Merc's new baby SUV from $47,900

Mercedes-Benz has announced a three-model GLA compact crossover range for Australia, with the cheapest model, the GLA 200 CDI litre turbo-diesel ($47,900 plus on-road costs), the first to arrive in April.

The 2.0-litre turbo-petrol GLA 250 4MATIC will hit our shores in July priced at $57,900 plus ORCs, while the barnstorming 265kW GLA 45 AMG 4MATIC will be priced from $79,900 when it arrives in September.

The pricing pitches the GLA directly against its most obvious rivals, the Audi Q3 and BMW X1.

The front-wheel drive 2.1-litre GLA 200 CDI will be $400 more expensive than the entry-level Audi Q3 2.0 TDI quattro, and undercut by the cheapest BMW X1, the six-speed manual rear-wheel drive sDrive18d, by $1300.

At the other end of the spectrum, the AMG is exactly $2000 cheaper than its most logical opponent, the Audi RS Q3.

The GLA is the fourth model to be drawn from Mercedes-Benz’s front- and all-wheel drive MFA architecture, following on from the A-Class, B-Class and the CLA-Class sedan. All share the same 2699mm wheelbase and drivetrains, but body measurements, styling and interior space vary.

Compared to the A-Class, the GLA is 125mm longer at 4417mm, 24mm wider at 1804mm and 64mm higher at 1494mm. Rear seat room is more generous and its luggage capacity grows 80 litres to 421, which can expand further to 1235 litres with the rear seat folded.

Benz has issued a 0.29 coefficient of drag figure for the GLA, which it claims is the best aero figure in its class.

The fifth – and so far final – MFA variant is a CLA Shooting Brake (wagon) that will break cover before the end of 2014 and be on sale in Australia in 2015.

All Australian-spec GLAs will come standard with seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions. A powered tailgate will also be standard but even the option of a spare tyre is unlikely.

Comfort and safety equipment is on par with the equivalent CLA, which means a base line including nine airbags, blind spot assist, collision prevention assist, a reversing camera and parking sensors, active parking assist, fatigue detection, 18-inch alloy wheels, sports seats in Artico artificial leather, bi-xenon headlights, six-speaker audio including Bluetooth streaming, AUX and USB interface, dual-zone climate-control and sat-nav.

Supply will be an issue for the GLA in Australia and globally, just as it is for all MFA models, as Mercedes-Benz has been overwhelmed by demand. It sold 371,399 MFA-based vehicles in 2013.

Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific estimates the limited supply will amount to around 100 cars per month, which is an important reason why it has kept the range so simple, electing not to bring any the entry-level 1.6-litre turbo-petrol GLA 200 or the turbo-diesel GLA 220 CDI.

“We would look at adding another petrol variant if there was customer demand and we could get extra capacity,” explained Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific communications boss David McCarthy. ”But for now we decided that putting in an extra model that would also be in short supply would just fragment things.”

Benz will also keep options choice pretty basic. For instance, only the GLA 250 will offer a dynamic as well as comfort option for the MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension, and only as part of an ‘AMG’ pack.

The 200 will offer comfort tune only, while the 45 will not be offered with AMG’s dynamic setting in Australia. An off-road tune, raising ride height 30mm, won’t come here, although a largely cosmetic off-road pack will be offered for the GLA 250.

A lairy ‘Edition 1’ dress-up kit will be available in the first few months the AMG is on sale. Pricing has not been set for that as yet.

The limited supply means the GLA will have no hope of challenging the Q3 for sales leadership in the VFACTS small SUV over $40,000 segment. Audi moved 2897 Q3s in 2013, while BMW sold 2108 X1s, as well as a just over 500 Mini Countrymans.

The GLA 200 CDI’s engine produces 100kW and 300Nm, averages 4.7L/100km and accelerates to 100km/h in 8.5 seconds.

The GLA 250 4MATIC pumps out 155kW and 350Nm, averages 6.5L/100km and accelerates to 100km/h in 7.1 seconds.

The GLA 45’s high-stressed 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine makes 265kW and 450Nm, averages 7.5L/100km and reaches 100km/h from rest in just 4.8 seconds.

All three engine are Euro 6 emissions-compliant and feature a fuel-saving idle-stop function.

All GLAs employ electro-mechanical rack-and-pinion steering and vented disc brakes (also cross-drilled for the AMG). The latest-generation 4MATIC system can fully vary torque front to rear and is assisted by an off-road mode that recalibrates the throttle, gearshift and downhill speed regulation.

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