[bumpyroad]

Likes

• Power, without having to floor the throttle
• Responsive Gearbox, makes paddle shifters mostly redundant
• Driving dynamics. Steering and Suspension
• Automatic Emergency Braking, has been legitimately useful a few times
• Comfortable Seats for long drives
• Interior looks wonderful, especially at night with ambient lights

Dislikes

• Significant left side pulling at low speeds, which the company is unable to fix
• Lack of features like Request sensors, back arm rest, ventilated seats
• Surround sound
• Multiple issues with sensors, battery
• Noisy wiper blade
• AC is weak for rear passengers

My first memories about cars are the rides with my dad, wondering in awe how much he knew about cars, their maintenance, smooth driving, how he could remember where to turn to go to places, or know if the front of the car would hit the wall while parking or not. It was all magical to me.

The stories of his drives through the jungles of Mysore, seeing wild elephants, buffalos, all piqued my interest in cars and driving. I've heard from my mom that they had to take me on drives, sometimes in the middle of the night, to stop me from crying. Another thing I remember my dad saying is that I should study well and buy him a Benz after I grow up. Challenge accepted...

Growing up, he was adamant on not allowing me to drive until I was 18. Although he did teach me the basics on empty grounds and vacant wedding hall parking lots, I was never allowed to drive until I got my learner's licence. So the very night I turned 18, I applied for a learner's licence, and got my licence soon after.

So I started off with our Swift Dzire, then they bought me an i20 Sportz in my 2nd year of college, instead of the Dominar that I wanted to buy myself with the money I had saved up building websites. I have countless fond memories of that car, which my mom currently uses as her daily.

After I got placed from college, dad got himself a Renault Captur, giving the Dzire to mom, while I moved away with the i20. Once I got my first salary, I started my calculations on how long it would take for me to buy a Benz. Which, was actually demoralising, as I figured I won't be able to afford one for decades, even with a then handsome package of 9LPA, considering living expenses and savings. So the Mercedes dream was put on hold, and I focused on building my career. Even then, dad was a hard core manual fan, and I was also sceptical of automatics, as the ones I had driven were Maruti AMTs and Hyundais. It was when my colleague bought a Polo GT, that I started to appreciate how a good DCT feels.

Then COVID hit, everything became remote, and I was lucky to land a remote role with an international company. After working for a while, I went back to my old calculator and plugged the new numbers in. There are many "rules" like the 20/4/10, I could satisfy some parts but not others, but when something really pulls your heartstrings, what do they say, rules are meant to be broken, right? So I decided to bend it a bit.

The search for the new car began, and it was not easy. I had a budget of 55-65L, which opened up numerous options in 2022.


MG ZS EV

• Mom loved the EV experience
• Insane pickup
• But interiors were lacking
• Didn't really connect with the car

BMW X1

• Outdated interiors
• Last gen looks
• Not many features
• Poor performance, as I had driven the EV the previous day.

BMW 220i

• Stylish frameless doors
• Good performance (for someone driving an i20)
• Rejected as it was not value for money

BMW 320d

• Loved everything
• Was on the verge of booking, but mom's leg won't reach the floor in the back seat, due to the angle. So had to let it go.

Audi

• Test drove some models
• Rejected after the pathetic condition of their only showroom

Mercedes-Benz GLA 220d

• Didn't consider the Renault petrol model
• The test drive vehicle was abused a lot, so wasn't driving very well
• Didn't have reverse camera, front sensors, etc.

Mercedes-Benz GLC

• Had massaging seats!
• Drove well
• Last gen interiors
• Stretching the budget
• New version around the corner with much better interiors.

Volvo XC40

• Best in class features, looks good
• Top-notch safety record
• Adaptive cruise control
• Rear seats were too upright
• Doesn't have the badge value

Toyota Fortuner Legender

• Price for the new model had inflated above reasonable limits
• The interiors were a few generations old
• Might pick one up later, but definitely not first luxury car material.

We also tried A Class, C Class, S60, etc, but decided not to go with sedans for now.

After the GLA let me down, with a purely rational mind, I booked the XC40. But I just wasn't feeling the excitement I thought I'd have. Something didn't feel right. It didn't feel like "my car". I was very excited about the 320d, until mom's veto. So I knew I was not incapable of excitement.

We waited for a while, there was another COVID wave. The Mercedes salesman contacted me during the wave letting me know they had a new test drive vehicle, but my parents did not want to risk exposure, so we declined the offer.

The delivery date promised by Volvo was approaching, and there was no sign of the vehicle. I was somehow not feeling sad about it either. So we waited. Then one day, over breakfast, dad asked if we should call the Mercedes dealer, now that the wave had subsided. I said I'll do it, but forgot about it. As if they had microphones under the dining table, the salesman called me that afternoon, asking if they can come the next day, and I agreed.

With my excitement meter revving up, I waited. The next afternoon, glistening under the sun, a Denim Blue GLA turned into my gate. Hmm, this looks good, I thought. We went on the drive, and this car was in pristine condition. The engine was smooth & powerful and the gearbox could read my mind. It had 360° sensors, reverse camera, auto-parking, etc. I knew then, this would be my next car.

