ALL YOU’D EXPECT, BUT SMALLER
COMPACT LUXURY CROSSOVER TURNED INTO A FEISTY LITTLE ROCKET
Although it’s probably best-known as a luxury brand, MercedesBenz is no slouch when it comes to muscle. Its AMG performance division is usually tasked with forging its stamp on larger engines, but it does a decent job of putting some pizzazz into the company’s little GLA crossover.
Among the smaller of the company’s vehicles, the GLA starts out as the mild-mannered GLA 250 4Matic, with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 208 horsepower. But in the hands of the performance folks, it becomes the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45, pulling 375 hp out of that same little four-pot engine.
What it is generally depends on who’s sizing it up. Mercedes calls it an SUV, but I think that’s a stretch and I’m more inclined to call it a hatchback or crossover. In any case, it’s definitely a compact, although the rear seats offer a bit more legroom and head space than you might expect. Still, you won’t put three people across the back in any semblance of comfort.
Really, though, when you move up to the AMG model — which starts at $52,300, versus the $38,500 asked for the coolerheaded GLA 250 — it’s far less about passengers, and all about the drive. It’s just about everything a “hot hatch” should be: quick, agile, sticky in the corners and firmly planted on the straightaway. Overall, it’s a very satisfying little car.
The turbo-four is tweaked over last year’s model, which turned out 355 hp and 332 pound-feet of torque. This year, with 26.1 psi of boost, a new camshaft and revised engine management, it now makes 375 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. It’s mated to a seven-speed dualclutch transmission that uses one of those infernal electronic shifters where you push forward for Reverse and have to hit a button to put it in Park, but you can also sequentially shift the gears (which includes rev-matching on downshifts) via wheel-mounted metal paddles that are elegantly marked with “Down” and “Up” carved into them.
The all-wheel-drive system is biased toward the front wheels, but seamlessly sends up to 50 per cent of power to the rear as needed. For those who take their cars to the track — and there’s a Race setting in the drive modes for optimizing engine response and suspension stiffness, along with launch control — the AMG version blasts from zero to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, versus 6.6 seconds for the regular GLA 250.
Even so, more linear power delivery would be nice. Put your foot down and there’s a moment of hesitation as turbo and transmission sort everything out, and then the GLA takes off like a rocket. That whip-snap acceleration makes it all worthwhile when you’re having fun, but the lag can be annoying when you’re in everyday traffic and you just want to make regular manoeuvres, such as getting away smoothly from a stop or passing on the highway.
Beyond that, the GLA 45 is superb. The steering is weighted just right, and response is quick and crisp. It hugs tight into the curves and corners flat, with virtually no body roll. In short, it’s exactly what you’d expect an AMG vehicle to do, just in a downsized version. The ride is firm and you feel the bumps, but it’s just shy of being a kidneybruiser.
The cabin is busy but very handsome, with red accents on my tester’s black dashboard and upholstery, a standard faux-leather dashboard and a flat-bottom steering wheel. The tablet-style infotainment screen now includes a standard rearview camera. It’s operated by a console-mounted joystick that’s fairly intuitive to use, although if you want smartphone integration through Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, you have to spring for the $4,300 Premium Package, where it’s bundled with navigation, blind-spot monitoring, automatic climate control and a panoramic sunroof. As with many higher-end vehicles, a lot of items you’d think would be standard come at an extra cost, and few buyers end up paying the base price.
I like that Mercedes-Benz still has buttons and dials for the climate control, along with hard buttons to quickly pull up screens on the centre display, adjust functions such as the heated seats and, on my tester, the optional performance exhaust and variable suspension. Still, those are on a strip of identical metal buttons that require you to take your eyes off the road to select the right one.
The 12-way power sport seats are standard and very supportive rather than cushy. There’s just enough bolstering to hold you in place while driving, without being so tall-sided that it’s an effort to get in and out. This is, after all, going to be an everyday driver for many buyers who need to get to work or the grocery store when not carving corners or putting in track time.
The GLA shares its platform and engines with the CLA, its four-door sedan sibling. The CLA also comes in a front-drive-only version, along with AWD and AMG varieties, but I’m partial to the GLA. There’s more headroom for rear-seat passengers and I like the GLA’s funky-little-hatch styling. It’s not for everyone, but if go-fast is your thing, this is one decent little contender.