AMG treatment for Merc's new compact SUV promises serious performance and tonnes of fun.
What is it like to drive?
In a word, fun. Sure, the GLA 45’s 1991cc engine is likely to lose the title of being the world’s most powerful four-cylinder engine to the 444bhp version of
Volvo’s Drive-E motor, but it still delivers big thrills. After all, 355bhp (at 6000rpm) and 45.8kgm (between 2250-5000rpm) are not meek numbers in the least. Performance is strong from just under 2000rpm with a more serious shove at around 3000rpm. Thereon, there’s no let up in power right up till 5500rpm. As four-cylinder motors go, it sounds rather nice too. While that characteristic burble of the V8s in the larger AMGs is missing here, this one still sounds bassy at low revs and growls quite angrily when you press on. In Sport mode, the sounds are amplified, with pops from the exhaust adding to the entertainment quotient.
Simply put, the GLA 45 sounds and gathers speed every bit like a junior AMG should. Mercedes claims a 0-100kph time of 4.8 seconds with the GLA set to its ‘Race Start’ setting. Helping put down all that power on to the road is Mercedes’ 4-Matic all-wheel-drive system. The system transfers up to 50 percent of torque to the rear wheels when it senses the need.
The thing is, you can’t really escape the front bias of the system around corners. It doesn’t drive with the fluency of a rear-wheel-drive car. That’s not to say it isn’t fun to pilot on a twisty stretch. Grip levels are good, the steering has nice weight to it and turn-in is good too. More often than not, you’ll think you are driving very sporty hatchback. You can add a hint of directness to the steering and firmness to the suspension by tweaking the electronics too. Speaking of which, you’ll like how the electronics let the tail do a little jig before they kick in if you lift-off the throttle mid-corner.
What aids the GLA’s everyday usability is its ride quality. The handling-oriented suspension and those 19-inch tyres do mean the ride is firm, but it’s not jarring at average speeds. Be too adventurous over potholes though and the GLA 45 will thud through. As you might have guessed, this is not an ‘SUV’ in the true sense.
Other niggles centre around the gearbox. The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox occasionally feels hesitant in Comfort mode and at times, doesn’t readily grant downshifts in Manual mode (where the paddle shifters come into play) either. The transmission feels best when left to its own devices in Sport mode.