New Mercedes-Benz GLA revealed

The 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLA made its global debut overnight and the all-new premium compact SUV is confirmed for Australian release in the third quarter of 2020.

The interior of the second-generation GLA will grow massively even as it becomes shorter overall, with Benz making its smallest SUV far taller and more substantial looking.

While it will be powered by everything from a miniscule 1.33-litre four-cylinder all the way up to Mercedes-AMG’s 225kW GLA 35, it’s the interior of the new GLA that has had the most attention.

The first generation was criticised for its tiny rear seat space and compromised elbow and headroom, but Benz has worked hard to fix that on the new model, due in Europe around April next year.

Its engineering team cut 14mm from the crossover’s overall length but added 30mm to its wheelbase, leading to a significant 116mm jump in the rear legroom.

The rear seat backrests are also adjustable, and there is an option to give the rear seats 14cm of fore-aft adjustment and another to upgrade them from a 60:40 split to a 40:20:40 split.

Mercedes-Benz claims it will reach 100km/h in 8.7 seconds in its base GLA 200 guise and in 5.1sec in range-topping GLA 35 spec.

Like all of the cars based off the W177 A-Class’s MFA2 modular architecture, the new Mercedes-Benz GLA prefers to be run as much in front-wheel drive as possible.

Even the 4MATIC all-wheel drive models will run around 80 per cent of their power to the front wheels, switching in more of the AWD system only when it needs added traction.

Unlike the previous model, all second-generation GLA 4MATIC models will be delivered with an off-road package as standard equipment.

Its on-road handling should be improved, too, with a redesign of the GLA’s MacPherson strut front suspension (complete with a forged aluminium wishbone and steering knuckles) and a four-link independent rear-end.

There promises to be more bite in corners, too, with both the front and rear track widths boosted by 40mm, and the wheel-arches will accommodate everything from 17-inch to 20-inch factory wheels and tyres.

Its ground clearance even rises by almost a centimetre to 143mm.

The new Mercedes-Benz GLA will sit beneath the just-launched GLB in both price and size (and off-road ability) and it even boasts an added 22mm of front headroom thanks to a roofline that’s now 104mm taller than before, at 1611mm.

Codenamed H247, the GLA’s overall length will now be 4410mm, with a 1834mm width (up 30mm) and big bumps in elbow room built in to both rows of seats.

”The launch of the new GLA marks the culmination of a complete renewal of our family of compact cars”, said Daimler’s board member for automotive marketing and sales, Britta Seeger.

“The GLB and GLA complement each other perfectly: the GLB is the most functional and most spacious representative of our compact class family, while the new GLA is positioned as its sporty brother and as a lifestyle-oriented SUV.”

The larger interior will be dominated by the A-Class’s freestanding, wide-screen digital display set-up, with two screens line abreast atop the dashboard.

There are options, though, with either a pair of 7.0-inch displays at the bottom end of the range, rising through to a 7.0-inch paired with a 10.25-inch display, then topping out at two of the larger screens side-by-side, which will likely be standard in Australia.

The new GLA comes with five of Merc’s turbine-look air-vents and there’s a nod to its nominal off-road ability with a tubular, horiziontal grab handle in front of the passenger.

There are upgrades to the operating system behind the multimedia systems, including the latest Benz developments in the voice-activated Hey Mercedes system.

Even the luggage space has had a massive overhaul, though its 435-litre luggage space has only risen 14 litres. The width of the luggage space has grown by 85mm to 1272mm and it’s also 27mm deeper.

The front-seat hip points are 140mm higher than in the A-Class, moving the GLA more into line with the seat height of a typical SUV rather than a slightly taller A-Class.

Mercedes-Benz hasn’t been massively forthcoming on the full GLA engine lineup, but it can be expected to echo the A-Class range.

There will four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, with no plans for six-cylinder power (Benz’s straight-six 3.0-litre engine won’t fit).

A plug-in hybrid version will come later, but all-electric power will be reserved for a reskinned version dubbed the EQA.

The standard GLA powertrain range has higher power outputs and lower tailpipe emissions than before, with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission to link it all together.

The little M282 1.33-litre motor tries to make up in technology what it lacks in capacity. It has cylinder deactivation and variable valve lift to deliver its 120kW of power at 5500rpm.

It has 250Nm of torque between an extremely low 1620rpm and 4000rpm, and consumes 5.6L/100km on the WLTP standard (for 129g/km of CO2).

The Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 is powered by a 225kW/400Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, as seen in the A 35 hatch/sedan, CLA 35 ‘coupe’ and upcoming GLB-Class.

Fitted with variable valve timing and lift, plus cylinder deactivation, it will haul to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds, which is pretty brisk all things considered, and 400Nm of torque from 3000rpm promises plenty of in-gear flexibility.

Its all-wheel drive system is organised to send up to 50 per cent of the drive to the rear axle and its eight-speed dual-clutch transmission has also been strengthened.

The GLA 35 is based on the AMG Line design pack, but the changes to the standard GLA are more than skin deep.

The front-end of the bodyshell has been strengthened to improve the handling, including its turn-in ability and toe and camber stability. It’s mostly stronger via an aluminium shear panel bolted beneath the engine, plus a pair of diagonal braces as well.

It needs it, because the twin-scroll turbocharger helps it to 400Nm of torque and if it’s anything like the GLB 35, it promises to be very strong at low revs.

It also claims a fuel economy line of 7.4L/100km and CO2 emissions of 171g/km, but presumably not while it’s using its Race Start mode.

For all that, the AMG Track Pace “personal engineer” is probably still pretty pointless on a GLA 35, given that it delivers track-training advice on things like lateral and longitudinal acceleration, throttle and brake-pedal position and the steering angle.

It even pre-stores the information on famous tracks like Spa Francorchamps and the Nürburgring, and drivers can map their own circuits.

The Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 runs bigger brakes too (presumably to handle the racetracks...), built around 350mm front discs with four-piston callipers and 330mm rear discs, plus a 19-inch basic wheel and tyre package.

"Our wide portfolio in this segment therefore has seven models with which we are able to meet wide-ranging customer wishes and are systematically able to transfer our AMG philosophy of Driving Performance to our dynamically growing compact segment,” said Mercedes-AMG chairman Tobias Moers.

“The muscular design, superior performance and thrilling handling make the new GLA 35 a sporty crossover with hallmark AMG genes."