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Mercedes-Benz GLA 200: Pros & Cons after Delhi-Mumbai E-way drive

28th March 2024, 16:00 by Brij Gawde

Got it this January and have driven it from Mumbai to Delhi and back and then to Pune and back.

BHPian karan1977 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I own the GLA 200 (Petrol) 2024. Got it this January and have driven it from Mumbai to Delhi and back and then to Pune and back.

After 4000+kms. running here are my observations:

Pros:

Refined engine
Smooth gear shifts
Paddle shifters make the driving fun
Beautiful interiors
Plenty of storage space in the front, the front centre armrest is super spacious
The air conditioning is good (although I am yet to drive it in 40-degree + temperatures)
Blind spot assist is a good feature
360-degree camera is really useful
Good music system
The multimedia interface is smooth and easy to use
Auto parking is fun to use although it sometimes does not detect an empty slot
Very good suspension, it's soft but not too soft making the ride comfortable

Cons:

Missing rear window blinds
Missing rear centre armrest
Missing ventilated seats
Opening the tailgate with your foot gesture does not work most of the time, or maybe I am not getting the hang of it
ADAS auto braking is scary. I have had the car brake on its own for no reason whatsoever. Somehow it falsely detects something in front and slams the brakes. This has happened twice on Mumbai roads. Fortunately, there was no one behind me, or else I would have been rear-ended. So now I have to disable the Auto Brake Assist feature every time I start the car.
The front seats are not comfortable for long drives. My wife and I drove for 14 hours on the first day and 8 hours on the 2nd day
Mercedes Navigation is not as dependable as Google Maps
The seat kinetics feature is gimmicky, I don't think it made my long drive more comfortable
The rear camera pops out every time the car slows down or the vehicle behind comes close. And it is noisy! On the first day, I thought there was some loose item in the boot. Mercedes should have kept it simple and just provided a fixed camera in the rear
The air conditioning automatically changes over to take in air from the outside every 15 minutes or so. So you have to press the internal air circulation button every time you smell smoke or stink

Before I give the mileage figures I would like to point out that my wife and I drive the car sedately. We don't rev the engine high and prefer smooth and gentle acceleration. And we keep the air conditioning on all the time.

Mileage:

Mumbai rush hour traffic - 4 kmp
Mumbai nonrush hour traffic, avg speed 40 kmph - 10 kmpl
Mumbai Delhi Expressway (NE 4), constant speed 120 kmph, RPM 2000 - 16.5 KMPL
National Highways, average speed 60 kmph - 18 kmpl
Mumbai Delhi Expressway (NE 4), constant speed 90 kmph, RPM 1400 - 20 kmpl

Mumbai Delhi Expressway observations

Incomplete. Starts from Sohna near Gurgaon and goes to Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. Thereafter you need to take the state and national highways to Bhanpura interchange near Jhalawar in Rajasthan. This goes all the way to the MP - Gujarat border. The Gujarat state highway that starts from the Gujarat border is terrible and full of potholes. But after some time you get on to the national highway and can go all the way to Vadodara. From Vadodara, you again get on to NE 4 (Mumbai Delhi Expressway) and travel to Bharuch. Surprisingly this 120 km stretch is the only portion of the expressway open in Gujarat.
There are very few food malls open on the entire expressway. Most of it is still being constructed
I did not see any operational gas stations on the expressway. So please ensure that you have plenty of gas before you get on the expressway
I spotted just one electric vehicle charging station (Sohna to Dausa stretch)
The road is smooth but not level for most of the journey. So you will experience smooth gradual climbs and descents
There is hardly any traffic

I have seen idiots stop their vehicles in the extreme left lane and walk across to the extreme right lane just to take cuttings of the beautiful bogeanvilla plants!
There was an opening in the fence on the left and I saw a farmer bring his buffalos to cross the expressway. This was in Madhya Pradesh if I am not mistaken

While going to Delhi I took the Nashik - Indore highway and short of Indore I turned left and reached Ratlam from where I took the expressway
On my way back I came via Gujarat. Out of the two routes, I liked the Nashik route better because the state highways in Gujarat were terrible and the traffic from Bharuch to Surat was bad. Both being industrial towns, the highways are full of trucks and there is massive air pollution because of the industries.

Final conclusions

I am happy with the car, it's beautiful to look at and drive. No regrets about buying it.

Trip from Noida to Mumbai via Gujarat