Malaga / Spain He furiously rumbles out of the exhaust, sprinting courageously from corner to corner and exposing the driver to a real personality check. On the brakes, stopped in the Spanish hinterland, got out and once again go through your head, what actually happens here.

In front of me is a compact SUV. But not one of many, because what cracks the heat of the previous mountain passages so effectively into a new form of energy is the hot brake system of the sportiest GLA from Mercedes-Benz. In the rough AMG version. With the GLA, Mercedes-Benz is entering the compact SUV segment quite late. But the Stuttgart-based company has set a particularly penetrating fragrance brand with the sportiest version, the GLA 45 AMG. The Swabian himself is not known for “half solutions” - if you do something, you want to do it right. That's probably why it took a little longer with the GLA. And while Daimler usually speaks of “the best or nothing”, the GLA 45 AMG hisses when the engine is started: “And now even more ”  through the arm-thick tailpipes. And after completing the mountain stage, the 350 mm large brakes can be carried away to make another statement in relation to Newton's third law.

Schwabe with a look-up - the rebel in the SUV class?

Mercedes GLA 45 AMG

Since the compact SUV Swabian comes too late and now also politically incorrect. The Mercedes-Benz GLA 45 AMG is thick. And whoever chooses Edition 1 will probably also strut to the Vienna Opera Ball wearing the feather headdress of a travesty queen. You can't discuss taste - but you can discuss downforce values. Massive gear train, lush sills and a wing that actually belongs on the racetrack. How did this whole package get through the taste TÜV? It remains a mystery to me. Just like this brute run on the next bend. The GLA 45 AMG Edition 1 naturally benefits from all-wheel drive 4maticwho takes responsibility for converting the force into propulsion. The same 360 ​​hp heart rages under its hood that you get with the  A45 AMG and CLA 45AMG finds. And this combination hits the stomachs of sensitive passengers. The GLA 45 enforces Newton's first law with a vehemence previously unknown for this class. In the class of sporty SUVs, this is definitely a completely new experience. During the Q3 in its sportiest form with at least 310 hp, the supposedly sporty BMW X1 has to be content with just 245 hp. The GLA 45 AMG with its 360 hp plays in a completely different league. And that also applies to the vehicle class. While the normal GLA in connection with the optional off-road package is definitely a “compact SUV” and is looking to compete with the model student Tiguan, the GLA 45 AMG Edition 1 is three centimeters lower and is therefore only a few millimeters from the level of the A- Class away. The AMG revelation in the sporty class of the “compact SUV” can hardly be accepted as such.

The test car:

• Model Name: GLA 45 AMG Edition 1
• Vehicle class: Compact SUV
• Delivery: July 2014
• Power: 360 PS

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Base Price:

55.9 k € 

The better A-class

Yes, the pilot sits splendidly behind the sporty three-spoke steering wheel, the seats with the integrated headrests are familiar from the other models in the A-series and even the navigation display in the exposed location has meanwhile become used to. Still, for an SUV, even one of a compact size, you sit quite low. The head can be found in traffic at the height of Fiat 500 Abarth pilots, and you look up to other SUVs. The GLA hardly offers more space than its platform brother, the A-Class. This is not a typo. The interior of the GLA is exactly the same size as the A-Class, with the exception of the trunk and the height between the roof and the rear seat bench.

The cut-outs of the doors not only look the same size, they are, but the seat height is less sporty deep. Anyone who wavers between A45 AMG and GLA 45 AMG will have to make the decision based on his own disc.

In terms of driving dynamics, the AMG version of the GLA takes on a completely new dimension if the standard of the “compact SUVs” were applied. However, Mercedes-Benz uses a trick here. The normal GLA is 4 centimeters higher than the A-Class. The AMG offshoot sinks three centimeters towards the asphalt. This reduces off-road pleasure to a minimum. Consistently designed for sporty handling “on the road” and thus far removed from the “compact SUV class”.

And even if the trunk has now reached a reasonable size, the reason must remain outside of the GLA 45 AMG. Blame is this outrageously horny two-liter engine.

Unreasonable - the aggregate

If only two liters of displacement are available, a lot of magic is needed to breathe the four-cylinder still such a powerful life. So that the strongest two-liter series engine lives for a long time to come, he was missed a water cooling, which supplies the thermally highly charged turbo even after the engine is still with cooling water. The block is made of aluminum, the crankshaft was forged like a racing engine. The pressure in the four combustion chambers comes from a fast-acting TwinScroll turbocharger with intercoolers in the format of a fitted kitchen. The result is pretentious cheeky 450 Nm, which pushes the strong two-liter turbo on the dual clutch of the seven-speed gearbox.

If you activate the launch start, the GLA 45 AMG, accompanied by a brazen exhaust sound with adolescent nuances, leaps forward. The double clutch barely allows the transmission shafts to breathe and makes the perfectly coordinated control unit sweat. Accelerated from a standstill at full throttle, the transmission comes under great stress. No wonder: the 360 ​​hp AMG driver pushes at the front, the four tires mesh effectively with the road thanks to the dynamically tuned all-wheel drive, in the best case 50% of the power is evenly distributed to the axles. There are only 4.8 seconds to the 100 km mark. A time that is included in the rest of the compact SUV class for parking in front of the supermarket. But here, too, the objection: The class of previous compact SUVs is somehow different, the GLA 45 AMG defines a new class. Sebastian Bauer called them in the first hour of our joint test drive: CrossHatch. And he is right. Hardly a description for this new niche fits better.

The benchmark

In this new niche, the GLA 45 AMG marks a benchmark that will not be achievable if other manufacturers ignore the off-road concept of SUVs as consistently as the longitudinal dynamics from Affalterbach. Where the GLA 45 AMG just thanks to its for compact SUV ratios below average ground clearance, the 360 PS of his engine not only for lessons in longitudinal dynamics uses. The GLA 45 AMG drives with impressive neutrality. He does not fuck around. He dubbed the ridiculousness of his spring jewelry (Edition 1) with the professionalism of his powertrain.

From SUV to CrossHatch

The question of who should buy this GLA 45 AMG in the first place does not arise. The only question that arises with the GLA 45 AMG is: with or without war paint? In my opinion, you can save yourself the eye-catching painting of the € 63.248,50 Edition 1 as well as the pointless rear spoiler. The “normal” GLA 45 AMG is also noticeable.

Those interested in the GLA 45 AMG are unlikely to have any financial problems. The base price of € 55.000 ensures natural selection. In the end, there will still be enough customers left. And only a few of them will attend the Vienna Opera Ball and when they do, wear their own feather headdress with the necessary self-confidence.

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