IN a recent series of online fashion films made for Mercedes-Benz, TV presenter Reggie Yates took to the road in an A-Class to interview some of the coolest current names in the world of music and entertainment.

All well and good, but in my opinion the celebs were an unnecessary distraction from the real star of the show - the car itself.

To say the A-Class has undergone a transformation since its humble beginnings as a mini MPV is the understatement of this or any other decade.

Out has gone the tall, high-backed model and in its place is introduced a sleek modern premium hatchback that is quantum leap forward from what went before.

If I hadn't seen the films then I'd have thought the wrong car had been delivered when it arrived at the office.

As it was the new A-Class hatchback was a joy, both to look at and to drive.

The A200 AMG Sport version I drove costs just north of £25,000 - representing a hefty bump to the near-£19,000 price-tag on the entry-level model.

It justifies this increase with lots of AMG bits and pieces added to brighten up your day with curves in all the right places.

The bodystyling includes side skirts, front and rear aprons plus stylish 18-inch AMG alloys, while the performance is tweaked to get you to 62mph from a standing start in a shade over nine seconds. Combined with a top speed of 130mph you might think fuel economy would suffer but the 1.8-litre diesel engine returns more than 60mpg.

The exterior also features door mirrors with integrated indicators and a polished chrome twin-pipe exhaust system.

Slide inside the impressive cabin and you immediately notice the sports seats clad in convincing artificial black leather as well as aluminium sports pedals with rubber studs and a flat-bottomed multifunction sports steering wheel.

The dashboard is swish featuring many natty bits of kit which are accessed via a single control dial positioned between the front seats.

There is plenty of room for four adults and although the boot is a little tight on space there's extra storage under the floor and the rear seats split 60/40 to fold almost flat. A load-through flap is also built into the rear seat-backs to cater for long loads.

The air conditioning ensures a pleasant atmosphere while the ambient lighting in the four door recesses is a nice touch.

The four-cylinder oil burner is mated to a slick six-speed manual transmission and there's a gear shift indicator to help you drive economically.

The ride is pretty smooth and the handling precise thanks to a lowered comfort suspension on this model which makes motorways or country lanes equally easy on the driver.

There are a plethora of safety features including Attention Assist, which monitors driver fatigue through the steering, and a radar-controlled collision-prevention system.

A host of airbags are fitted and there is an active bonnet to help minimise injury to a pedestrian in the event of an accident.

This A-Class is a must for the short-list if you are looking for a good-looking small car packed with German design and engineering excellence.