• Interior and boot space aren’t strong points
• Reasonable number of storage cubbies
• Five-door bodywork; no three-door this time

Buyers on the look-out for a premium hatchback were a picky bunch, and along with the cachet of the Mercedes badge, a comfortable ride, solid performance and fuel consumption they wanted a quality interior with bags of space.

The A-Class did offer a decent amount of space for the driver and front passenger but it didn’t have much legroom in the back and the boot is surprisingly small – practicality wasn’t a strong point of this Mercedes.

The luggage compartment is a bit short and not particularly deep although the bootlip is helpfully shallow. There’s some extra space available underneath the boot floor but the chunky rear lamp clusters eat into the width, restricting the size of the rear aperture.

With the rear seats in place there’s 341 litres of space, expanding to 1,157 litres with both sections of the standard 60:40 split bench folded over.

The awkwardly-shaped rear doors seem somewhat restrictive because of the sloping roof and the intrusive wheelarches. There’s storage space in the central tunnel behind the gearlever – automatic models have an extra space where the manual’s lever is located – a couple of cupholders in front and averagely-sized door cubbies as well as a glovebox that’s not exactly capacious, either.

Forward visibility is fine, but the small rear window and chunky pillars can cause a few problems when you are trying to reverse park.

Safety

• Score five stars in Euro NCAP crash tests
• One of the safest hatchbacks available
• Optional kit to bolster safety

There’s little argument that the Mercedes-Benz A-Class was one of the safest cars in this segment when new, as acknowledged by its five-star score by the crash-test experts at Euro NCAP back in 2013.

As standard it came with seven airbags, driving fatigue warning and radar-controlled collision prevention that brakes the car automatically if the system thinks a crash is imminent – no surprise given Mercedes’ decades-old commitment to improving standards and preserving life.