Stiff competition for the Mk7 Golf GTI - First Edition

[alebonau]

This is review in the herald sun, scored 4.5/5

http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and...t_drive_review

[alebonau]

full age drive and video review here,

Drive - Mercedes-Benz A250 Review

[cktsi]

Man i am feeling that the A class is practically here already but I have already put my deposit on the 328i. This is absolutely one cracker of a car! Small, particularly well equipped, good looks (except the diamond grill)... Man what a package!

If i was cross shopping a featured GTI vs the A250 sport then this wins (subject to a test drive).

Admittedly those with a less accomodating budget will see affordability and value in the base GTI.

The caveat is that it's a new car, and like others have said it is worth waiting till they bed down the manufacturing process as i am sure quality will be an issue for early examples.

Phew... Ok... Feel slightly better. So the A250 sport with reliability one won't land in march 2013 but more likely march 2014 :p

After being bitten twice for buying too early in the VW product cycle... I say ppl should consider the purchase timing seriously! I believe the DCT is newer to the MB group on their lower powered cars than it is VAG.

Back on topic, in 12 months time A250 vs GTI will be one hell of a competition.

[clip]

full age drive and video review here,

Drive - Mercedes-Benz A250 Review

Had to laugh at his last comment 'its a hot hatch for someone who's growning up, but hasn't completly grown up' - sounds like someone I know.

[clip]

I know this is a bit off topic, but as we're looking at competition to our VW's, thought it might interest some. It's a bit scary, if you can believe it: (mods, if it's been posted elsewhere just delete it)

The UK’s leading supplier of direct consumer warranties studied data from live consumer policies which showed that the only engines to have failed more often than Audis in the past year were those from the now defunct MG Rover group, while the MINI finished a disappointing third from bottom. BMW and Volkswagen featured seventh and ninth respectively in the power plant scale of shame.

At the top end of the table, Japan took the plaudits as Honda and Toyota proved to be the manufacturers with the most reliable power units, while Mercedes-Benz upheld some German honour by taking the third best accolade.

1 in 13 MG Rover motors failed in the past year, while 1 in 27 Audi owners had issues with theirs. At the opposite end of the scale, just 1 in every 345 Honda owners had a problem with their power unit.

Engine Reliability – Bottom 10 Manufacturers

Manufacturer Failure Rate (%) Failure Rate (1 in x)
1 MG Rover 7.88% 1 in 13
2 Audi 3.71% 1 in 27
3 MINI 2.51% 1 in 40
4 Saab 2.49% 1 in 40
5 Vauxhall 2.46% 1 in 41
6 Peugeot 2.26% 1 in 44
7 BMW 2.20% 1 in 45
8 Renault 2.13% 1 in 46
9 Volkswagen 1.91% 1 in 52
10 Mitsubishi 1.70% 1 in 59

Engine Reliability – Top 10 Manufacturers

Manufacturer Failure Rate (%) Failure Rate (1 in x)
1 Honda 0.29% 1 in 344
2 Toyota 0.58% 1 in 171
3 Mercedes-Benz 0.84% 1 in 119
4 Volvo 0.90% 1 in 111
5 Jaguar 0.98% 1 in 103
6 Lexus 0.99% 1 in 101
7 Fiat 1.17% 1 in 85
8 Ford 1.25% 1 in 80
9 Nissan 1.32% 1 in 76
10 Land Rover 1.38% 1 in 72

[Lemonskin]

I know this is a bit off topic, but as we're looking at competition to our VW's, thought it might interest some. It's a bit scary, if you can believe it: (mods, if it's been posted elsewhere just delete it)

The UK’s leading supplier of direct consumer warranties studied data from live consumer policies which showed that the only engines to have failed more often than Audis in the past year were those from the now defunct MG Rover group, while the MINI finished a disappointing third from bottom. BMW and Volkswagen featured seventh and ninth respectively in the power plant scale of shame.