Then came the hard news, the black and white colours had a 5–6-month waiting period. The 4MATIC models also were not available any time soon. As I had loved the Denim Blue, I asked them to check its availability. They had one in Pune, which could be delivered within a month! Transferred the booking amount instantly, sent the cancellation email to Volvo, and the wait began, again. This time, with all the excitement I had imagined and more.


Before Test Drive

Finance

I had 2 options for finance, the one provided by the dealer via Federal Bank, or arrange it myself from other banks. I had a pre-existing relationship with HDFC and Axis, and I checked with ICICI as well. Federal was offering 6.9% interest with no pre closure charges. I checked with the executive, and they confirmed it was a fixed rate, not floating. Other banks either had higher interest, pre closure charges or processing fees. HDFC RM finally agreed to waive off the fees and pre closure charges, with 6.9% interest, but I decided to go with Federal, as they were provided via the dealer, with all the perks by default.

Everything went smoothly, and the bank even wired the funds before I signed any papers, as the manager was down with COVID. So we went to sign the documents, and that's when I learned my first lesson. The rate was floating, not fixed, even though they had confirmed that it was fixed when I asked earlier. Now, after the RBI increased repo rates, my rates are at 9.2%. But, because there is no pre-closure charges, I'm paying extra every month to close it off sooner.

Insurance, Extended Warranty and Service Packages

My friend is an agent for New India Assurance, and he's been handling the insurance for all our cars for a while. But as this was a high-budget purchase, I was a bit apprehensive of taking insurance that doesn't have a direct connection to Mercedes. So I called the insurance guy from the dealer with my friend nearby, and we had a lengthy discussion of all the features and benefits included in their plan. Then we went to New India's office to get clarity on their offering, and even their senior staff did not have much clarity on some questions we had. So my friend himself suggested me to go with the company policy. They had tie up with ICICI and I also took the maximum extended warranty as well. I am glad that I took the extended warranty, as I've had to replace multiple sensors in two years itself.

The service packages were expensive, and did not make much sense economically, so I skipped those.

PDI

Once the car reached the dealership, we went with the Team-BHP PDI checklist and did an exhaustive check. Everything was fine, except the front left door that was a bit difficult to close. Pointed it out to the advisor, and they said they'll fix it before delivery.



First time in the car

Fancy number

I had a big dilemma there. I was going on a workation for 2 weeks, and wanted to take delivery before that, as leaving the car at the dealership for 2 weeks was unimaginable. But, due to the rules back then, temporary registration was not allowed, and they needed to fix the number plate before delivery. If I had to apply for a fancy number, the auction would only take place on Saturday, and I won't get the car before I leave. So I half-heartedly opted for a random number so that I'd get the car that week itself. My friend tried to console me, saying people won't look below the badge.

[bumpyroad]

Delivery

So, finally, the big day came. My dad was excited, and bought 4 lemons (in secret) for the first drive. I was not a fan of that at all, but my mom convinced me, as always. The delivery was getting delayed as the number plate had not been delivered yet. Therefore, the morning slot was pushed to afternoon. We had sold the DZire to our relative, so dropped it off at their place and our cousin took us to the showroom. They had fixed the door, but it still required a bit of extra force to close. After signing the papers and the cake cutting, dad took delivery of the keys and asked me to take the car out. The realisation that I actually bought a fricking Mercedes hit me hard, as I pressed the start button. The salesman explained the basic controls like lights, wipers, etc once we took the car out of the building. After taking some more photos, we left for home.



After driving a while, I realised there was no button to skip to the next song. I knew there had to be one, just had to find it. But couldn't find it anywhere on the steering wheel. When my parents got out to buy some sweets, a quick google search revealed that it was on top of the touchpad on the center console. The swipe-based controls are a bit finicky, and sometimes takes a few tries to change the song.


Post Delivery Inspection by Loki


Chilling with older brother


First wash, before ceramic coating

Buyers Remorse

I haven't felt this bad while reading any other book, while I flipped through pages of the user manual. All the features that I wished the car had, was actually present in the international variants, they cut down everything in India. Adaptive cruise control, Request sensors (!), Adaptive headlights, Ventilated Seats, everything is mentioned in the manual, just not for our model. So I stopped reading it, and went for a drive. The way it drives at the slight flex of the right foot brings a smile to this day.

But the fact that a car worth more than half a crore lacks an arm rest at the back still baffles my mind. Even our DZire we bought 10 years back for 1/5th the price had one.
Request sensors were something I had grown accustomed to with Captur, another shocking omission, which they conveniently blamed on chip shortage, along with lack of Burmester sound system.
I bought an AAWireless dongle to add support for wireless Android auto. What really surprised me was that they released an OTA update after ~1.5 years to support Carplay as well!

First scare

The next day, after taking delivery, I took my girlfriend (now wife) out for a drive. It was all good until it stared raining, and I had to run the wind shield washer to clear some dirt. It would not spray. During delivery, they said I had to press the button on the stalk to spray. But when I pressed the button, only the wiper ran, no spray. I started overthinking what might have gone wrong, did the pump die, or would it be just a fuse? Is there water in the tank? Yes, there is. Maybe the pipe is blocked? Why didn't I catch this in the PDI? Ugh... Now I have to replace this under warranty.

