and Sports Pack. A full blown AMG sports version with all wheel drive and a whopping 350bhp \u00a0will arrive at the end of next year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3 words to describe the Mercedes-Benz A-Class; <\/strong>Ravishing, Economical, Muscular<\/p>\n<p>For more information check out\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mercedes-benz.ie\/content\/ireland\/mpc\/mpc_ireland_website\/enng\/home_mpc\/passengercars.flash.html\">Mercedes-Benz.ie<\/a>\u00a0or the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MercedesBenzIreland\">Mercedes Benz facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>4<sup>th<\/sup> December, 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The domination of Audi\u2019s A3 and the BMW 1 series in the premium hatchback market is about to be challenged by Mercedes new A-class What is it?\u00a0\u00a0Unrecognizable\u00a0from the model it replaces, the new A-Class is longer, wider and slicker. It is not only one of the best looking hatchbacks around but it is the most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,267,6],"tags":[779,930,931,503,217,932],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.13 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class A180 CDI AMG Sport\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class A180 CDI AMG Sport\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"wheelsforwomen.ie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wheelsforwomen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-04T13:36:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-03-18T19:53:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Geraldine Herbert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Geraldine Herbert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Geraldine Herbert\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9263f6ed5330b3f3553487011f8b95\"},\"headline\":\"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-04T13:36:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-03-18T19:53:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/\"},\"wordCount\":404,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"A-Class\",\"A180\",\"CDI AMG Sport\",\"Featured\",\"Mercedes Benz\",\"Mercedes-Benz Ireland\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Car Reviews\",\"First Drives\",\"Hatchbacks\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/\",\"name\":\"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-04T13:36:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-03-18T19:53:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class A180 CDI AMG Sport\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Car Reviews\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/category\/new-car-reviews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"First Drives\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/category\/new-car-reviews\/first-drives\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/\",\"name\":\"wheelsforwomen.ie\",\"description\":\"Ireland&#039;s only website for women on wheels - cars, motorbikes, bikes\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#organization\",\"name\":\"wheelsforwomen.ie\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/lwfwogo4.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/lwfwogo4.png\",\"width\":450,\"height\":60,\"caption\":\"wheelsforwomen.ie\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wheelsforwomen\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wheelsforwomen\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCCspNSMESDvvavOz4tBrnKw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9263f6ed5330b3f3553487011f8b95\",\"name\":\"Geraldine Herbert\",\"description\":\"Motoring Editor and Columnist for the Sunday Independent and editor of wheelsforwomen. Geraldine is also a regular contributor to Good Housekeeping (UK), EuroNews and to RT\u00c9, Newstalk, TodayFM, BBC Radio and Vigin Media. You can follow Geraldine on Twitter at @GerHerbert1\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\",\"admin\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GerHerbert1\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class","description":"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class A180 CDI AMG Sport","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class","og_description":"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class A180 CDI AMG Sport","og_url":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/","og_site_name":"wheelsforwomen.ie","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wheelsforwomen","article_author":"admin","article_published_time":"2012-12-04T13:36:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-03-18T19:53:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"600","height":"400","url":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/a_class_1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Geraldine Herbert","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Geraldine Herbert","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/"},"author":{"name":"Geraldine Herbert","@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9263f6ed5330b3f3553487011f8b95"},"headline":"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class","datePublished":"2012-12-04T13:36:01+00:00","dateModified":"2015-03-18T19:53:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/"},"wordCount":404,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#organization"},"keywords":["A-Class","A180","CDI AMG Sport","Featured","Mercedes Benz","Mercedes-Benz Ireland"],"articleSection":["Car Reviews","First Drives","Hatchbacks"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/","name":"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-12-04T13:36:01+00:00","dateModified":"2015-03-18T19:53:50+00:00","description":"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class A180 CDI AMG Sport","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/first-drive-mercedes-benz-a-class\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Car Reviews","item":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/category\/new-car-reviews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"First Drives","item":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/category\/new-car-reviews\/first-drives\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"First Drive \u2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/","name":"wheelsforwomen.ie","description":"Ireland&#039;s only website for women on wheels - cars, motorbikes, bikes","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#organization","name":"wheelsforwomen.ie","url":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/lwfwogo4.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/lwfwogo4.png","width":450,"height":60,"caption":"wheelsforwomen.ie"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wheelsforwomen","https:\/\/twitter.com\/wheelsforwomen","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCCspNSMESDvvavOz4tBrnKw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/4e9263f6ed5330b3f3553487011f8b95","name":"Geraldine Herbert","description":"Motoring Editor and Columnist for the Sunday Independent and editor of wheelsforwomen. Geraldine is also a regular contributor to Good Housekeeping (UK), EuroNews and to RT\u00c9, Newstalk, TodayFM, BBC Radio and Vigin Media. You can follow Geraldine on Twitter at @GerHerbert1","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie","admin","https:\/\/twitter.com\/GerHerbert1"],"url":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3426"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wheelsforwomen.ie\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}