When Mercedes asked GRR what our ideal Mercedes three-car garage would be, we quickly got to thinking. And then, after Mercedes assembled our chosen trio for us at Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands, we got to driving them, too. Had we made the right choices?

We plumped for three cars all as different as can be but all representative of strong market segments, and all recent arrivals on UK roads. We went for an electric city car, a high-performance saloon and a chunky SUV, a trio we imagined would cover every conceivable automotive eventuality. As the pictures show, they make a very disparate bunch. 

The perfect Mercedes three-car garage? Here’s what we discovered…

Smart fortwo EQ cabriolet Night Sky

Price as tested: £23,930

This should work, shouldn’t it? It’s tiny, electric, and convertible - so guilt-free zipping around with plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Right on the zeitgeist. For an 82PS (81bhp) two-seater it may seem pricey (and £23,930 is after the £3500 plug-in grant from the government), but in this ultimate fortwo form it comes with as many bells and whistles as will fit in a car just 2.7m long. 

It also comes not just with the expected Smart design funkiness but also a sturdy Merc quality feel. For two people it’s roomy and comfortable and impressively rattle-free. It is also entirely intuitive to drive and far peppier off the mark than its 0-60 time of 11 seconds would suggest. The steering is light and quick, and the turning circle makes a London taxi appear as manoeuvrable as a bus. 

It will also hit 80mph on the motorway, but this is probably best avoided. Not because it gets blown or bounced around (it doesn’t unduly) but because a dinky car with a dinky battery will inevitably have a dinky range if you use all the performance; 99 miles is suggested but put your foot down and you’ll be plugging it in before you can say Michael Faraday. The good news is, with a wall-charger, a top-up can take as little as 40 minutes.

Ultimately the thing that draws a dark cloud over the Night Sky is none of this but its ride. It does rather fall into potholes as if they were moon craters. We’re keeping it, but relocating our garage to a small island in the sun where the roads are as smooth as billiard tables…

Mercedes-AMG C63 S

Price as tested: £81,408 

The C63, stalwart of the AMG line, may no longer be the biggest-selling hot Merc (there are so many AMGs now) but it’s surely the one everyone loves the most. Any excuse to drive one is enough for us, such as the UK arrival of the 2019 updated version. That’s this car, complete with Panamericana grille, dynamic engine mounts, digital dash, a multitude of recalibrated drive modes, and a switch from a seven-speed to a nine-speed automatic transmission for a “more dynamic” drive.

Yup, it feels pretty dynamic to us. Others have said the new ‘box is not as quick as the best twin-clutch set-ups but you’d surely need a back-to-back test to tell. In 510PS (503bhp) S form this car is a powerhouse that can knock off 62mph from rest in 4.0 seconds, but it impresses just as much for being a simply magnificent all-rounder.

Understated looks, a superb cabin, a fine ride (once you’ve fiddled with the drive modes) and really accessible handling with good old seat-of-the-pants chassis feel – you do not have to be going a million miles an hour to steer it a little with your right foot – all meld together in a very satisfying way.

Dislikes? Tyre roar on concrete motorway surfaces and seats that seemed short of shoulder support. You generally forget about these things as soon as you drive off and immerse yourself in V8 music of the highest caliber, of course. This car’s a keeper for our garage. Probably for ever.

Mercedes-AMG G63

Price as tested: £153,905

It’s the old G-wagen! Or is it? The headlights are said to be the failsafe way to tell new from old. Otherwise, it’s all so familiar, as unfashionably boxy as before with its right angles and flat surfaces and spare wheel mounted on its side-opening tailgate. It might still be body-on-chassis and have a solid rear axle but the body’s all new, as is the suspension, engine, interior and electronics. The aim is to keep the look but transform the drive.

Mission accomplished? Assuredly so. In G63 form with everything cranked up to 11 – including the power, all 585PS (577bhp) of it – the ultimate G-class is as hilarious as ever but it is hilarity you could now easily live with. The G’s manners, and its cabin, have been transformed, and it’s now comfortable and refined while still being true to what it is. 

Nope, that’s not primarily an off-roader (which it’s still very good at) but an SUV hot rod that sticks two fingers up at the world and overwhelms with its intoxicating V8 bellow and unlikely speed. Blasting from 0-62mph in just 4.5 seconds when you are sitting so high behind such an upright windscreen is strange, but also addictive.

It doesn’t point like a sports car – because it is still that tough 4x4 at heart, and has all the right hardware to prove it – but neither does it rock and roll when you press on. Which in fact you do not have to do since one of its unfashionable traits is that it is a beguiling machine to drive slowly. The engine is subdued enough not to annoy but always menacingly burbly enough to suggest a performance explosion is just a toe prod away.

Every garage should have an SUV in it, and if you are going to have something this huge, heavy and expensive you might as well get one that makes you whoop with delight every time you drive it.

We know we would.