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Should I buy a Mercedes-Benz A-Class or BMW 1 Series?

I need to buy a car and looking at the BMW 1 series or the Mercedes-Benz A-Class. I do a lot of driving, approx 80 miles round trip to work daily. Budget is £18,000 max. Which one and which particular model gives the best MPG and most luxury feel? Or am I missing a trick and should consider other models?

Asked on 26 July 2022 by Rob N

Answered by Andrew Brady
With your budget, you'll be looking at a late example of the last-generation BMW 1 Series (2011-2019) or an early example of the latest Mercedes A-Class (launched in 2018). With that in mind, we'd recommend the Mercedes – it'll feel a generation ahead of the 1 Series, with a superb interior and all the latest technology. A diesel makes sense for your mileage – the A180d will be the most efficient. Our readers see 61.3mpg on average: www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/mercedes-benz/a-class...8

Alternatively, consider a more mainstream alternative like the Volkswagen Golf. You'll get a late example of the seventh-generation Golf within budget. It'll be very cheap to run and a very comfortable car for covering lots of miles.

Real MPG enables you to register the fuel economy you are actually getting against your make and model of car, its engine and type of transmission.

Every time you enter an average consumption figure against your car, the overall average automatically adjusts to reflect it.

Real MPG
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