If you want all of the bells and whistles, plus a little bit of performance without breaking into the AMG bracket, the Mercedes-Benz GLA250 sits in the sweet spot.

The base Mercedes-Benz GLA250 is fairly well equipped with 19-inch alloy wheels and run-flat tyres, LED headlights, tail lights, and daytime running lights, proximity key entry and start, cruise control, an electric tailgate, front and rear parking sensors, a sunroof, and brushed aluminium roof rails.

Inside the cabin you’ll find artificial leather upholstery, a nine-speaker sound system, dual 10.25-inch screens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (wired), integrated satellite navigation, electric seat adjustment with memory (first row), heated seats (first row), automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, and dual-zone climate control.

Include surround cameras, headlights with adaptive high-beam and cornering function, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot assist, heated and ventilated front seats, and adaptive dampers.

While it’s only an indication, it’s worth noting that the latest A-Class scored a five-star ANCAP rating, scoring 96 per cent for adult occupant protection, 91 per cent for child occupant protection, 92 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and a 73 per cent safety assist score.

The GLA comes standard with low- and high-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB), front and rear parking sensors, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist along with a full suite of head, side and knee airbags.

Cars are often sold to a buyer within the first few seconds of sitting inside. Make an impression there and it’s arguably much easier to win a buyer over.

That’s why Mercedes-Benz has put a big focus on wowing people the moment they get into the car with dual 10.25-inch screens, brushed aluminium highlights on the steering wheel, centre console and door trims, along with a number of interior styling options. It immediately wows.

In terms of the styling, a leather-look dashboard complete with stitching features inset air vents that rotate and feature LED elements within them. Minimal switchgear is featured beneath the central air vents, with a touchpad controller and shortcut buttons on the centre console used to control the MBUX system.

MBUX is the latest Mercedes-Benz infotainment system featuring LTE connectivity and an ability to interact with the ‘cloud’ for things like optimised voice recognition and smart traffic routing.

It’s easy to use with the left-hand screen offering touchscreen interactivity. It can also be controlled using the left touchpad on the steering wheel, while the screen ahead of the driver can be driven by the right-hand touchpad.

In terms of smartphone connectivity, both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported by a wired connection. It doesn’t take up the full screen though, instead it’s contained within a small space in the centre of the screen.

he front seats hug you in nicely with seat controls located on the door. The front base of the seat can be manually extended, while the bolsters can be adjusted using controls on the seat base.

The driving position is great, with all controls within easy reach. The steering wheel sits nicely in the hands and feels premium thanks to the perforated middle section and metallic paddle shifters located behind the wheel.

Leg and headroom in the second row is surprisingly good, even with the front row of seats pushed back. Second-row occupants will find air vents along with USB outlets for charging devices.

The entire cabin now comes with USB-C standard connections.

Powering the Mercedes-Benz GLA250 is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 211Hp of power and 350Nm of torque, mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Official fuel economy comes in at 7.5 litres per 100km on the combined cycle. We averaged around 10-11L/100km during testing with the majority of our testing taking place in and around the city.

Mercedes-Benz says the GLA250 takes 6.7 seconds to move from 0-100km/h, which makes it pretty brisk.

With a 51-litre fuel tank, it has an estimated maximum driving range of 680km per tank of fuel based on the official fuel consumption figure.