A CLASS VS 2 SERIES UPSTART LUXURY

Between the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, which one is the more convincing entry ticket to luxury car ownership?

- TUHIN GUHA

The two cars you see here are squarely aimed at your heartstrings. Not with big speeds or burly mud-plugging, but by simply being the most approachable means to get the three-pointed star or the white and blue propeller into your parking spot. And consequently, add a significant few notches to your street-cred. But this also means that the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe here need to meet all the expectations of the badges they wear but without burning a very deep hole in your pocket.

Styling

Look at the two together, and it’s apparent that they walk this tightrope in very different ways. The BMW 220d Gran Coupe here is in top-spec M Sport guise and is immediately the more striking one. The variant-specific Misano Blue helps this feeling significantly by bringing a sense of cohesion to some of the more exaggerated angles and lines on the 2 Series Gran Coupe. The sharper front bumper and the subtle black highlights of the M Sport trim along the sills and windows help with this as well.

The 2 is also clearly more purposefully stanced, wider and lower than the Mercedes. The sloping coupe roofline and the intricate 18-inch M Sport wheels carry on this sense to the side while at the rear the wide LED taillamps, high decklid and the simple round exhaust tips add a genuine sense of athleticism to the looks. Although, these heavily stylised attributes are quite colour and variant dependent, and can look disproportionate when viewed from some angles. The lower Sportline variant or a flatter paint option, closer in intent to the A-Class here, can’t quite reproduce this sense as well.