This is a proper review of the GLA 45. Way better than the others I've seen I attended the launch of it last year at the dealers here in Jamaica and must say, that car is a beast of a car.
Red makes you go faster. Seatbelts are supposed to keep from going fast through the front of the car. I don't think red was the right choice for seatbelts.
Love your channel. You do such good work. I started watching a couple years ago for your engineering explanation, and just recently started watching your reviews. I think you do a great job, so thank you. On this review, I can't possibly imagine spending $60k+ on this car when I could get an ATS-V for the same. The interior looks very late 1990s to me. Base price, sure very decent especially with that great engine. But fully loaded, not a chance. I love the engine noise, is it genuine in the interior or is it augmented?
+Anthony Levens Very happy to hear it! Regarding sound, I'm pretty sure Cadillac pumps in sound, a feature they call "Engine Sound Enhancement." So many are doing it these days unfortunately. Not sure on the Mercedes, but the crackles are legit. It has a violent exhaust - love it!
you're definitely one of the best car presenters on youtube. I rarely see people pointing out bits and pieces under the bonnet, but you just did, that's awesome. I assumed your 4.5s/4.6s was probably due to a descending slope during acceleration, as mercedes claimed a 4.8s.
+Scuderia11052011 The slope does help, but there's also a slight amount of steering which draws it back. The 4.5 was actually on a flatter area (not the onramp), and Car and Driver managed 4.2 seconds in their testing. I think Mercedes was giving a conservative estimate.
***** it is a lower version of the car, and that's pretty much the only difference. This is the same car as the CLA, and the A class is the hatch back of that. The GLA is the raised up A class, minus some plastic cladding
+Bryan Doherty that was my belief until further investigation. Learned the GLA has a larger body as well. It is more than some black cladding, unfortunately. Good news: rumor has it MB USA is bringing the A240 and A45 here after the success of the CLA/GLA. Hope so. The C & G don't interest me.
Joel deSanto i guess you have to see them next to each other to see the difference. Aside from the plastic cladding. Hopefully they do bring the A45, I'd love to have one
Bryan Doherty it's obvious when side-by-side: wider and taller rear proportions. My hope was it is simply a raised A45; a suspension upgrade could remedy that. If they offer the A45 my order will be in for one in Cocoa Brown Metallic. If not, 997.2 C4S PDK it is!
Joel deSanto Yea I'm used to Subarus, and the Outback is just really a lifted Legacy wagon, which they don't sell in North America, but you really can just put legacy struts and control arms on the Outback and you have a legacy. The same with the XV Crostek, it's just an Impreza hatch with Forester struts and control arms. Because the Forester and Impreza are the same chassis
Growing up with gran turismo i thought the limits of a stock 2liter engine is 280hp. So when this 2l from amg came up i sure need several weeks to let it sink in my head.
I don't think AMG left too many horses on the table, with a specific output of 178 hp/liter. I'm sure there's people out there who want to modify it anyway, as if they know more than AMG. For comparison, other forced induction supercars: McLaren 650S: 168 hp/Liter Bugatti Veyron 16.4: 125 hp/Liter 991.2 911 Turbo: 142 hp/Liter Ferrari 488 GTB: 169 hp/Liter SRT Hellcat: 114 hp/Liter My tuned R56 MINI Cooper S (220 hp): 138 hp/Liter
that smile on the 0-60 ! gtood video ! hey i was wondering if you have been logging all the datas for all the cars you'Ve tested. It would be pretty amazing to get some basic online spreadsheet with your ratings on DB, handling, brakes, body roll, space, etc so we can compare one vehicule to another. tyvm !
Trying to be apart of a community? STi. Anything else, AMG. But I did hear that Subaru is getting better about warranty claims for people that have damaged their cars on track. Not sure about AMG and track related failures.
Holy crap! awesome video and car, and apparently it's been awhile since I've checked in, because you are really pumping out the videos!! I've got some catching up to do!
You may know this by now but the large coolant reservoir on the fender (the black one) is your regular one. The small white one on the engine is the intercooler one.