At the top end of the table, Japan took the plaudits as Honda and Toyota proved to be the manufacturers with the most reliable power units, while Mercedes-Benz upheld some German honour by taking the third best accolade.

1 in 13 MG Rover motors failed in the past year, while 1 in 27 Audi owners had issues with theirs. At the opposite end of the scale, just 1 in every 345 Honda owners had a problem with their power unit.

Engine Reliability – Bottom 10 Manufacturers

Manufacturer Failure Rate (%) Failure Rate (1 in x)
1 MG Rover 7.88% 1 in 13
2 Audi 3.71% 1 in 27
3 MINI 2.51% 1 in 40
4 Saab 2.49% 1 in 40
5 Vauxhall 2.46% 1 in 41
6 Peugeot 2.26% 1 in 44
7 BMW 2.20% 1 in 45
8 Renault 2.13% 1 in 46
9 Volkswagen 1.91% 1 in 52
10 Mitsubishi 1.70% 1 in 59

Engine Reliability – Top 10 Manufacturers

Manufacturer Failure Rate (%) Failure Rate (1 in x)
1 Honda 0.29% 1 in 344
2 Toyota 0.58% 1 in 171
3 Mercedes-Benz 0.84% 1 in 119
4 Volvo 0.90% 1 in 111
5 Jaguar 0.98% 1 in 103
6 Lexus 0.99% 1 in 101
7 Fiat 1.17% 1 in 85
8 Ford 1.25% 1 in 80
9 Nissan 1.32% 1 in 76
10 Land Rover 1.38% 1 in 72

It surprises me that Land Rover and Fiat are in the top 10...

[alebonau]

Man i am feeling that the A class is practically here already but I have already put my deposit on the 328i. This is absolutely one cracker of a car! Small, particularly well equipped, good looks (except the diamond grill)... Man what a package!

If i was cross shopping a featured GTI vs the A250 sport then this wins (subject to a test drive).

Admittedly those with a less accomodating budget will see affordability and value in the base GTI.

The caveat is that it's a new car, and like others have said it is worth waiting till they bed down the manufacturing process as i am sure quality will be an issue for early examples.

Phew... Ok... Feel slightly better. So the A250 sport with reliability one won't land in march 2013 but more likely march 2014 :p

After being bitten twice for buying too early in the VW product cycle... I say ppl should consider the purchase timing seriously! I believe the DCT is newer to the MB group on their lower powered cars than it is VAG.

Back on topic, in 12 months time A250 vs GTI will be one hell of a competition.

wouldnt fret the 328i would be an excellent car am sure would be downright pleased

was keen to see what the diamond grill would look like on the a250 as well. and fits the part I think am real pleased they brought that across from the original concept

the DCT they use across the Merc range and not heard of any issues, but yeah time will tell.

one thing loved was the exhaust note on the a250 glad AMG had a part to play on that

another cracker of a local review guys !

Mercedes-Benz A 250 Sport 2013: Launch Review

[alebonau]

Had to laugh at his last comment 'its a hot hatch for someone who's growning up, but hasn't completly grown up' - sounds like someone I know.

hehe too true !

[Dutch77]

So BMW are advertising 'complimentary' M sport packages till March.. effectively a $5k price cut on selected models; bizarrely they are not offering it on the 1 series hatch, the car that logically will be destroyed across the board by the A class but particularly the A250.

I assume it won't be long before there are some head to head tests on the A250, although I think its real test comes once the Mk7 GTI lands.

[alebonau]

dutch they offered free 8 speed auto and business sat nav last month or so also free with the 1 series and kind of makes sense as most people want it. that was around $4-5k thrown in as well. suprised they arent doing the free M pack on the 1 series especially the 125i as effectively that would have put it in contention with the A250 with its AMG goodies. bmw was probably most dissapointing to be honest in my demoing around on golf gti options. finding the 125i overpriced to hilt compared to the a250 and also styling wise wasnt too sure at all with the bmw. if they did something to pricing they might get a lot more interest I think