The Mercedes A200 Turbo was a real insider

That first A-class with a blown petrol engine was the A200 Turbo, unveiled in 2005, which joined the A150, A170 and A200 plus a few diesels about a year after the introduction of the second generation. He was regarded as a sporting trendsetter, a position to which he was certainly entitled because of his royal 193 horses. In any case, it cut a better figure in this regard than the crazy, 250-built A160 F1 Edition of 1999, which officially went by the names Häkkinen and Coulthard and also sported the F1 color scheme. Compared to those floats, the A200 Turbo was a real insider, because only a chrome-plated nameplate revealed how much muscle power was hidden under its short engine cover. Mercedes reasoned that the jacket in which the second-generation A-class wore itself was already dynamic enough. Or at least significantly ‘more dynamic and self-confident’ than the previous model.

Baureihe W169 owes this to its much wider body with voluptuous shoulder pads around the wheels, which above all shout to you that no moose will ever knock it over. The latter remained a hot topic, and also the reason why the second A not only got a brand new rear axle – built to neutralize the negative effects of lateral forces – but also innovative shock absorbers, which had an active character without the intervention of electronics. They were smooth when driving in a straight line, but quickly hardened at large steering angles to counteract roll on the longitudinal axis. For the first and last time in the life of the A-class, all this extra dynamism also included a three-door coach, with which the small Benz as a space car – which in fact it still was – joined a small and illustrious company, including the the first Renault Twingo and the Avantime of the same brand, but also the Peugeot 1007. The ambitious idea that the A-class could successfully attack the C-segment with it, fell into the water. Say it, rather a three-door A200 Turbo or a Golf GTI, BMW 120i or, say, a Subaru Impreza WRX?