The Mercedes-Benz A 250e has arrived in Australian showrooms, priced from $63,400 plus on-road costs for the hatch and $66,000 plus ORCs for the sedan.
That means the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) versions of the A-Class are priced within shouting distance of the combustion-engined A 250 4MATIC all-wheel drive hatch and sedan, which start from $56,900 and $59,200 plus ORCs respectively.
But compared to the front-drive Mercedes-Benz A 250 models the difference blows out to as much as $13,000. The regular A 250 FWD hatch starts from $50,700, with the equivalent sedan priced from $53,000.
This is the first time Mercedes-Benz has plugged in with a PHEV version of its compact passenger car line, joining three other larger models already on sale – the Mercedes-Benz C 300e and E 300e sedans and the GLC 300e SUV.
It also joins the full-electric Mercedes-Benz EQC in the German prestige brand’s burgeoning electrified vehicle stable.
Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific has confirmed that both the hatch and sedan body styles of the A 250e have landed in dealerships at the same time, albeit in limited numbers with this first wave.
As carsales reported last year when we drove the A 250e on its home turf in Germany, the eco-friendly small car is a smooth and efficient operator, providing up to 73km in all-electric mode which Mercedes says “raises the tantalising prospect of largely emission-free motoring on a daily basis”.
That’s for urban drivers, of course, but across the official Australian combined (city and country) fuel consumption cycle, the A 250e also returns a meagre 1.6L/100km and just 34g/km of CO2 emissions.
To achieve this, the A 250e uses a 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (118kW/250Nm) that combines with an electric motor (75kW/300Nm) and a lithium-ion battery pack (15.6kWh).
Drawbacks?
Other than pricing, there’s not many at first glance, although the PHEV does also reduce luggage volume slightly to 310 litres in the hatch, or 355L in the sedan.
Standard equipment on the PHEV twins includes 18-inch Aero alloy wheels, LED headlights and, inside, the MBUX infotainment system, NTG6 navigation, ARTICO upholstery, smartphone mirroring and wireless phone charging.A pre-entry climate control system is also on board.
Safety features extend to blind spot assist, active lane keep assist, traffic sign assist, adaptive high beam assist, the PRE-SAFE accident anticipation system and no fewer than nine airbags.
Homes with three-phase wiring can have the system upgraded to 22kW to set them up for future applications.
For the first time on a Mercedes-Benz PHEV passenger vehicle, a DC charging package is also available (for $1490), enabling fast-charging via a Type 2 CCS plug.
Mercedes says this can recharge the battery of the A 250e from 10 per cent to 80 per cent capacity in just 25 minutes.
How much does the 2020 Mercedes-Benz A 250e cost?
A 250e hatch – $63,400
A 250e sedan – $66,000
* Prices exclude on-road costs