I couldn't connect with the salesman, so I called the service advisor. He asked me to double press the button. I pressed the button twice, it just wiped twice, still no spray. He said he'll video call me and hung up. Before he called, my girlfriend pressed the button and it sprayed! I was confused, and I pressed again. No spray. She pressed again, plenty of spray. By then, I was getting calls from both the sales and service agents.

Turns out, she just pressed it hard, and I was being too delicate with my precious new possession, oblivious to the fact that it was a multistep button, like the ones in DSLR cameras. After two slightly embarrassing calls with both the executives, my GF had one new thing to tease me for a long time.

Ceramic / Graphene / PPF

Scientifically, Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure. There is no way that comes in a bottle and can be applied using a microfiber towel. So that felt like a marketing gimmick. Which left Ceramic and PPF as my two options. PPF was more expensive, could peel the paint off later, might yellow, but will protect much better than ceramic. After long discussions, quotes, and comparisons, I chose to go with Ultimate Detailerz, who had good reviews and reasonable prices. Thought I'd go with PPF, even though it costs a lot more, as various cases of car keyeing flashed through my mind.

First trouble

I planned my first long drive from Thrissur to Bangalore, with nice highways where I can really enjoy the drive, after getting the PPF, as I didn't want dings from the infamous traffic.
On the way to drop the car off for PPF, the check engine light came on. I was shocked, as this was a brand new luxury car, less than a month old, why would the check engine light come on now. There were no service messages, or any text warnings. Just the light. The service advisor asked me to visit the nearest showroom, which was another dealer, as I was in Kochi. They diagnosed the issues as a faulty NOx sensor, and blamed our substandard fuel for it. Said I can continue driving, and can even go on the trip without any issue, as they didn't have the sensor in stock, and had to order from Pune.

I didn't want to risk it, to took dad's Captur, and almost dislocated my knee on a 30-minute plus crawl up the Marathahalli bridge. Even my friends who were coming on the trip, excited just to drive the new car, were righteously disappointed. I was constantly following up with the team at Kochi, who kept delaying, until they told me there was no stock in Pune, have to order it from Germany, and had no clue when it would come. Disheartened, I called the service advisor at Thrissur, asking if they could do something. He said he might be able to arrange it in a week. So, the wait began. The next week, he called me, asking if he can pick the car up to get the sensor replaced, I was elated, and the job was done in a day. After they dropped the car off, I wrote an email to customer support, detailing the issue and the way the other dealer had handled the issue. I got a call from them the next day, and I said I wanted to know why the sensor in my brand-new car failed. Was it really because of fuel contamination, if so, I had receipts of every time I had filled the fuel, and I will contact the petroleum companies, as I had filled only from COCO pumps. The fact that they couldn't even tell me how long I'd have to wait for the part was also very concerning. So after some apologies and discussions, I was surprised when they sent me a voucher worth 50k which can be used for any service at the Kochi dealership, without any actual explanation of what went wrong.

I went home after a few weeks, excited to drive the car, turned it on, and the check engine light was on again! Immediately called the guy who fixed it, and he casually said he knew this would happen, that there are 2 NOx sensors, Upstream and Downstream, and the other will fail soon after, so he had already pre-ordered the parts for me, and will change it the same day. Confused whether to be happy or sad about this, I said I'll drop off the car the next day, but I had to go to a function, and I'll need a loaner car. He said I can take his Polo, sensing the dissatisfaction in my tone, he said he'll call me back after checking if any company cars are available. Said there was a new E-Class available and will arrange it the next day. Things went smoothly, and I had the car back by evening, with both new sensors now. He mentioned that the new sensors are designed for Indian fuel quality and will not fail like before. I've filled mostly from Nayara and Reliance from then, avoiding others unless absolutely necessary.

From PPF to Ceramic

When I visited the service centre due to the check engine light on the way to get PPF, I casually asked costs for repainting the bumper, door, etc. I was shocked to hear that the cost of repainting at the Mercedes authorised dealer is almost the same as the cost of PPF. I already had apprehensions about yellowing, paint peeling, scratch during application, etc. This weighed my decision towards Ceramic coating almost instantly. So I dropped off the car at Ultimate Detailerz, and took a 5-year ceramic package. I just completed my 2nd top-up this month, and the car looks good as new.

One minor niggle I had after getting Ceramic is that the wiper started skipping across the wind shield, which was really annoying. I had to get the coating on the glass removed to reduce the juddering, but it was still present. During my first top-up, they did not cover the wind shield, but they forgot to skip the wind shield this time, which has bought back the juddering. But this time, the blades are super silent most of the time, but skip occasionally. I think it's going to increase with time. So will have to get the coating removed again.

One thing I'm planning to do is getting the old school wiper blade which distributes the force more evenly, as the new blade designs have a single point of contact, which becomes clearly visible as a streak after using for a while. The only thing holding me back is the looks, so I might experiment with one blade for a while to see if it helps in both cases. Recommendations for good brands and models are welcome! The stock ones had lines and became unusable in one year, so currently have Blaupunkt, which was really noisy before the last ceramic coating.



