The New Mercedes GLA

According to the Motoring press, Mercedes are ready to set the car world alight once again with their new GLA, which is being touted as a serious SUV styled for the younger generations. Some may claim that this is so called “lite” version of the famous Mercedes GL class SUV transport – a vehicle that’s been a favourite with the market and the critics for a number of years. With its formal release not planned until the Frankfurt Motor Show in mid September, the motoring media are a-buzz with their previews of the car. Some of the bigger magazines and newspapers have already put their opinions on paper and the web, and we’ve picked out enough of the vital stats to give you our own brief look at this much awaited car.

Exterior Looks

Visually, we’d say that the Mercedes GLA carefully treads the ground between the sleek, sophisticated lines that characterise this top German manufacturer’s designs and the bulky, sometimes boxy, silhouettes that are commonly associated with many of today’s powerful SUVs, which traditionally like to impose their heavy frame on the tarmac. As you’d expect this is a complete success story – the GLA looks strong and yet at the same time cultured. The trademark double v grill together with headlights that curve back into the car’s aerodynamic frame instantly identify the car as a Mercedes, before you even see the chunky insignia sitting in the centre of the front view. This vehicle looks sporty enough to be strong on the road, but still retains that vital class that suggests that it’s suitable for anyone above 25 to drive.

Interior

From what we’ve seen of the interior of the Mercedes GLA, this appears to be a car that continues the theme of elegance and luxury that’s apparent with the exterior into the cabin. The seats are decked out in chocolate coloured leather with a black two tone effect that carries over into the styling on the dash and steering wheel of the car – all of which are peppered with galvanised aluminium. The centre of the front console is dominated by a small infotainment screen that we believe can be used for displaying road information, phone calls and possibly even DVDs or hard copies of films for longer journeys. Judging from the liberal use of the speakers we believe the car will come with full stereo sound – after all, you’d expect nothing less from a Mercedes. Comfort-wise you’ve got four individual sports seats to cushion your weary limbs on even the longest of journeys, and the most interesting feature without question has to be the projection facility that allows you to pump out images, including video, from the console screen through the headlights. Obviously this makes this the perfect car for a camping party, although the manufacturer claims this is actually to allow drivers to display on screen information from the sat navigation on to the road ahead.

The Mercedes GLA is not all about the high life features either, as according to the specs this car is one that is ultimately designed for capacity and hauling everything you need from A to B. At 438cm long and 158 cm high it is around the same size as a Range Rover, although it somehow seems smaller and less bulky on the eye. Apparently you get around 421 litres of spaces in the rear of the car, and if you fold the back seats down this can be expanded to a whopping 836 litres, which is enough room to get almost anything home from the furniture shop or DIY centre.

Performance

What about under the hood? Well, initial reports suggest buyers will have a choice of a number of different petrol and diesel engines, with the most powerful versions of each coming with the special 4MATIC four wheel drive systems. This is a special computerised off road drive mode that’s been designed to help drivers cope with slippery surfaces that lack traction. The car is also available with a six speed manual gearbox or a seven speed dual clutch automatic transmission. The top end model is said to do a maximum of 149 mph and 0-62mph in around 6.6 seconds, making it a compact SUV that’s capable of really getting you where you want to go at speed.

Pricing

Mercedes are also being noticeably tight lipped about the price of the new GLA. Go to their website and you’ll have to fill in a form to register your interest in this car to receive updates on availability and pricing. However Richard Hammond, star of BBC’s famous motoring show Top Gear has had his word in the Mirror – he believes the GLA will retail at around the £25,000 mark, which will make it a definite contender for space in this market against rivals such as the Audi Q3 and the Range Rover Evoque. Apparently it’s not too bad on the road either, with most economical of all the models doing a rather attractive 65 mpg.

For affordable engines, gearboxes and more, check out our new and used Mercedes Benz GLA-Class parts page.