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Auto Express Car Reviews
A-Class Buying Alternatives
May 2002
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It had a difficult birth thanks to fears over its high-speed stability, but that hasn't stopped the A-Class becoming the best-selling Mercedes ever. Yet despite being the cheapest way into three-pointed-star ownership, there are competitors which offer as much space and kit, but are easier on the pocket...
Toyota Yaris Verso
The Yaris Verso and the A-Class have a lot more in common than you might think. Sliding rear seats, bags of interior space and top-rate build quality apply to the Toyota as much as they do to the Mercedes. For £8,000 you can pick up a 1998 A-Class with 70,000 miles on the clock - or a nearly new Verso with less than 10,000 miles showing.
Engines: 1.3-litre petrol; 1.4-litre diesel. Years: 2000-present. Prices: £7,600-£10,000
Renault Kangoo
Okay, so the Kangoo doesn't have the same car park cachet as the Mercedes, nor is it anywhere near as refined. But that doesn't mean it isn't trendy. The Renault is perhaps the prettiest of the van-with-windows brigade and represents fantastic second-hand value. Interior space is excellent, while the earliest T-reg models are now priced below £6,000.
Engines: 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrol; 1.9-litre diesel. Years: 1999-present. Prices: £5,400-£9,250
Chrysler PT Cruiser
If you don't want a Merc but you still require the looks, the PT Cruiser is an interesting alternative. It isn't that much cheaper than the A-Class side-by-side, but it does offer the space and practicality of a people carrier or an estate car inside one of the funkiest-looking bodies on the market. A W-registered example with a manual gearbox is now likely to set you back less than £12,000.
Engines: 2.0-litre petrol. Years: 2000-present. Price: £11,500-£16,500
Mitsubishi Space Star
The Mitsubishi is the closest competitor to the A-Class, in design terms if not in image. As with the Mercedes, it's a supermini which pretends to be a people carrier, and it does a pretty good job of it, too - providing you don't mind its dull driving characteristics. The 1.8-litre GDI engines are the best, and these versions cost from £7,000 for a tidy T-plater.
Engines: 1.3, 1.6 and 1.8-litre petrol. Years: 1998-present. Prices: £5,900-£12,200
Toyota Yaris Verso
The Yaris Verso and the A-Class have a lot more in common than you might think. Sliding rear seats, bags of interior space and top-rate build quality apply to the Toyota as much as they do to the Mercedes. For £8,000 you can pick up a 1998 A-Class with 70,000 miles on the clock - or a nearly new Verso with less than 10,000 miles showing.
Engines: 1.3-litre petrol; 1.4-litre diesel. Years: 2000-present. Prices: £7,600-£10,000
Renault Kangoo
Okay, so the Kangoo doesn't have the same car park cachet as the Mercedes, nor is it anywhere near as refined. But that doesn't mean it isn't trendy. The Renault is perhaps the prettiest of the van-with-windows brigade and represents fantastic second-hand value. Interior space is excellent, while the earliest T-reg models are now priced below £6,000.
Engines: 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrol; 1.9-litre diesel. Years: 1999-present. Prices: £5,400-£9,250
Chrysler PT Cruiser
If you don't want a Merc but you still require the looks, the PT Cruiser is an interesting alternative. It isn't that much cheaper than the A-Class side-by-side, but it does offer the space and practicality of a people carrier or an estate car inside one of the funkiest-looking bodies on the market. A W-registered example with a manual gearbox is now likely to set you back less than £12,000.
Engines: 2.0-litre petrol. Years: 2000-present. Price: £11,500-£16,500
Mitsubishi Space Star
The Mitsubishi is the closest competitor to the A-Class, in design terms if not in image. As with the Mercedes, it's a supermini which pretends to be a people carrier, and it does a pretty good job of it, too - providing you don't mind its dull driving characteristics. The 1.8-litre GDI engines are the best, and these versions cost from £7,000 for a tidy T-plater.
Engines: 1.3, 1.6 and 1.8-litre petrol. Years: 1998-present. Prices: £5,900-£12,200
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