GLA250 1 year on

It has been 1 year since I have taken delivery of my GLA250 and I suppose I should write some thoughts about owning a Benz. This is the first time in 30 years I have purchased a brand new vehicle and I must say driving one of the this is surely exhilirating.

#1 Sound
I tested both the petrol and diesel model before I place the order. I wanted to know how much tractor noise (in the diesel model) could be heard when driving it after all I have hear really good things about noise dampening in Europearn vehicle however it was sad to say these myths probably only applies in their upper luxury model like the S class or 7 series. The noise heard from inside the car was loud and it wasn't something that you could ignore, therefore I wrote off about getting a diesel model.

You would be wondering if the noise dampening isn't that great for diesel then it would be the same for the petrol as well. Yes you are right! However you can hear the roar of the 2 litre turbo charged engine rather than a diesel engine.

The standard Audio 2.0 speaker system is sufficient for a standard vehicle. I am by no means an audiophile who listens attentively to midrange projections therefore it works for me fine. There is a "COMAND Package" which can be upgraded for approx $5,000 which gets you a set of Harman Kardon surround sound loud speakers with Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS and other extras.

Of all the noise that I hear from this vehicle, it is the thud when I close the door that gives me all the satisfaction. The thud makes me feel safe when I am in the vehicle, I get the sense of security that the door can withstand any form of collision to protect me in case of an accident. The best thing about this sound that I enjoy can also be heard when I close the door after getting out of the vehicle.

#2 Feel
When I get into this car I always feel that the people that design this car have spent a lot of time in every detail possible. What impressed me the most is the click of buttons within the car. The ones that I want to focus on are the power window controls. This is the first vehicle I have driven that has curve controls which fits along with your finger tips.

I like to wind down the the driver and front passenger windows down by a few mm when I drive, you would be surprise how easy it is to do that in the GLA. I have 3 levels of winding the windows down. Level 1 would be 2-3mm where the windows are slight down but from my light of sight of the door arch the windows appears full enclosed. Level 2 would be 10mm down where I can see the windows lower than the door arch. Level 3 windows fully down. Weird habit I know but the Merc makes this easy.

Do you know that Mercedes engineer actually cares how much pressure the driver is required to use any of the controls in the centre console? Check out the video here. I like to think that the design is passed on to my model since the review was on a W204 C Class.

I got the AMG Line package which includes lowered sports suspension (I believe this is also a stiffer suspension). When I am cruising to work or to the shops, I can feel the road when I grab the steering wheel. I can't quite describe the feeling but any in-prefecture like pot holes or even rubbish I know about it. I am not sure if this is normal for most car or perhaps the suspension of my previous car is soft like jello.

#3 See
Visibility forwards in the GLA is great, the only concern is when you reverse the vehicle. Being a hatchback visibility is fairly poor however reverse camera options comes as standard to assist. On the front and back bumpers there are 4 sensors to guide how close you are from an object to your bumper.

Information of the car such as odometer readings, fuel efficiency per tank and per drive are very easy to navigate with the controls on the steering wheel.

Since I didn't upgrade the vehicle with COMAND Pack I only get an 8" display with a 1" bezel frame which look hedious with a 640x480 resolution display. This display is the biggest disappointment within the car, I expected my car to come with Apple's Car Play.

640x480 seriously WTF!

#4 Economy

ECO challenge; the highest rating I have ever scored is 81% driving from Joondalup shopping centre to my home. Highest fuel efficiency rate is 7.2 litres/km. This car has a 55 litre fuel tank and only takes RON 95 fuel which we pay approximately $1.25-$1.45 in Perth. My fuel efficiency average at 8-9 litres/km.

I was fortunate enough to get this vehicle under a corporate package from my ex-company. After ordering the car I just noticed that the complimentary servicing didn't state if I still had to pay for labour hours and only parts were covered. However I can finally put the worry to bed since I was given a $0 invoice after the 1st service.

Japanese vehicle service schedules at every 10,000 km or 6 months. MB service agenda sets it at 25,000 km or 12 months. I have always been told that servicing on a German vehicle cost a lot more compared to a Japanese make. Well if you had to only service the vehicle once rather than twice, that would make sense!

#WORTH IT?
I have never imagine myself to own a Benz. Some may say that I would regret the rapid depreciating value this car after 3-5 years. But sometimes you just have to live life a little. Looking at some heads turn when I rock up at a venue especially after washing it just makes it all ok! FOR NOW.

LUV IT!