Mercedes-Benz wants to take you higher. Not just in terms of social strata, but also in terms of distance from terra firma.
See, in the subcompact GLA-Class, a model line that purported to be a crossover, driver and passengers could have been fooled into believing they were riding in a regular hatchback. Not so for 2021. Mercedes-Benz has done everything in its power to turn the GLA into a bonafide crossover, and height has everything to do with it.
Riding atop the brand’s MFA small car platform (found beneath the new A- and CLA-Class), this latest GLA arriving in mid-2020 is shorter than the outgoing model by 0.6 inches. Wheelbase increases by 1.1 inches, affording rear-seat passengers an extra 4.5 inches of legroom. Cargo volume behind the backseat grows by half a cube.
Track is up 1.6 inches; ground clearance, should that be of concern to anyone, rises to 5.6 inches — a boost born of increased wheel size. Choice ranges from the standard 17-inchers to uplevel 20-inch jobs.
As for height, both driver and vehicle have that in spades. Eager to offer a profile and seating position “more typical of an SUV,” Mercedes-Benz seated the front-row occupants 5.5 inches higher than before. With standard roof rails in place, the GLA’s height grows 4.1 inches. Coupled with the decreased overall length and new body, the GLA now looks like the crossover it was supposed to be.
Should the rear-seat environment feel too car-like (and cargo volume too lacking), the backseat offers 5.5 inches of up-down movement, with a seatback that can stand upright if luggage considerations call for it.
As for power, buyers of the entry-level GLA 250 and GLA 250 4Matic can expect a modest upgrade in horsepower from their 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and no extra twist. Output is 221 hp and 258 lb-ft, routed through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic to the front or all four wheels. Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 buyers can expect a much more potent experience, however.
In the performance-tuned version, output rises to 302 hp and 295 lb-ft. An eight-speed Speedshift DCT manages the power, and the 4Matic all-wheel drive system will offer that all-important 50:50 torque split for impromptu drifting. Regular GLA buyers can access the same fore-aft ratio by selecting off-road mode on their drive selector, though just how many drivers will ever utilize Downhill Speed Regulation remains to be seen.
Available adaptive damping, trim specific wheels measuring 19 to 21 inches, five AMG Dynamic Select drive modes, and upgraded brakes (13.8-inch discs up front, 13 inches in the rear) sets the GLA 35 apart from its vanilla sibling.
Inside, the GLA incorporates the tech-heavy trappings found in its Millennial-chasing platform mates. Drivers face two 7-inch displays, or two 10.25-inch ones should they choose to spend more money. MBUX infotainment offers a voice prompt feature, thus allowing users to boss around their own car by saying “Hey Mercedes…”
While Mercedes-Benz doesn’t detail exactly what standard safety equipment can be found on the new GLA, it does tout the wonders of its available Driver Assistance Package, which brings steering, following, and brake assist to the table (among other niceties).
Pricing will be announced closer to the 2021 GLA’s on-sale date.
[Images: Daimler AG]
It’s nice, but it’s a lot of money for a cheap little crossover
Less repulsive than the outgoing GLA, but still not something that inspires awe and attraction in the way that a Mercedes should.
The GLA-Klasse targets younger Mercedes-Benz customers who have different expectations and are probably more invested into the advanced technology.
One the other hand, we can rightly assume that the average S-Klasse or E-Klasse buyer has no real interest in this compact car. Perhaps they will purchase one for their children or spouse, but not for themselves.
True, yet I fit that exact demographic and am not remotely interested in the GLA or its equivalents. I get it though: people like ugly crossovers.
Why spoil children with Mercedes? What they did to deserve luxury brand? IMO buying Kia would be good enough and that if they take the loan and pay for purchase from their own pocket working during weekends and evenings. I helped my son to buy his first car (paid down payment and cosigned the loan). And that was 1 year old Ford Focus (rental). He worked at Macys and other stores to pay back loan and have some pocket money.
Some people have WAY more money than you do. The kids deserve it for being born to the right parents.
I wouldn’t do it, but I’m a cheap SOB. I’m helping my nephew buy a 12yo Corolla.
“The kids deserve it for being born to the right parents.”
May be but that is not the American way.
Did a chugging 240D inspire awe and attraction?
Yes, because in 1973 it wasn’t unusual for gas lines to look like Tesla Supercharger lines when people were heading home from Thanksgiving dinner.
“Did a chugging 240D inspire awe and attraction” Yeah, kind of
Nice Buick.
Damn! I thought the same thing!
Mine was Lincoln with the center console, but nevertheless!
Same – Buik!
The basic shape of this thing makes me think of the PT Cruiser, heck, just dig up the old blueprints, give it a Fiat platform, lift it a few inches, and Chrysler would have an easy moneymaker.
Glad we get the hatchback A-series here in Canada. It’s a solid alternative for the VW Golf with way more tech and a quality interior. No point with a faux SUV GLA
Considering a vehicle that costs $10k+ more across the board a “solid alternative” is a bit of a stretch. “Solid deal for chumps with no concept of value” hits the mark a bit better. It’s solely for people who care about appearances above all else.
I would cheerfully pay extra for “less” tech at this point.
All this goodness for only $20,000 more than a comparably-powered up-spec Escape.
But the three pointed star in the grill probably lights up. That’s key.
Maybe, but the new Escape looks like an old Santa Fe that’s had an Armor-All bath in preparation for front-row duty on a BHPH lot. An illuminated torpedo sight on the grill wouldn’t fix that.
Afaik Mercedes Benz have never been good value, remember when they sold third-world cabbies as “luxury cars”?
True, but any of those “cabbies” were tanks that would run a gazillion miles with proper maintenance.
Want to take bets on how long this silly thing lasts?
It’ll last “a gazllion miles with proper maintenance” just as any car will.
While some attributes are an improvement, as soon as you read “Dual Clutch” take an instant pass. It may be efficient, but what a deal breaker it is. I have driven several iterations of this horrid thing and the trans by far is the biggest turn off. And I thought the trans in my Smart Cabrio was goofy, this is just annoying. Always wants to upshift in the middle of the rev band, unless you really stick your foot in it, then the kids just get nervous. Unless this thing was more competitive in price, AND fully electric, forget it.
Pug ugly.
MB is trying really hard to market this as a small SUV instead of a Golf competitor.
The problem is that it’s a Golf competitor. The bigger problem is that VW does as good as, if not a better job with tech than Merc is doing. The biggest problem is that Golf is much cheaper.
That’s 3 strikes.
I like the GLA, but Merc marketing is overplaying it’s hand. No one believes this is an SUV.
@jkross22
The GLA is just as much of a small SUV as it’s main competitor, the Audi Q3. They’re not worried about the Golf and neither are consumers based on current-gen GLA sales.
Well, the Q3 and Golf do share a platform, so there’s that.
They will lease a million of them to folks that have no clue, as the badge is right.
I took one look at this and I thought Buick Encore. Offer a turbo I3 with a CVT and you have the new Buick Encore. Make it in China and you have a true Mercedes based on GM.
Well, no doubt some idiot will try this thing out on a rock-strewn backwoods trail and find that 5.6 inches of ground clearance and all-seasons just doesn’t cut the mustard. Kinda like the Mach-E and its 5.5 inches of heady clearance. Hell, my Mazda 6 sedan has 6.5 inches and doesn’t come across as a cheap-ass two box runt. But it doesn’t have a four inch stretch in the driver seat height department to give easily-fooled people the ersatz CUV view. Boo hoo.