It’s been a few years since I last looked in detail at the GLAs standard spec Ian but, from memory, it didn’t compare favourably back then and extras were very expensive. I had a GLB on loan for a week and wasn’t impressed with it so, in the end, I didn’t look at the GLA, but it never appears as a class leader in reviews and is a bit smaller than its peers. Keeping in mind that with the addition of your sacrificed benefits, an £8k car costs you over £20k for a leased car that you will hand back with nothing to show for it, it needs very careful consideration, unless you have always wanted a Merc and this is your only route (£20k would get you a significantly better Merc that’s a few years old that you’d own) Then there’s the whole PHEV thing. I know that a lot of people on here like them, but I have a PHEV at present (my first – Tucson Ultimate) and am not convinced by them. Having to plug it in after every journey is a faff that I’ve never had with my previous ICE cars and once the modest EV range is depleted the mpg is poor due to the weight of the car. Their main appeal is for company car users who benefit from their lower benefit in kind taxation, but as we don’t have to worry about that the key is the type of driving that you do. If virtually every journey that you do is within the EV range (knock a third off the claimed range to allow for winter driving) and you are happy having to plug it in after every single time that you use it, then they can work out to be quite economical. However, if, like me, you do regular journeys that are above the EV range, the benefits fall away quite quickly, especially if you’ve paid a large advance payment in order to get one. We had to change cars as we needed a new adaptation, but I’d swap back to my petrol BMW X1 in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, decent petrol SUVs are as rare as hens teeth on Motability now, so this might push us away from the scheme next time, unless I can convince myself that I’m happy to move to a full EV, in which case I’d get one through Motability as the risks as a private buyer are too great.
It is interesting that it doesn’t appear as a class leader. I wonder if that is because it costs more than the alternatives, or whether it isn’t actually as good in standard trim.
Looking at autotrader for 3 year old £20k Suvs of the size I need brings up plenty X1 and X2 cars. Mercs available at that price point aren’t the right size for me. But some of the tech that I’ve become accustomed to in my Qashqai is likely fitted to the BMWs. I would not buy a PHEV though.
I have read through yours and Kezos thread on the Tucson. I found it incredibly useful, so thanks to you both for that information.
Majority journeys for me are below 30 miles, hence considering the PHEV through Motability.