6 Points of contact, evenly distributed, vs the single one at the center.

Taming the Sun roof

The only question my GF would ask when we were shortlisting cars was "Does it have a sunroof?". Although, the number of times she has actually opened the sunroof is less than 10. I didn't really care about it, but the difference the big panoramic roof brings to the cabin cannot be understated. Along with good views, it also brought a lot of sun in, keeping true to its name. But the heat was too much, and I always had to keep the cover closed in the morning, which defeats the purpose of getting a sunroof. So I got a heat cut film applied on it, which now allows me to comfortably keep the cover open even under harsh sunlight. They had untinted films which could be applied on the wind shield and windows, which I skipped as the MVD and Police in Kerala were cracking down on sun films, and even an untinted film might fail their "scratch test".

[bumpyroad]

Falling in love

Post the initial problems, I finally went on a long drive to Bangalore. We left at around 5 am, and when my friend got in the back, the passenger side seat would not adjust, no matter what we tried.
So he sat crossed legged in the back for a while, until we stopped at a CCD, and the seat started working once we came back. That drive was wonderful, as it was my first long drive in the car. The road was in great shape, with awesome weather, and we passed numerous windmill blades being transported on the way. The ride comfort and NVH, when compared to Captur I took on the same drive last month, was worth every rupee spent.

One thing I really miss was the Adaptive Cruise control, which was there in Volvo. It would have been genuinely useful in slow-moving traffic, which was regular during my drives to and from Kozhikode, as the new NH 66 works have split the traffic into a one-way, single lane service road. But the early morning drives were always a pleasure, and the engine-gearbox combo is perfectly mated to provide a very smooth, comfortable ride, with enough power available at the slight flex of the right foot. The steering weighs up beautifully at high speeds, giving a great sense of control, while being easy to manoeuvre at lower speeds.

The brakes are also excellent, with enough bite at high speeds, but offers smooth ride. The difference in how the brakes work is extremely evident for me when I drive the i20 or Captur after a while. Every time I take those out of the house like I do with the merc, the breaking throws me forward, the merc has some tech that prevents that jerky and harsh braking at lower speeds. Another thing I love about the brakes is the dynamic pressure on the brake pedal based on the situation. When I'm about to sudden brake, the pedal becomes really hard, and I have to move my foot very less distance to get high braking force, while there is good travel in normal cases. I've had the AEB been genuinely useful a few times, and also given some random scares as well. But now I drive at a safe distance, so it's made my overall driving safer.

After driving a petrol i20 for years, that gave single digit mileage, the double digits of diesel was a very welcome sight for me. The fact that a heavier, more powerful car can sometimes deliver even double the mileage was mind-boggling. On normal drives in the city, I get around 12-13km/l, with highway drives around 14-18km/l, depending on how I drive. I've even got as high as 22kmpl for a 40km trip with moderate traffic, and 19.5 for a 200km drive to Trivandrum, which I measured tank to tank. The key to high mileage is using the brakes less, is what I've understood.

The sports mode makes the engine quite responsive, leaving it in a higher rev state. The main situation where I use sports mode is ironically when going on long downhill roads, as the engine breaking in comfort is inadequate, leading to unnecessary braking. In normal highway drives, comfort is more than enough, as there is always enough power available on a single tap, making any overtakes a cakewalk. The Eco mode has a nice feature, where it automatically switches to Neutral when driving at highway speeds (~60+), when taking the foot off the accelerator. This allows for a long cruise without engine braking, which is useful to maximise the mileage. It re-engages the gear when we touch either pedals, or if the speed goes down a limit.








I have used the car to the fullest, literally stuffed to the brim during house shifting, even taking my motorised desk one day. With necessary precautions, there hasn't been any damage to the interior. Once, a bag's blue colour spread to the seat, but a wipe with a damp towel cleared it completely. Tougher stains come off with a bit of diluted soapy water or foam cleaner.



Even though my back seats are mostly empty, my boot almost always has a special passenger, especially on long drives. He loves to go on drives, and will leap into the back even before the boot completely opens. We usually take potty breaks every 2 hours, so we haven't had any smelly incidents in the car yet. The amount of hair the boot liner picks up is astronomical, that I wonder how he has any fur left. There is enough space in the back for him to lie down comfortably, even if I secure a carry on luggage in the boot.
When he's not looking out or lying down, he places his head in between the headrests and looks forward, that view is one of my favourite in the rearview mirror.

Fully flat run flat

The first few times I got punctures, those were small nails or screws, and I was able to drive to repair shops to get it plugged, without losing full pressure. On a trip to Ooty with my wife, friends and Loki, I started to hear a thumping noise from the left side. Upon checking, it was a fairly big bolt, with the head sticking out. The tyre repair shop was around 10km away, and it was starting to drizzle.
Driving 10km with that bolt was not an option, as we were fully loaded, and if the bolt's head went in, we might need a new tyre. So I decided to pull it out, with a piece of rope, and drive to the shop on run flat tyres.
But after the first few rotations of the tyre, the sound felt awful. A quick google search said that although we can drive RFTs without air, we'll have to replace the tyre afterwards, that was new knowledge for me. As we were pretty sure we can't find replacement Pirellis in Ooty, and not wanting to buy a new tyre, we decided to use the spare wheel.
With the picturesque hills of Ooty in the background and a light drizzle making the muddy ground wetter, we started changing the wheel. The modern jack technology was quite amusing, although I felt the older rod type might have been faster. While Loki had fun barking at the Cows, Horses and other Dogs, we put on the tiny space saver, washed the dirt of our hands and his paws, and got going.



