Malaga / Spain  I do not have to look under the tin to see the family affiliation. Mercedes-Benz GLA and Mercedes-Benz A-Class are similar from every angle. The GLA looks like an A-class that comes with hiking boots from the gym. Just so much ground clearance, that you do not get into the embarrassment of abusing the GLA as a G replacement, but still a little more space between the underbody and asphalt, as expected in the compact car class. While the A-Class squats sporty flat on the asphalt, the youngest member of the family wants to be a climber. 

Fashionable chic in hiking boots?

Presentation of the compact SUV from Stuttgart. 

The design of the GLA elegantly stays away from the image of ruffians and filthy children. For an SUV, the GLA looks particularly elegant and distant. But still plays the game card “emotions” more clearly than its competitors.

More ground clearance, more seat height and more space in the interior than in the A-Class. These are the right ingredients to turn a compact SUV into a compact SUV. But stop! Does the GLA really have more space in the interior than the Mercedes-Benz A-Class?

The test car:

• Model Name: GLA 200 CDI 6 gear Manual
• Vehicle class: Compact SUV
• Delivery: July 2014
• Power: 136 PS, 300 Nm, 205 km / h

Base Price:

32.1 k €

Before we get in, a short “walk around”: The radiator grille was given two large slats, the Mercedes star landed in the middle. Perhaps he wears his nose up a little. The large air inlet in the lower half of the bumper was fitted in chrome and now makes the front appear bulky and masculine. The side end of the bumper is formed by two indicated air inlets. The engines of the GLA don't need that much fresh air after all, because the plastic grilles are only hinted at. Or do they? Probably at the latest, if the 45 emblazoned on the tail, the air requirement of the engines is huge. But before me is the GLA 200 CDI, the current basis in the new GLA program.

At the rear the massive silver finish of the bumper stands out. And the two tailpipes that were fitted there. Subtle is different. In addition, the broad shoulder over the wheel arches is especially effective from behind. Together with the large tail lights this forms the desired differentiation to the rear of the A-Class. The GLA looks wide and flat.

The seating position in the GLA is perfect - it looks like a sporty sneaker. You don't notice that you're sitting in an SUV. More like a running shoe than a hiking boot! When getting in, however, everything is easier than with the sportier A-Class. This is thanks to the increased ground clearance. And that's only a few centimeters difference. But you can feel it.

Is the GLA in the end the true legacy of the old A-Class?

crosshatch

Hot hatch, hatchback, crossover and SUV. Classic vehicle classes disappear and every niche is occupied. And sometimes manufacturers invent a niche that was not there before. The four-door coupe with the name CLS was such an invention of Mercedes-Benz. In the beginning, the competitors were still confused, today they copy eagerly. The CLS Shooting Brake, the "sort of a station wagon version" of the four-door coupé, will suffer the same fate. Invented, found to be ingenious and on the way to the master copy.

Now with the new GLA series, the Mercedes men are doing it again. But unconsciously this time. Because the GLA is not a compact SUV in the sense of the previously valid description. The GLA embodies much more a class of compact SUVs with extreme off-road aversion.

Still practical?

The trunk offers more space thanks to the longer rear end. And thanks to a “cargo position” of the rear seat back, the space can be enlarged again. In this cargo position, the backrest is extremely steep and the trunk becomes larger. But the space in the passenger compartment is much more important. You also want a compact SUV because of the extra space in the interior.

More seat height for the first row? More headroom on the rear seat? This has been desired by previous A-class customers. The new A-class has become very sporty.

But Mercedes-Benz loses this opportunity.

While the space between the seat and the headliner on the back seat increased by a remarkable 1,9 centimeters, it was reduced in the first row. However, by a negligible 0.2 centimeters. Nevertheless: A “better feeling of space” looks different.

Above: the GLA, including the A-Class

So the GLA can score especially in the trunk area. The rest is cut just as tight as in the A-Class.

Compact SUV?

If you don't want to use the Mercedes-Benz GLA as a CrossHatch, but are looking for the SUV in the GLA, you will have to wait until the optional off-road chassis is available. Then 3 centimeters of ground clearance are added and the GLA also dares to go off-road. But be careful. Before - and especially with the optional AMG-Line chassis (-15mm), the GLA is the founder of the new "CrossHatch ”class. And indeed - the GLA is really better off-road than off-road.

So everything is completely understandable? Will the buyers of the new GLA really all stay 99.9% away from all off-road trips? Then it would be a clever move by Mercedes. While the competitors grapple with the "off-road design" and slowed-down off-road talent and give the cars an outfit that says as much as: "I could if I wanted" - Mercedes is implementing a version of the A-Class, which is one thing above all: “Cool, hip and trendy”.

So he drives:

Even the basic diesel in the GLA 200 CDI is a sensible engine with 136 HP and 300 Nm. The six manually shifted gears do not interfere in everyday life. Of course, their seven of the dual clutch transmission are a boon, but the coordination of the six gears is well chosen. The current base diesel has - contrary to the name 200 cdi - 2.2 liter displacement. From 1.200 revs it pulls calmly and calmly through the rev band and remains economical in everyday use of the noble fuel soup. (The trip from Granada to Malaga, for example, was checked off with 5.9 liters on 100 kilometers, despite a last trip to the mountains around Malaga.)

Overall, the noise insulation of the GLA is a little better than in the A-Class. But that can deceive me. Neither disappointed nor disappointed: the steering. It conveys enough feeling for the road and thanks to the “marginal” plus in ground clearance, the dampers have been tuned to be softer, but also more progressive than in the compact class brother A200 cdi. The GLA 200 CDI drives like the A-Class should drive, not too dynamic, but more comfortable in terms of suspension. Not too deep over the asphalt, yet far away from the typical SUV wobble.

It's a great compromise and even if the basic diesel and the added comfort of driving sound like boredom, the GLA 200 CDI will be among the bestsellers in the range of the series brothers at least in our latitudes. Betting?

He can not do that

The GLA is only with the optional off-road package to a real compact SUV. But who really wants to go into the terrain with the new GLA? The GLA is the Style Hero (th)  among the compact ones that look like they like it wild. Because even if the add-on parts look like off-road, you don't want to drive the emotional forms of the GLA over gravel paths.

He can do that better than others

The GLA lives the lifestyle idea in its purest form. He pretends to be the off-roader among the A-Series brothers, but he's just the legitimate excuse for people who do not feel like fake dynamics and sporting loopholes. An SUV as an argument for the return to the practical automobile. And the GLA is under A-, B- and CLA-Class the practitioner with the sleeves rolled up and the sturdy shoes, without embodying the lifestyle liberation of the B-Class.

Conclusion & recommendation

The wisest decision for the GLA is made, who does not use the 4matic drive, selects the handset and thus indulges in the best A-class, which one can buy as a reasonable person.

The 170 hp 220 CDI with off-road package is recommended to everyone else. With a base price of 39.252,15 euros, you get in here just under the 40.000 euros limit, but you get a GLA, which then also delivers the promise of "Lifestyle SUV”Redeems.

Further driving reports and ideas for the new CrossHatch, the Mercedes-Benz GLA: MB-Blog, Mercedes-Benz Passion Blog, 

Gallery:

 Photos: Gallery: Mercedes-Benz / Article: Bjoern Habegger