The newly launched Mercedes-Benz A-Class seems to be a home run for the brand. It brings a lot of goodies to the table, from a more spacious interior to better materials, new design and incredible tech for this segment. By comparison, the BMW 1 Series is now almost 7 years old and, even though it did receive a facelift not long ago, it can’t match up to the A-Class at the moment. That’s if we’re talking about everything except the drivetrain and handling, as the A250 and BMW 125i will show in the footage below.
The BMW is powered by 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine good for 224 HP and 310 Nm (229 lb-ft) of torque. In the video below we’re looking at a rear-wheel drive model with an automatic 8-speed gearbox. That means it will reach 100 km/h (62 mph) from standstill in some 6.1 seconds, provided it doesn’t lose traction. Unfortunately, you can’t get the 125i with either a manual gearbox or all-wheel drive.
On the other side, we have the brand new A250 from Mercedes-Benz. Powered by a similar 2-liter 4-cylinder engine, the A250 has 224 HP and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque to rely on. It uses a 7-speed automatic gearbox and it will do 100 km/h (62 mph) from standstill in 6.2 seconds. The biggest difference is the fact that on the Merc the power goes out to the front wheels, instead of the rear ones.
The footage below shows how the two compare but we need to take into account the fact that the BMW 125i was being put through its paces at 4.5 degrees Celsius while the A-Class did the sprint in summer weather, at over 30 degrees. And while cooler air might help the car’s engine deliver better performance, the low temperature of the asphalt can lead to a loss of traction, as the video will show.
