Mercedes-Benz A-Class - VFM BMW 2 Gran Coupe- Superb Driving Position, Enthusiastic Driving
Mercedes-Benz A-Class- Engine and Performance BMW 2 Gran Coupe- Interior Layout
And once you step inside the A Class, you realise it’s insides are not like any other car, especially not in a class like this. The dash is a curvaceous piece of bar furniture, with the huge screen system on top housing two 10.3in screens – one as the instrument cluster and the other for entertainment and all modern connectivity requirements. The centre console’s pushed back design gives the overall effect of a pared-back luxury lounge rather than anything too ‘automotive’. At night, illumination of strategic interior parts adds a nice theatrical and practical note. Some of my friends were simply awed by the ambient lighting on the air vents going blue and red when the temperature was adjusted lower or higher.
General material quality is high, and the big-screens are massively impressive for graphics, smooth responses and custom display options. It also features the latest MBUX with Mercedes Me connect to allow remote information of the car being delivered to your smartphone. The seats are a little firm and strangely flat-feeling style, and this feeling is compounded once you seat in the 2 GC generously side-bolstered seats. But again as in any good Mercedes you soon stop noticing them because they’re built for long-haul support.
And this is where the 220i with its grippy MSport steering wheel, superb driving position, angled console towards the driver appeals to the driving enthusiast in you. The faster rake of the A-pillars makes you feel more cocooned inside and this cabin surely has a better air of quality build to it over the Mercedes. All versions have BMW’s touchscreens, but you hardly need to touch it given the option of many press-able hard keys around the consoles and the iDrive wheel. Yes, we still love it, and it remains the industry-best for zooming or scrolling through lists while you’re on the move.
And if you care about life at the back, then the A Class has the better sense of space, legroom and headroom compared to the 2 series. With the beige colour palette and wider rear doors, ingress and egress felt better in case you want to carry a small family with you, or be chauffeured occasionally. But foot space, often the real determinant of back-seat comfort, is pretty tight unless the front seats are raised several notches. Under thigh support is a joke a comparable to a park bench with a low seating position.
On the 2GC legroom isn’t at all bad, but anyone anywhere near average-man height is going to be wedging their skull into the headlining. And the back seat is narrower than the A’s but definitely felt better on the under-thigh support department for a 6-footer like me. The 2 GC trumps the A-Class in the boot space league with 430 litres of a well-shaped cavern with a concealed space saver, compared to the A’s 405-litre space with a space saver sitting atop.
