Mercedes-Benz goes small, premium, and rugged with the GLA-Class

2015 Mercedes GLA

FRANKFURT — Car buyers may not be quite ready for a premium compact sedan, but a compact SUV might just be the right bait to get wealthier buyers looking at smaller cars. Or such seems to be Mercedes-Benz’s logic with the new GLA-Class, which debuted at the 2013 International Motor Show in Frankfurt.

This new car will be sold as a 2015 model, and although the European market will enjoy a variety of engine choices, including a diesel, the only version coming to the US will be the GLA250. Powered by a turbocharged 2-liter gasoline engine, the GLA250 will be available in front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive formats.

Bearing the Mercedes-Benz tri-star, you might expect the GLA to be somewhat effete, but in person it pulls off a rugged look. Notched plastic runners under the rocker panels protect the car from rocks and brush, while a good gap between wheels and fenders suggests decent suspension travel. It looks a little like the Subaru XV Crosstrek.

While those features may be more cosmetic than anything, it’s important to remember that Mercedes-Benz makes one of the more potent off-road production vehicles available, the G-Class.

Mercedes-Benz notes that the GLA will use a newer version of the 4Mati… [Read more]