How Fast Is a 2019 Mercedes A-Class With a 1.3-Liter Turbo Engine?

It's a 1.3-liter turbo, which Mercedes wants you to call a 1.4-liter, even though the displacement doesn't support this. In any case, even though the mill is small, it's got reasonable amounts of poke: 163 HP and 250 Nm of torque. Really, you don't need much more in a modern compact car.

When Renault fitted it to its cars (Scenic), the performance wasn't that impressive. But the A 200 model is pretty quick. This independent test drive shows how the car reached 100 km/h in about 8.5 seconds and pushed forward to 200 km/h in 28 seconds.

Mercedes is not going to offer this type of engine in America since it's way too small. However, we think there's going to be a "220" version of the CLA and GLA, which would pack around 180 HP from either a 1.5 or a 2.0-liter turbo. Big or small, all engines will be shared between the cars built on the front-wheel-drive platform. There's also an A-Class sedan on its way to a dealership near you.

In isolation, the A 200 seems neither fast nor slow. That's why we checked and found the previous A 200, which had a 1.6-liter turbo and took 8 seconds to reach 100 clicks, despite boasting seven less HP.

Conveniently, there's an average compact which has just come out this week, the 2019 Focus. Below, you can watch the 182 HP 1.5 EcoBoost model reach 100 km/h in a little over 8 seconds too. We think this is down to a large flywheel which makes the Ford more slow-revving. Also, the difference between their dashboards is like night and day, but Mercedes does make you play for the 10-inch twin screens.