- Turbo engine co-developed with Renault

- 161bhp and 250Nm of torque

When Mercedes-Benz first launched the A-Class in India back in 2013, it came in as a hatchback and the petrol version was powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder engine with around 120bhp and 200Nm of torque. Fast forward to 2023, the A-Class for India has evolved into an entry-level luxury sedan and the petrol version, dubbed A200, gets a completely different engine. Let’s find out what it is and how it performs.

Mercedes-Benz A200 engine details

The A200, in fact, gets a 1.3-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged engine that Mercedes has co-developed with Renault. Now even though it is smaller than what the original A-Class had, it makes more power and torque thanks to turbocharging. You are looking at 161bhp and 250Nm, all of which are channeled via a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic gearbox. ‘Adequate’ is perhaps the best term to describe this powertrain. It is, of course, very refined and it has the Mercedes’ levels of smoothness to it as long as you are not wringing it. Driving in traffic at city speeds, the A200 feels nice and comfortable - the engine has enough power in reserve and the DCT is smooth and works well in full auto model.

Mercedes-Benz A200 performance

In our performance tests, the A200 took 4.97 seconds to accelerate from 0-60kmph and 8.71 seconds to hit 100kmph, which is good considering the 1.3 engine’s power output. What’s not so good is the underwhelming driving experience because as soon as you start driving it enthusiastically, the A200’s lack of power is apparent and you will instantly feel that it could have done better with a bigger engine.