NEVER MIND THE WIDTH...

...FEEL THE QUALITY. HAS THE NEW GLC REVERTED TO TRADITIONAL MERC VALUES?

- ANDY ENRIGHT

I'M STARTING TO get used to the GLC speaking to me as I exit the car. I mean, it's all very polite, but after a while "Just a moment you've forgotten your phone" begins to get a bit wearing. The problem, as I see it, is that the phone resides in one of two places, both of which are hidden from the driver. It's either in the centre box where the USB-C slots are or it's buried in the bowels of the dash where the wireless charger resides. Maybe that's deliberate.

My Google Pixel juuust about fits into the wireless charger, but as soon as rubberised phone case meets rubberised charging pad, the pair grip like velcro and all you're left with is the charger's liner bunching up like an old sneaker insole.

Other issues? Surprisingly few. The GLC has a very odd characteristic whereby in heavy rain, the driver's side wiper can't clear the water off the screen and pulls a sheet of water back on the return stroke, making a semi-opaque addition to the already chunky A-pillar. The virtual assistant also seems keen to join the conversation at odd intervals, even if you don't mention the M-word.