As with any upcoming development, the rough edges disappear in later iterations. And so is the case with Mercedes’ latest plug-in hybrids. The second generation, if you like. The new CLA 250 e that we drove in the form of a Shooting Brake is one of those finely ground hybrids.

The Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S 4Matic+ is bonkers and the only thing we can think about is the comparison with the tasty Oreo cookies. Strange? No, we disagree.

BMW and niches go hand in hand as long as the automobile manufacturer has existed. They're not the first to open up the small 4-door coupe segment, making us curious to see what the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is bringing into this classy wargame.

So we got the opportunity to test out the Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 and it being the smallest out of the AMG range, we asked ourselves the question: is it fun enough on some nice roads but also comfortable enough for long distances?