Mercedes-Benz A-class review – high-tech hatch takes aim at 1-series and A3 - Mercedes-Benz A-class MPG and running costs

Other variants will inevitably follow, but for the time being the A180d is the predictable economy champ with a combined figure of up to 61.5mpg (and 110g/km of CO2) on the new WLTP cycle. Gentle, steady motorway driving is likely to return the best figures in the real world, but our mixed route on the car’s launch saw around 55mpg on the trip computer - reasonable, but not outstanding. An A200d in Sport trim offers 56.5mpg, as does an A220d in AMG Line specification.

The A200 was around 10mpg behind the A180d in similar mixed driving, against an official combined figure of 44.9mpg (for a corresponding 136g/km of CO2), so got admirably close to its official numbers. The A250 was another 10mpg behind the A200 in the real world for us (at around 35mpg), but officially it’s capable of 41mpg and 141g/km of CO2.

With on-the-road prices of under £40,000, none of the basic A-class models attract the VED surcharge of £310 a year, so a basic A180d will cost £145 in year one and £140 a year thereafter, the A200 is £205 in year one, and the A250 also comes in at £205 in year one. Hit the options list hard and you may find A250s attracting that £310 yearly surcharge.

As the quickest in the range you might expect the A35 to be a little more painful, but its base price still avoids the £40k-plus surcharge, so combined economy of 35.8mpg and CO2 of 167g/km are the main concerns, the latter resulting in a year-one VED charge of £515.