The car looks comical, and everyone was looking at us when we stopped to ask for directions to the tyre shop.

First heartbreak

After watching many videos, I got everything required to wash the car properly, without causing swirl marks. Good quality wash mitts, grit guard, foam cannon, drying towels, the whole set. I was very particular about washing and never took it for an outside car wash. I didn't even let my dad wash it. So after a year, my first service was due. I gave the car to Coastal Star, as the 50k voucher was only usable there. I told the pickup driver and the SA not to wash the car, and mark it as no-wash.

The first service bill was a mini heart attack, but the voucher took the brunt of it. But my heart sank when I saw the car was neatly washed by them. I did a quick check with my mobile's flash as it was night and there were some minor swirl marks covering the body. I was slightly upset, but as nothing can be done at this stage, let it go. The next day, we got up early and went to mom's house, and it was after reaching there that I saw the devastating sight of the car in full sunlight.




It was like they used a steel wool to scrub the car down. I immediately called the SA, who promised me they'll investigate and take the car for a full polish to remove the scratches. I declined, as I didn't trust their competency, and my ceramic coating's first top-up was due next month. So after contacting Ultimate Detailerz, they moved up the service and were able to remove everything completely. I left a 1-star review in the feedback email, which prompted the service center's CEO to call me the next morning apologetically. There was no follow up from Mercedes, though.

After this fiasco, I had moved to Kozhikode, under Bridgeway Motors's service area. After a few months, I took an appointment to do a routine wheel alignment, balancing and rotation. Until then, I had only done it in authorised service centers, as two shops I asked said they didn't have the necessary tools. During the scheduling call, I said I wanted the car the same day itself, and that I'll be waiting there. They agreed, and asked me to bring the car by 9am, so they can take it as the first job. The next day, after dropping off my wife early, I reached the service center before 9, and the receptionist asked me to wait. After waiting for around 20-25 minutes, and enquiring a few times, a SA was assigned, who had no clue about the terms mentioned while scheduling. He said the car will be ready tomorrow, which was totally surprising as I had already clarified everything during booking last day. After some more calls, they said they'll give it that day itself, and will prioritise. The car didn't leave the parking until 11:45. What I expected to be a 2-hour job, maximum, didn't finish until 4:30 that day.

The frustrating thing is, after running less than 2000km, within a month, my front right tyre was balding at the edges. All the tyres had equal wear before the alignment, as I was following the schedule properly. That's when I decided to stop the overpriced authorized wheel alignment, and finally found a local shop ready to do the work. Eventhough the previous shops rejected, saying they didn't have some tool (flower tool?), nothing of the sort was actually necessary. They swapped the damaged tyre to the back, and I was able to complete around 28,000Km with my stock tyres.

The hunt for new tyres started, with different shops quoting mostly similar rates (19-20k/tyre). I casually checked with Bridgeway as well, and they surprised me with a quote of 16k/tyre, and a 50% off for the one tyre that was damaged. Stock Pirelli RFTs. I had some concerns about RFT or not, but as there were long drives with my wife, sometimes during the night, I decided to stick with RFTs for the peace of mind. They said I was really lucky to get a life of 28k, as they normally only get 20k.

Second heartbreak

During one of my usual early morning drives to home, I head a sudden smack on the windshield. Right in my eye line, there was a chip. I've had stones hit before, but they only left a scratch, that too at the left edge, out of sight. My immediate action was to call my trused SA, to order a new windshield. He asked me to send photos and insurance copy. Took the photos once home, and also called Fuad from Ultimate Detailerz, checking for other options. He strongly said not to do the replacement immediately, as the chip was small, and might not cause issues. Windshield replacement would also affect the resale value as well. He was very calm and said I'll be noticing just that chip now for a few days, but after a week or two, it'll blend it, and not to worry.
So I decided to hit pause on the replacement, and try my luck on some wind shield repair kits. Fuad did warn me they don't usually work, but I had a little bit of hope, and they were not that expensive either, so no harm in trying. Even after my meticulous research, surface prep, and application, it sadly didn't work.
But, now I don't really notice the chip, and when I do, I consider it as part of the car's character.

[bumpyroad]

The Everlasting Challenge

In the first month after delivery, I've been feeling a slight left pulling when driving at low speeds. When I mentioned it to the service folks, after alignment, they said it's normal, and it's due to the shape of our roads. It did not go away after rotation, tyre changes, or alignment from local shops. I had this feel that something was wrong, but not big enough to invest a lot of time and energy into. After my tyre change, the technician at Bridgeway mentioned that they had noticed this issue with some GLAs, and are waiting for a response from the company on what to do.

