SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.
This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.
Pics supplied
Don't take this seriously, but I’m sure the folk at Mercedes-Benz would love to call their GLA range “Lifestyle Adventure Vehicles.” They promote the new cars as such but dare not call them that officially. The acronym would stink, so they’re sticking with “Crossover” for now.
What they do say is that GLAs, like their CLA siblings, are aimed squarely at new, younger, well-heeled customers who haven’t considered the three-pointed star before. Some 80-percent of CLAs apparently go to buyers wooed from other brands and M-B hopes for a similar success rate with its little SUV. “But don’t think of this as a taller CLA or a smaller GL body on an A-Class platform,” pleaded Selvin Govender, MBSA’s divisional manager of Product and Marketing. “It‘s more than that, having been built from the ground up to be stronger, more rigid and better suited to the rigours of off-road adventuring than a mere city car with attitude.”
And consider the 4Matic all-wheel drive that’s standard, together with 7G-DCT twin-clutch transmission, on the more powerful versions of each engine type. Built especially for GLA, the new 4Matic features fully variable torque distribution but with front-wheel drive bias and is up to 25-percent lighter than competitors’ systems. In the spirit of GL-Adventure, it provides soft-roader capability so you can carry your mountain bike up to the top, your kayak to the creek, your board to the beach or simply chill out in faraway places.
A selectable mode modifies shift points and accelerator characteristics to facilitate driving under light off-road conditions and particularly on loose surfaces. Useful for coming back down mountains, manually controllable downhill speed regulation (DSR) uses engine control, braking intervention and gearing to maintain a safe speed. In combination with either Audio 20 CD (standard) or COMAND Online (optional extra), the head unit can be switched to an off-road display. It shows steering angle, selected off-road transmission mode and a compass. The roll angle in degrees, gradient percentage and activation of DSR are also indicated. For more serious use, an optional off-road package increases ground clearance from 140 mm to 170 mm. This suspension variant also features a distinctive steering system setup.
The GLA’s chassis features McPherson front- and independent multi-link rear suspension. Three control arms and one trailing arm per wheel manage incoming forces, rendering longitudinal and lateral dynamics independent of each other. Wheel carriers and spring control arms are made of aluminium to reduce unsprung mass. On versions with 4Matic, the rear axle carrier is isolated with rubber bushings to assist ride comfort.
Brakes are ventilated discs up front with solid units in the rear featuring ABS, electric parking brake, brake assist and ESP. Original tyres are 215/60 VR 17 on all variants except the GLA 45 AMG that’s expected in November. Standard kit includes five airbags, collision prevention assist, pre-safe, cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring, Audio20 sound system with media access, air conditioning, attention assist, anti-theft package, eco stop-start and fog lamps on most models. As with other German cars, a bewildering range of options and packages is available to tailor your GLA to your specific needs.
For now we have two diesels; GLA 200 CDI (manual) and GLA 220 CDI auto with 4Matic. Both are turbocharged versions of the same 2143 cc motor; developing 100 kW/300 Nm and 125 kW/350 Nm respectively. Claimed performance figures (200 CDI) are zero to 100 km/h in 10 seconds with 205 km/h maximum, combined cycle fuel consumption between 4,3 and 4,5 l/100 km and carbon dioxide emissions between 114 and 119 grams per kilometre. The 220 CDI claims zero to 100 in 8,3 seconds, 215 km/h maximum, 4,9 to 5,1 l/100 km and between 129 and 132 gm/km of CO2. Petrol-driven GLA 200 manual and GLA 250 4Matic versions are expected in September.
There wasn’t enough time or opportunity to put the cars thoroughly through their paces on launch day, but both diesels I drove felt strong and willing, headroom is improved over the CLA and fit and finish was up to the expected standard. We will have to wait for a review car to give you a full report though.
Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored press event.
The numbers
Prices including VAT and emissions taxes:
GLA 200 CDI – R422 700
GLA 220 CDI 4Matic – R490 231
GLA 200 – R400 749
GLA 250 4Matic – R562 388
GLA 45 AMG – R722 707
Performance and economy: Diesels – See text
Others: On release
Tank: 50 litres
Luggage space: 421 to 1235 litres
Warranty and maintenance: 6 years/100 000 km Premium Drive contract
Our review of the GLA 220 CDI 4Matic is here
Off-road information display
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8