Gauteng towards the end of winter resembles a scorched Earth landscape with all of Nature’s colour pallet removed. This was especially prevalent when I walked out of the arrivals hall at Lanseria Airport after leaving the luscious green Western Cape behind two hours earlier. At least the GLA was unperturbed by the yellow-and-brown surrounds and beamed out a striking ambience of its own.
Styling wise the vehicle looked much more purposeful than the A-Class on which it’s based, with 17-inch wheels fitted with high profile tyres filling the pronounced wheel arches. The black sill trims run over the wheel arches and complete the full circle over the front and rear bumpers, giving a more adventurous facade. Chrome strips and inserts add class and the double exhaust pipes portray sportiness. Inside it is pretty much standard A-Class which combines luxury with a modern feel.
The much anticipated A-Class received mixed reviews when it was launched locally last year with most criticism aimed at the harsh ride and low perceived interior build quality. The GLA has addressed most of these issues and many are of the opinion that the GLA should have been the default A-Class.
The ride is much better owing to the different suspension set-up and bigger profile tyres. On the pot-marked Gauteng roads, the odd shudder still upset the calm in the cabin, but the GLA is not that far from the segment leaders in terms of ride refinement. All-in-all, from behind the steering wheel it felt like a more substantial product. The small glass areas, especially towards the rear, can hamper visibility but at least the driving position is excellent with plenty of reach and rake adjustment on the steering wheel.
The turbodiesel engine is not the quietest unit at idle but provides plenty of punch and excellent fuel economy. I could not quite achieve the claimed figure of 4,9 litres/100 km but easily achieved 6,0 litres/100km in a mixed cycle that included plenty of stop/start driving. The gearbox was mostly left to its own devices and it did a good job of staying in the meaty part of the torque range.
Unfortunately, the opportunities to test a vehicle’s handling and sporty characteristics are few and far between in the grid-locked maze of the Big Smoke. Taking an off-ramp at speed showed good stability and poise not normally associated with crossover styling though.
The 4Matic all-wheel-drive system in my opinion is mostly irrelevant in our local conditions as I cannot see owners bundu-bashing in this stylish number. It will make sense in Europe where the roads are covered in ice and snow during winter months.
This brings me to the price: more than half a bar is a lot of money for this segment. In my opinion if you have lost your heart on the looks and prefer a frugal diesel powertrain, rather opt for the GLA200 CDI and save yourself R50 000 without losing much in terms of performance or styling.