Around the 33k mark, I did another alignment from a local shop, which increased the issue. Now it was pulling left like crazy. The technician was suggesting things like intentionally putting it out of alignment as a fix, or adjusting some steering angle. I politely declined and took it to another shop, where it was evident that the alignment was incorrect. So fixing that took the problem back to almost lesser than its initial intensity. But that was because we test drove at around 60kmph, while the issue is mainly present at around 30. I hadn't figured out the exact reproduction back then, so I was happy with the result.
But during long drives, I would get a slight soreness in the right arm, from having to constantly pull the steering to the right by around 1-2 degree.

Second batch of sensor issues

After the NOx sensors, there hadn't been any issues for almost 2 years. One fine morning, when I was starting the car up, a big warning came up "Without changing gears, contact the nearest workshop", but thanks to muscle memory, I had already changed the gears while reading it. I immediately turned the car off, then on, no errors, no lights, or beeps. The car was shifting into gear without issues as well too, so I ignored it as a glitch.
But it came back around 2 weeks later, and went away before I could take a picture. I had to replace the brake pads by then, so decided to get it checked during that visit. But they said no issues could be found during the scan, and not to worry about it. However, the message kept appearing around once every three weeks. Which confirmed there was something wrong.
Around the same time, I noticed that the puddle lamps are not lighting up sometimes when I open the door. I was unable to get it on video, as I was pretty sure it won't manifest when I visited the workshop. I didn't think much about it, as it was working 90% of the time, and nothing major (or so I thought).
One morning, while dropping wife off at work, she had some books in the boot, which she needed help with. I opened the door to get out, which normally puts the car in Park automatically. As soon as I lifted my foot off the break, the car started rolling forward. Thankfully I was in drive, not reverse, and was able to get it under control quickly. That's when I realised how serious the issue was. From then, I always make sure I manually put it in park before opening the door, never blindly trusting automatic safety systems.

After this, I asked them to take the car, do proper diagnostics, and fix all the issues, after giving me a loaner. I was asked to wait, as there were no loaners available, and I waited for around a month. Meanwhile, I was able to get the issue on video finally. When I called them up, the lady handling my case had left, and no one knew what needed to be done. So someone senior called me up, asked all the problems again, said they'll put me in some priority queue for loaners. After a month, they called me saying the car was ready, when I was packing up the house to move back home from Kozhikode. Thankfully, Bridgeway was present in Thrissur as well, so I asked them to coordinate with the team to pick my car up sometime next week. When they called me to arrange pickup, I thought I'd go personally to drop it off, so I can explain all the issues directly to the new SA. The guy I usually talk to, and handled the NOx sensor issue, was out for a test drive, so they allotted someone else. Turns out, he had been my SA back in 2017 at Hyundai! Showed him all the issues, shared the videos, and left in the E 220D loaner. That is when it was really obvious how much left pulling was present in my car.

They took around a week, got the battery replaced as the fix for "Without changing gears, contact the nearest workshop" warning, and got approval for replacing the lock sensor in warranty, which would take 2 weeks for spares to arrive. But still no solution for left pulling. He mentioned their technicians spend 2–3 days working on it, without much progress. Said he'll arrange another senior technician to have a look when I come to get the lock fixed in 2 weeks. As we were going on a family vacation when the parts arrived, I asked him to pick the car up before we left, fix the lock and deliver it for ceramic coating top-up, which ensured I had a brand new-looking car waiting for me when we landed back! As expected, there was nothing they could do regarding the left pulling, and said their test drive car and another customer's car also
had the same issue. After discussing with his manager, he has arranged a meeting for me with technicians visiting from Mercedes at the end of this month, which I'm looking forward to, albeit without high hopes.

I would really appreciate TeamBHPians' thoughts on this. Has anyone else with H247 GLA 220D faced similar issues, was it diagnosed and resolved?

Software updates and sound!

One main issue I had noticed with the sound system is that it feels like most of the sound is coming from the front of the car. Checked the Fader controls, everything is supposed to be centered. One of my audiophile friend also immediately noticed this when we went for a long drive, with him in the back. The sound is proper whenever there is a phone call, but switches to front heavy when we play music. It was actually fixed in one update, and I was happy with the quality, but not for long, as it was reverted in the next update. The staff said one other customer had reported this issue, and I'm not expecting much to happen. There was another update that was supposed to reduce the sound of the speed warnings, but that was called back before I could get it. I actually don't mind the beeps, had they been a little less intrusive, like Maruti.

A fall, a Hit and run, and a near miss!

The first accident happened while I was parked outside the entrance of a restaurant, waiting for my wife, as she was saying bye to our friends. Out of nowhere, the car shook a bit and I saw a Himalayan resting on the car through my driver mirror. It was two college students, going back from the same hotel. He came from the underground parking, which was slanted, and stopped with the front tyre on the road, which was a bit too high for him, lost his balance and basically fell sideways onto the car. My friends immediately came, and made sure they won't run off. They were pretty civil and apologetic, as they noticed the badge after the fall. There were some scuffs, and a dent, but the scuffs went away after a quick wipe. The dent was small enough to ignore, so we parted ways amicably. Whenever I see Paintless Dent Repair videos on YT, I wish there was someone offering similar services in Thrissur/Kochi, as they'd be able to make quick work of that dent.

