Capability Brown
REPORT 4 2143c, 4cyl turbodiesel, 4WD, 168bhp, 258lb ft 55.4mpg, 132g/km CO2
0–62mph in 8.1secs, 134mph 1535kg £ £30,030/£32,105 Total mileage 5770 Driver Owen Norris Why it’s here Are crossovers workable family cars?
My rear wheel is hanging a metre in the air. Which is rather unexpected, to say the least, as I’m in a socalled premium crossover. In an attempt to prove or disprove the theory that crossovers are just jacked-up hatches and aren’t capable of anything except posing on the high street, I’ve brought my GLA to an of-road course to try to break it.
Except this isn’t just some dirt track, this is Merc’s custom-built 4x4 track that’s part of the MB World facility at Brooklands. A decent test.
First, to see what a proper 4x4 can do, I went out in the new ML-Class and predictably it tackled everything from steep inclines and descents to wading through water and mud. Now for the little brother.
I started of with some gentle green-laning, which the GLA munched with ease. All but the muddiest track was devoured. Until we met an unexpectedly high lump in the road. CRUNCH! Oh no, I’ve knackered it before we even got to the good stuf. But thankfully it was only the shielding under the car catching on a hidden rock in the mud. Phew.
On to the next obstacle. The intimidating hill at the end. It’s at this point I was instructed to press one of the buttons on the centre console that I’d been wondering about for a while, the DSR (Downhill Speed Regulation) setting. This stops the car running away on a steep descent and has a special of-road calibration for the seven-speed automatic transmission. Much clever electronic trickery going on here.
Speed can be controlled using the cruise control stalk. I set a conservative 3mph, just to be sure. It dealt with the steep incline with no bother, just like its big brother except for the lack of clearance front and back slowing me down. You can spec an additional 30mm of clearance with the of-road spec, but I wouldn’t bother.
Lastly, the dreaded cross-axle tip-over bit. In which the diferential is given a thorough workout. This is where it may be in trouble.
Except it wasn’t. I drove up the frst lump and then held it there between the next, and we had two wheels dangling in the air. The rear a metre in the air. A metre. This is just a jacked-up hatch, right? Wrong.
More importantly, though, the GLA is extremely sure-footed out on the slippery autumnal roads we have at the moment, thanks to its clever 4Matic system. That’s what you’re really paying for in this car over an A-Class.
I’m of to do the school run before I clean it.