The previous-generation Mercedes-Benz GLA250 seemed conflicted about what it should be. It paired a carlike seating position and sporty hatchback driving verve with semi-butch exterior styling, and the result was a confusing product that failed to hit either mark. This time around, Mercedes decided to nudge the GLA closer to conventional crossover proportions, and that move paid off. The 2021 GLA is a more fully realized product, and it’s all the better for it.
Leaning into the SUV side of things strikes us as a smart move, as it means that the new GLA250 aims at the heart of the subcompact luxury SUV market by providing a more relaxed and more practical package. The roofline is still slightly lower than the angular GLB’s, but the expanded dimensions provide more space for people and cargo while aligning with the mini-SUV aesthetic.
All Grown Up
For 2021, the GLA250 is for a more mature client. The suspension delivers a comfier ride that doesn’t punish occupants over potholes. And yet despite this softening, the GLA maintains much of the last generation’s lively handling, and its steering is just as crisp as we expected. BMW’s X1 and X2 SUVs offer a higher level of driving acuity, but the Mercedes still offers a satisfying experience behind the wheel.
Whereas the old model felt like a car from behind the wheel, the 2021 GLA has a taller seating position that gives it a more upright feel. A major complaint with the last GLA-class was its tight rear-passenger area and compact cargo compartment. The new model’s increased height and width makes the rear seat feel significantly more spacious, and six carry-on suitcases fit in the cargo area, one more than the last generation.
Our test car—a well-equipped GLA250 4Matic that carried a sticker price of $49,310—came with the optional instrument panel featuring two 10.3-inch monitors, one serving as a reconfigurable instrument cluster and the other handling infotainment functions. This setup is found across the Mercedes-Benz lineup and gives the GLA an appropriately modern feel. The large displays are part of the Premium package ($1750), but the base model’s 7.0-inch screens serve the same purpose. Mercedes’s latest MBUX software interface is standard, for better or worse, and offers voice and touchpad controls—although we prefer to simply touch the display itself to interact with the system.
Cooled Jets
Quietly and smoothly toiling away under the GLA250’s hood is a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that’s shared with the CLA-class sedan and the GLB-class SUV. It makes 221 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque and is paired to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and, in the case of our test vehicle, all-wheel drive. (The non-4Matic model is front-wheel drive.) On the road, the GLA250 feels perky and quick, but its performance at our test track proved that it isn’t as rapid as the 2018 model we tested, which skipped to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds.
The 2021 GLA250’s acceleration numbers are still competitive, though. It went from zero to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds, just 0.1 second behind the last X2 we tested. The Mercedes is also neck and neck with the BMW through the quarter-mile, with the GLA posting a 14.8-second ET while hitting 94 mph. The X2 matches that time but falls 1 mph short of an outright tie. If the GLA250’s restrained performance doesn’t stir your sloejito, Mercedes is offering two AMG-tuned versions for this generation—the 302-hp GLA35 and the even hotter 382-hp GLA45.
The existence of the AMG-branded GLAs allows Benz to tune the 250 model for refinement and practicality while still offering the niche buyer a more performance-oriented option. Although the redesigned GLA250 has lost some of its sporty character in the transition to its second generation, it’s now a more compelling package thanks to improvements in nearly every other substantive metric.
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Source: Reviews - aranddriver.com