We had our first hit-and-run, while on the way to wife's GRE exam. A neon green Nissan Micra overtook from the left, swiped my front left corner, jumped the signal and went on their way, as we were preparing to turn right. After dropping her off, I had 4 hours free, so went to the nearby police station to see what it's like to file a complaint or if they'll take any action. They asked me to draft a complaint, which I did, along with the number plate of the other car and dash cam video footage as proof. After around an hour, the officer tried to call the owner of the car, and they did not pick up. It was a different experience to watch the day-to-day activities inside the station, so I was not rushing at all. Two hours passed, and they finally gave me a complaint copy, and said they'll try to call the owner after some time. As I didn't have anything else to do, I decided to stay there, and an off-duty senior officer asked me about the details, showed him the video, etc. We chatted for a bit, he also tried calling the owner, but still no answer. So I gave up and left, to pick my wife up and head home. I did follow up with two calls around two weeks later, and they said a letter had been sent to the owner, and they'll update me in case of any progress. I guess ignoring is a good defence for minor offences in our overworked system.




After a good wash. It is almost completely gone now, after the 2nd ceramic topup.

These two incidents were pretty minor, compared to what could have happened next if this kid had been left or right by a few inches. We were on the way to a week long workation at Munnar, and had stopped to have breakfast and wait for some folks to continue together. I had initially parked in their parking lot, which was open and sunny, and the watchman saw Loki in the back and said I could park the car in front, under the shade if I wanted. My friend parked his bike away from the cabin, but nearby the gate to their electrical panel. So the guard asked him to move and park next to the cabin. So with both of us parked in front, and our second car parked in the lot, we went up to have breakfast. When I came down a bit later to check in on Loki, who was chilling in AC, the manager came up and struck up a conversation. So me, the manager and the secuirty were chatting for about 15 minutes about dogs, and I finally went up to have food. Right when I settled down, we heard a bang, and I saw a bus coming to a sudden stop in the road. I came down to get a better view, and was shocked to see a crowd near my car, in front of the hotel. It took me a second to comprehend what had happened, and once I saw the guy was OK, I rushed to the front, expecting to see a broken bumper. To my absolute relief, the car did not have a scratch, and I could not believe my luck! But then I realised that it was my friend's bike, on which the security cabin was leaning on now, I called them down and started assessing the damage. He had a bent handle, a bent gear lever, a gash on the transmission cover which had a minor leak, scratches on the silencer, a broken footrest and a broken helmet. He was also lucky that his laptop bag, which was tied to the back seat, was given to our friends in the second car before we stopped to have breakfast.

The guy on the bike had apparently fallen asleep, crossed the road, and threaded the needle between the gate and my car, crashing correctly into the security cabin, which cushioned the impact. He was also wearing a good helmet, which protected his face from the glass. The bus braked, seeing him coming the wrong way, and another scooter had a near miss. That guy was immensely lucky that morning.

https://youtu.be/gBVIm4rQ5OY

Wrap up

With 40k in 2 years, excited about what lies next, dreading the upcoming service, and hoping it'll drive straight some day!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[ambivalent_98]

Originally Posted by bumpyroad

Falling in love

So I decided to hit pause on the replacement, and try my luck on some wind shield repair kits. Fuad did warn me they don't usually work, but I had a little bit of hope, and they were not that expensive either, so no harm in trying. Even after my meticulous research, surface prep, and application, it sadly didn't work.
But, now I don't really notice the chip, and when I do, I consider it as part of the car's character.

Attachment 2620654

Hey I own an A200d , which is 1.5 yrs old. I can relate to the glass chip as I have one on my windshield too. I got it on a hot sunny afternoon when I was doing about 100 kms/hr down the road from Madurai to Bangalore and a truck passed by in the opposite direction. It was a small stone that hit the windshield. I was distressed for many days with the chipped windshield. But the service advisor warned me to keep a watch if the it became a crack and started to increase. If it did then it was time to replace. Its been more than a year and happy to report the size is still the same inspite of me doing a Bangalore to Gujarat run. Oh and by the way I too was told windhshield repair kits won't work.

[lejhoom]

I once tried to fix the windshield of a tiny crack using Permatex from Amazon. It was an imported item, delivered by Amazon. You can check that out.

[bumpyroad]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

Hey I own an A200d , which is 1.5 yrs old. I can relate to the glass chip as I have one on my windshield too. I got it on a hot sunny afternoon when I was doing about 100 kms/hr down the road from Madurai to Bangalore and a truck passed by in the opposite direction. It was a small stone that hit the windshield. I was distressed for many days with the chipped windshield. But the service advisor warned me to keep a watch if the it became a crack and started to increase. If it did then it was time to replace. Its been more than a year and happy to report the size is still the same inspite of me doing a Bangalore to Gujarat run. Oh and by the way I too was told windhshield repair kits won't work.

I've had stones hit at high speeds previously, what saddens me the most is that I was going only around 20-30Km/h, slowing down after an S shaped curve in town. Still have no clue where the stone came from. It might not have chipped if it had been off by a few degrees.
I was a bit relieved when I saw an E-Class in a mall parking lot with a ping-pong ball sized chunk taken out of the wind shield, with no cracks outside that area. It was quite deep as well.

