But when you factored in residual values, plus the A2’s fuel efficiency, ownership costs would have been extremely competitive. Buyers didn’t see it that way, though.
It’s a shame, but perhaps no great surprise, that the A2 received no direct replacement, and that Mercedes eventually let the A-Class morph into the trad C-segment hatchback it remains today.
Now the A2 exists solely as a modern classic, then, and it is still relatively common: howmanyleft.co.uk says there are more than 5500 on the road across all variants in the UK, which I think is a remarkably high number.
The body doesn’t rust like steel, of course, although insurance costs can be pricey because aluminium panels are harder to repair. Mine cost £250 to insure but a colleague, trying to add his learner daughter, found it was twice as expensive as a VW Polo.
Mine is a 1.4-litre 75bhp diesel, it can return 70mpg on a run and I’m told the things to watch out for are regular cambelt changes and fragile, rust- and fatigue-prone lower suspension arms.
The headlining peels and apparently door hinges can sag, but I suppose I’ll find out more the longer I own the car.
Mechanically, A2s are otherwise from a more simple age, and in using common VW parts (I replaced a wheel bearing, the same as a Golf’s, for £30) plus with a thriving owners’ scene, it should be possible to keep it running indefinitely.
I must do just that. The A2 might not have foretold the future, but it works perfectly well in it.
