Mercedes SUV proves it's not out of place driving in the city

Kathy Renwald

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

BEST: MERCEDES

GLK350 4MATIC

It's tough to choose the best car I drove this year.

I tested the Hyundai Genesis way back in January and still rate it high.

The BMW M3 is both wild and refined and the BMW 335d has great looks, power to burn and knockout fuel consumption figures, and might even be Car of the Year.

The Toyota RAV4 does all the right things for me – size, fit, and price.

This year, though, I'm choosing a small SUV, the Mercedes GLK350 4MATIC, a robust off-roader that's not too big, has a muscular stand-alone style while still treating its occupants to Mercedes luxury.

The GLK I tested was $51,175 and it is the kind of car you could keep for years. It is small enough to squirt around in the city, big enough to haul stuff.

The ride is adaptable and the interior is sensible and tailored. Worst: Honda Insight

The Honda Insight looks like a doorstop, rides like it's tranquilized and has a potluck interior that sets a new standard for joyless design.

Okay, we all get the hybrid message: fuel economy, save the planet. But being incarcerated in the Insight made me feel like I was in a confessional. "Okay, Kathy, do 16 Hail Marys and 50 Acts of Contrition for driving that Porsche Panamera."

Let us suffer.

The seats are squishy and look like they did time in a 1960s Laundromat.

The lumpy dash layout is jarring with dials, vents, gauges and electronic read-outs floating aimlessly and looking for a place to land.

Worse is the speedometer that, in the Insight's two-tier instrument layout, is placed above the "Too Much Information" display. From my seating position, the speedometer was blocked by the steering wheel. Maybe not that important in a car that has 98 horsepower.

Looking out the rear-view mirror is another teeth grinder because the design of the rear hatch places a bar in the middle of the view.

At night, the headlights of the car behind are either blocked or bouncing above and below the bar like someone flicking lights at you.

The Insight should lighten up. It could have a Patchouli oil dispenser, seats covered with botanical prints and come with a lifetime supply of steel-cut oatmeal.

C'mon Honda, put on your happy face.

More videos from Wheels.ca and our partners