Originally Posted by lejhoom

I once tried to fix the windshield of a tiny crack using Permatex from Amazon. It was an imported item, delivered by Amazon. You can check that out.

Thanks for the suggestion lejhoom, I think the repair kit I initially tried did not work as the cracks were too thin for it to seep in between. And any opening which was there on the surface might've been closed by that glue. So applying something on top might not work. I'll keep this in mind in case the crack grows, or I get another chip (hopefully never).

[Cresterk]

A well written, detailed review.

We had considered the GLA 220d for quite a while back in 2022. To the point that I can tell you what feature revisions were made in each model year for India. We had test driven it as well as the W206 C class from Bridgeway Thrissur and it was a very good experience.

In the end, we just could not bring ourselves to spend about 60L on a car without features that we were very accustomed to, such as keyless entry. So ended up buying the much cheaper Hycross zxo instead.

Reading your post was like looking back at the road not taken. A glimpse into what might have happened had we continued with our plan to buy the GLA. Coincidentally we also have a dog that loves car rides. And our other car is a 2016 i20 as well, albeit in diesel guise. We even did the ceramic coating from the same place.
Even more coincidentally, Fuad had shown me a picture of what I now know is your car, when I was getting briefed on the coating as a warning of why the dealership should never be allowed to wash the car.
Just like you, I even got wash mitts, microfiber towels, a grit guard and a foam cannon and spent ages watching videos about proper washing as well as pouring through forums about different soaps.

All together it feels very easy for me to step into your shoes and I imagine this is exactly what my ownership review would have been if we had gone ahead with the GLA.

I'm happy to see that you have put 40k kms into the car. I never understood people who would spend a lot of money on nice cars and then barely drive them. As far as I'm concerned, the nicer the car, the more time you should be spending in it. I had some apprehensions about durability of the brand when I learnt that most Mercedes customers in India barely drove 5k kms a year so I'm happy to see that your car is holding up well at 40k kms, other than a few niggles.



For the left pull issue, go to a reputed old school alignment place that has been in business for quite a while and narrow it down to :
1. Whether it's a front wheel alignment issue or an EPS calibration issue. Electric power steerings have a sensor based centering assist on top of the usual mechanical return to center that can make the car "center" off to the side if the ECU thinks your steering wheel 0 position is a bit off.

2. Check the rear wheels to ensure some impact has not bent them slightly out of alignment. Most places only check the front wheels since the rear alignment on these cars cannot be adjusted. However an external impact or wear and tear of suspension components can lead to it being slightly off to the side which can also cause the car not to drive straight.


Funny thing about the keyless entry, Mercedes finally introduced it to all their Indian models in the 2024 model year. The GLA also got the 360 degree cameras and adaptive highbeams along with blindspot monitors. I know the chance is slight but we had been very vocal about the lack of it in teambhp so I like to think our feedback mattered.

[sudeepg]

Congratulations on your Merc. I am disheartened to see the poor service experiences with a luxury brand like Merc. There was a team-bhp thread on how premium brands give poor service experiences.

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

Oh and by the way I too was told windhshield repair kits won't work.

Originally Posted by bumpyroad

Falling in love

Fuad did warn me they don't usually work, but I had a little bit of hope, and they were not that expensive either, so no harm in trying. Even after my meticulous research, surface prep, and application, it sadly didn't work.
But, now I don't really notice the chip, and when I do, I consider it as part of the car's character.

This is not entirely true. I have had several stone chip incidents and a really bad one. In the first 3 cases, I used a windshield crack fix solution which worked well to completely resolve the crack. The kit needs to be used precisely, and the solution needs to go right into the cracks. It is hard to align the dispenser though, but if you do it well, it will cover the crack completely and make it difficult to spot.

On a long trip from Bangalore to Thrissur, I got a stone hit as I was leaving Bangalore. That crack grew in size across the windshield in no time. The growth was attributed primarily due to the hot weather outside and cold cabin temperature leading to a difference in pressure which enabled the crack to develop further. There was no way out other than replacing the windshield.

I totally understand how much it pains to undergo such a repair and the worry of a proper seal. But there are experts in this area and if you choose the right one, it will be fixed well.

P.S: That biker who dozed off missing your parked car with Loki was nothing short of a miracle. Surely, there is some blessing for you and your car.

[starlord]

Originally Posted by bumpyroad

[b] So we went to sign the documents, and that's when I learned my first lesson. The rate was floating, not fixed, even though they had confirmed that it was fixed when I asked earlier. Now, after the RBI increased repo rates, my rates are at 9.2%. But, because there is no pre-closure charges, I'm paying extra every month to close it off sooner.

This is downright fraud, should have forfeited the loan.

Also read your entire article, the thing about features cut in India version don’t make sense. They don’t sell it for a discount here. It’s a luxury vehicle for a reason, these features should be standard across the range with only differentiator being engines and transmission types for different variants. I’d have rejected a car/ manufacturer for the very reason. It feels like stepchild treatment meted out to Indian consumers.

Kudos to you for devoting the time and energy for the hassles of owning a Merc. My patience would have run very thin. In an India market it makes sense to have either Japanese, Korean or Indian brands - much better reliability and if something goes wrong several avenues to get it fixed.