We’ve just said farewell to the A220CDI AMG Sport after six months on test with AM. The fact that we’ve driven almost 10,000 miles in that period is an illustration of how popular the car has been.

Firm suspension aside, this well equipped Mercedes-Benz A-Class has been a superb introduction to a premium brand car-ownership experience.

Before Mercedes-Benz collected it, we took the opportunity to get the A-Class serviced by our local dealership, Mercedes-Benz of Peterborough, part of Robinsons Motor Group.

It was also due a fresh set of front tyres – the 168bhp through the front wheels had taken almost 15,000 miles to wear the ContiSport Contacts’ tread down to the wear indicators. Booking the annual service and replacement tyres was painless, thanks to a very detailed online form on the dealership’s website.

It allowed us to specify three convenient dates and whether we’d require a loan car, collection and delivery or a while-you-wait service. It even had tick boxes for our preferred method of contact by the dealership.

Within two hours, a service receptionist from Mercedes-Benz of Peterborough was on the phone, confirming the details and giving separate quotes for the service and the tyres. I opted for a collection and delivery service to minimise the impact on work time.

The professionalism of Mercedes-Benz of Peterborough was impressive. I received an email confirmation of the booking immediately following the phone conversation with service reception. The day before the service, I received a reminder text message and voicemail in case I needed to change my plans. When the car was collected, the driver was welcoming and professional, and the dealership returned it to our office well ahead of when I’d said I needed it back.

Even the payment was straightforward and taken over the phone. While being relieved of £675.40 is never painless, it was at least fuss-free and overall the service lived up to our expectations of dealing with a premium brand retailer – smooth, pleasant and comprehensive.