Baby Benz

[Jacfm]

Hi All,

 

Just want to get your views on getting a baby Benz. If you have any contacts or experience about it, please provide me with some valuable info about the car...

 

Thanks in advance and Regards

[Cklasse]

Which baby benz? W168 or W169?

Go to www.sgmerc.com to post your question or http://www.benzworld.org/forums/ to check out the baby.

 

I once had the W168 for 3 years...I love the car.

[Vicz]

bro, i thot the W168 is kinda flimsy for a merc standard... wats the x factor that makes u love it?

[Porche]

for that price can get a lot of cars or MPV. get a C class

[Cklasse]

In designing the W168, the MB designers were told to think out of the box, and it was very different from what MB has been doing...rear wheel drive, big cars....

 

The W168 was one of the shortest car on the road then, and the ride comfort suffered because of this short length between the front and rear wheels. It was apparent to anyone who first sat in it that the ride is bumpy, however, it was a matter of getting used to since it is not so uncomfortable.

 

The car was packed with lots of engineering such as ESP, slide down engine when impact and the safety level was high for a car so small.

 

It was a first step towards stardom for me...the feeling that you won't get it until you sit in your own car with the star on the steering wheel in front of you. The car drives well, allowing me to switch lane quickly (the 4 wheels are at the corners) and can park in small lots. The base of the car is wide like a sedan and tapers upwards. The car always feel planted to the road at high speed (I had pushed a A140 at 180km/h for long distance on the autobahn and it still feel firm) and can take corner well (of course not like a sports car). It always give an assuring feel when driving it.

 

I like the earlier version of the W168, with its signature window shape and compact yet roomy frame. If not for the W203, I wouldn't have given up the car.

[Evow123]

wow bro

 

that's your little tiger you drove on the autobahn!

 

ok see you tomolow at meetup

[Cklasse]

No No....I rented a grey A140 for my German holiday (to visit Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen). The tiger stripe A-class picture was taken in Zurich, Switzerland, own by a local, paint scheme inspired by the Switzerland Air Force fighter plane.

 

ok, see you tomorrow.

Edited June 23, 2007 by Cklasse

[Jacfm]

Hi,

 

Still not decided which model yet.

 

Btw, What happened? Wat car u driving now?

Do you have any contact for the car.

[Zaizen_goro]

nice car......

[Aizen]

Mmm I'm driving an A-class model W168 right now.Think it was one of the earlier pre-facelifted models.They did have several versions of the W168 right?

 

Anyway,its a nice car.Bumpy yes but feels rather solid and looks "cute".Interior is rather big and the size of the car makes parking rather easy.

 

Btw Cklasse,any idea if there are any A-class owner groups out there in Singapore now?Would like to maybe join them for a tea session to find out more about the car.Haha,realised that the tiger-striped A-class has the same rims as mine.

[A-Klasse5]

Hi, previously I too was a W168 A190 owner. My ride was upgraded with front Brabus bumper with fog lights + 17" Brabus rims. I guessed my ride was exported to London. Both my wife & I like the car very much.

 

Previously, I am tapping the resources from our local A-Klasse Club as follow:

http://aklasseclub.proboards12.com/

 

Not sure whether is it still active? You may try to find some good sharing from the members.

 

Enjoy your ride!

[Cklasse]

The forum is from the A-klasse club website http://a_klasse_club.tripod.com.

The club is non existing now after the core members changed cars and no one took over.

 

Anyway, a single model car club is not easy to sustain unless there are a lot of eager members. We now have a mix model club for all Mercedes-Benz (from A to R class) and members tend to drive the main stream models longer than the A-class. The A-class to me was a first love with Mercedes-Benz and the first step into stardom. I am still very much in love with my current C-class after more than 3 years.

 

So all A-class owners, do join us this August for our meetup.

 

www.sgmerc.com

[Chickenbackside]

Owned an A190 before too, with Brabus kit. It was ok. Build quality was sub Merc quality. Interior plastics were erm, sub Jap standard. But the build "quality" itself was definitely better than Jap cars. Everything was heavy, doors closed with a bassy thunk. The A190 was quite peppy due to the bigger engine than the usual A160 or A140.

 

Due to the way the car was constructed, simple jobs can become tedious affairs. I remember there was a clunking noise whenever I stepped on the accelerator. Workshop disgnosed it and said it was quite a common problem on A classes. But on a normal car, changing the part would take 1/2 hour. On the A class, it took 1/2 a day. More time to fix naturally equates to more money to fix.

 

Other than that, it was reliable. Handling was very good due to the sports suspension on the car. But it was stiff. Stiffer than coilovers on say a BMW.

 

Test drove the new A class and it was a completely different car. Much better made, much better quality in the interior, much more comfortable.

 

So all in all, I'd say if you don't love the way it looks until there's no other choice and like really stiff riding cars, skip the W168 model.

Edited September 15, 2007 by Chickenbackside