Y
es, you’re reading the subtitle correctly. Occasionally, a vehicle comes along that defies the characteristics of a segment. Take the Beetle for instance, or Fiat 500 and the Miata. They alter the way we view the segment and what we should expect from this type of vehicle. The A250 does precisely this. Hatchbacks conjure up images of compact, utilitarian workhorses that are truly the Swiss Knives of the automotive world. They act as your runabout during the week, convert to your friend’s moving van on Saturday and will carry you and all your friends to the nightclub on Saturday night. Some are offered in go fast flavours and others in more mundane versions, but, they all pull off the quick change moves with ease. The A250 4Matic Hatch does all that, but does it with panache in an attractive and sporty package with a long hood and forward lean to the grill. How? You may ask. The answer is the interior. The A250’s interior is a place of beauty and technology. The reality is that the majority of hatchback buyers are younger and by nature, more technically savvy, demanding high levels of connectivity. Mercedes obliges with the Mercedes-Benz User eXperience, aka MBUX. The system’s primary interfaces are two 10.25” displays housed in a single flowing enclosure from the driver seat to the center console creating the illusion of a single screen spanning nearly two feet across the vehicle. The system is a cloud-based interface that can learn based on your needs and inquiries. It can nearly control everything via voice interface, from adjusting the temperature to opening the panoramic roof. Speaking of nightclubs, the A250, and for that matter, most modern Mercedes can customize the interior colour to match your mood in 64 different variations or from a set of predetermined multi light patterns that Mercedes has chosen for you. Finally, the system controls can be done through a center console touchpad, wheel-mounted touchpads, voice or a touch interface screen. 28
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2020
2020 MERCEDES A250 4MATIC HATCH
NATIONAL MAGAZINE
