Body-hugging sports seats, plenty of red stitching and aluminium trim along with bright red seatbelts all combine to give the 45 AMG a more sporting atmosphere than the regular GLA.

The flat-bottomed steering wheel feels authentically sporty too and the metal gear shift paddles tucked behind it are a good size and easily accessible while the wheel’s turned.

As an AMG model the GLA 45 has an oblong gear selector on the transmission tunnel rather than the column shift stalk by the steering wheel found in more lowly automatic Mercedes models.

Otherwise it’s business as usual if you’ve been in any other A-Class family members, with the same instruments (although there’s the addition of a lap timer function within the instrument panel’s display menus), centre console and tablet-esque display screen in the centre of the dash, easily controlled via a rotary dial near the gear selector.

Mercedes GLA 45 AMG comfort levels are higher than the A 45 AMG hatch as the ride quality is a little more forgiving. It’s still firm, but not to the point that you’ll be left aching after long journeys.

The deep-sided seats are electrically adjustable to help establish a comfortable driving position. They’re comfy over a short journey although longer journeys may leave your lower back slightly numb.

Headroom is a little more limited than you might expect given the GLA’s off-road stance, especially in the rear, although it is an improvement over the A-Class hatch.