Whether a car is comfortable depends on many factors. For many people it comes down to seating comfort, suspension comfort and space. In other words: does the car have good seats, does the chassis smooth out unevenness in the road surface and can you lose your head and limbs?
In this article we also discuss the climate control and the comfort of the passengers in the back seat. Because if they start to complain, the ride will take you twice as long.
Seating comfort: the hybrid with the best seats
Mercedes and comfort are often mentioned in the same breath. Yet we cannot be beat out of the ErgoActive driver’s seat of the Golf eHybrid. It is comfortably shaped and upholstered, and supports your body better than the narrow comfort seats in the Mercedes A 250e. In addition, the Golf driver’s seat has a massage function. So it is possible that you sit behind the wheel of the Volkswagen just as comfortable as in more expensive cars.
The rear passengers in the Golf sit on a comfortable bench that supports their thighs well. Here you can hold out longer than on the low backseat of the A-class, which forces you into a squatting position. In the field of climate control, Volkswagen once again goes a step further: the Golf eHybrid is supplied as standard as a Style version, which means that you get climate control with three zones. The A class has only two climate zones. Again the passengers in the backseat of the Mercedes are screwed.
Suspension comfort: the added value of adaptive shock absorbers
The Golf eHybrid may be luxuriously equipped, but the adaptive shock absorbers of our test car also have a price tag (946 euros). The result is impressive: the chassis reacts smoothly to edges, cracks and transverse ridges. Even on bad roads, the chassis protects the occupants against annoying vibrations and booms.
“You can’t order the A 250e with adaptive shock absorbers.”
The A 250e has conventional shock absorbers that deal with irregularities less smoothly. As a result, the body is more in motion and the Mercedes makes a somewhat nervous impression. It gets better when you load the car with people and stuff. Due to the extra weight on board, transverse ridges come in harder.
All in all, the Golf offers a higher level of comfort, regardless of the road surface you are driving on. The difference with the A-class is strikingly large. The 250e is the only version of the A-class that you cannot order with adaptive shock absorbers.
Space: the Golf is more spacious than the A-class
Finally, the interior space: the driver and co-driver of the Golf have the most freedom of movement. The A-class feels narrow in the front and the headroom is like that. This image is repeated in the rear seat: the Golf offers more space in width and height. Large adults are fine, while you do not want to sit on the second row of seats of the A 250e if you are taller than 1.85 meters.
Curious about the full test from Auto Review 4/2021? Don’t feel like going outside? Order Auto Review 4 in our webshop.