At first glance, it appears to follow the Cross Country path â€" that of being little more than a jacked-up version of the A-Class hatchback on which it’s based.
It’s true the circa-150mm ground clearance ensures it rides higher than both the A- and B-Class, though Mercedes says Aussies won’t take the GLA off road. And its drivers sit 40mm higher than in the A-Class, providing a marginally better outlook without feeling intimidatingly tall.
But at 4.4 metres long, the GLA-Class is 125mm longer than the A-Class (and longer than the B-Class MPV) and features a 421-litre boot â€" up 80L on the hatchback, as well as 86L over the V40 Cross Country, 1L over the X1, but trailing the Q3 by 40L.
(Mercedes boasts a ‘cargo position’ setting, in which the rear backrests are raised to 90 degrees, increases boot capacity to 481L, though it effectively renders the rear seats unusable, making it a largely useless feature â€" better to just fold the 60:40 split-fold rear seats forward completely to open up the full 1235L.)
As with the 200 CDI variants of the Benz’s compact range, including CLA, the Mercedes-Benz GLA200 CDI is powered by a 2.1-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine that produces 100kW (between 3400-4000rpm) and 300Nm (from 1400-3000rpm).
The heaviest and slowest of the quartet, the GLA200 CDI feels a touch tardier than expected, though in accelerating from 0-100km/h in a claimed 9.9 seconds, it matches the times of the equivalent Q3 and X1. Officially, it’s more fuel efficient than this pair, however; it’s 4.6 litres per 100km combined-cycle figure betters the BMW’s 5.0L/100km and Audi’s 5.8L/100km.
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