Used Mercedes A-Class review: 2012 to 2018 (Mk3) - Practicality & boot space
The Mercedes A-Class isn’t as roomy as some of its rivals, but the hatchback body shape means it’s still good for family life
The Mercedes A-Class is one of the smallest models in the brand’s range, but since it’s a hatchback rather than a saloon, it’s still reasonably practical and will be fine for many families. All Mercedes A-Class’ come with five doors, making them much more practical than the three-door Audi A3 or BMW 1 Series. Those models were also available with five doors, though.
The downside of the A-Class’ sporty looks is that the low roofline makes it feel quite claustrophobic inside – something not helped by the black trim on the seats, doors and roof lining. The Audi A3 is more spacious, especially if you go for the five-door A3 Sportback version, and it feels much nicer inside.
How big is the Mercedes A-Class?
The length, width and height of the Mercedes A-Class depends on which version you choose – the different wheels and body trim pieces change the dimensions slightly. As a general rule, though, the A-Class Mk3 is 4.3m long, 1.8m wide and 1.4m tall. This means it’s about the same as a BMW 1 Series overall, although the BMW is a little longer and not quite as wide.
How much space is there for passengers?
There’s enough room for kids in the back of the A-Class, but taller adults might feel a bit too cramped. It’s not as roomy as an Audi A3 or Volkswagen Golf in the back, and the smaller windows mean it’s also quite dark.
Getting into the back seats can be a bit of a squeeze, because the Mercedes’ doors don’t open as wide as some other models’. There should be no such problems for the front seats, thanks to wide-opening doors and lots of space. There are also plenty of storage cubbies and cup-holders, and since you sit quite low in the car, there’s lots of headroom for tall drivers.
How big is the boot?
Boot capacity falls short of the best in class – the A-Class’ 340-litre boot is smaller than the BMW 1 Series’ 360-litre luggage area, and the Audi A3 Sportback and Volkswagen Golf both have 380 litres of boot space.
Folding down the rear seats frees up a total load capacity of 1,157 litres. Annoyingly, to do that you have to remove the parcel shelf completely, plus the high boot lip and small (for a hatchback) boot opening mean that getting large items in is trickier than it should be. The shape of the opening is rather awkward too, because the rear lights take up a lot of space.