I have a 2017 GLA 45 “Yellow Night Edition” it’s awesome. Reminds me of a rally car. The thing goes like warm crap off a shovel. My only criticism is that in the uk there is only 1 type choice for the 20” rims (well that and the performance seats could be a little more forgiving)
I’ve got the 2018 in the metallic grey (it has an MB name but for the life of me it escapes me). Interesting analogy you use: I refer to mine as the old Subaru Impreza rally car - “in a suit....”
Is it worth going from the 250 to the 45 on the used market. Was looking at a ‘15 250 model with 32k miles for $18k. To get the same year and mileage 45 model it’s going to be like $30k. I am 21 years old, my sweet spot for budget is $18k-$22k so I’d be stretching the budget a bit to get the 45. Is it worth it?
I test drove this car last week and it was an amazing machine. My biggest complaint is the initial throttle response from stepping on the gas from a complete stop. I would have to depress the petal down at least 25% before getting any response from the car. I haven't seen any other car I've driven ever do that. To me, it's almost a safety issue since the throttle can be unpredictable if you're not used to the car. I was hoping you would address that in your review. However, that exhaust sound is pretty spectacular though, hard to divert your attention from that sound!
ascendantP Actually you're right now that you mention it. I was figuring it was due to the DCT, they wouldn't want to engage the clutch much unless you were going to be moving a decent speed.
Engineering Explained After doing some research, the aftermarket seemed to provide a work around system to the throttle response issue called, "GLA 45 Throttle Response System". It modifies the signal from the petal to the ECU and also allows for more power than Mercedes conservative settings. The GLA forums says it solves a lot of issues with the throttle. Hope you can get your hands on a Porsche Macan, I think it's the only competitor to the GLA 45 in terms of price/performance/utility. I'm torn between purchasing these two. Keep up the good work on your car reviews. I always enjoy watching as your reviews are equally comprehensive as they are informative regarding the engineering details
Wildhoney there is a starter button; you can pull it out if you want to use the key instead All push button Mercs to have a way to start the car with the key in case the button doesn't work for whatever reason
is the aero actually functional? A lot of manufacturers these days are putting stuff on to make it better and not just look good, so has mercedes followed suit?
The GLA is clearly an SUV, and the STI clearly a hatchback. It's not just about dimensions and ground clearance, but also about wheel size, suspension travel, center of gravity, feel on the road, ride, ride type, and so on. The AMG is fast, but so is the Subaru. They are fast in different ways. The Subaru is a great rally car, the SUV is a good sport/off road vehicle (which the Subaru is good at neither). The Subaru seems less fuel efficient because it has a great symmetrical AWD system. The Mercedes is a part-time AWD car. In essence, the GLA is only a front-wheel drive car that can send power to the rear wheels when gauged necessary by the on-board computers (which for most people is close to never). Furthermore, due to its amazing AWD system, the Subaru is really fast and really fun when it comes to rally especially, what it's made for. The Mercedes is not nearly as good, although the brakes are excellent and initial turn-in is surprisingly good, the front-wheel drive characteristic of the car makes it unable to match the AWD/RWD cornering capabilities (that the STI has). To be fair, of course, the brakes and the interior of the AMG are way superior to the Subaru's.
Engineering Explained I already did, but sure, I can repeat myself: "It's not just about dimensions and ground clearance, but also about wheel size, suspension travel, center of gravity, feel on the road, ride, ride type, and so on." Also ride height I will add. You're sitting higher in the GLA, even in the GLA45 AMG. Like I said, the Subaru is a lot more comparable with the A45 AMG, but again, you'd be comparing cars that are not meant for the same purpose. The A45 is a part-time AWD sports car, while the Subaru is a permanent AWD car meant for rally racing (even the street version tends to be built somewhat with those capabilities). They're not really comparable, except for the average driver that will never experience the advantage of true AWD. But at least, the A45 is a hatchback.
Very confusing car indeed. I've been looking at a good compact crossover as i'll soon have a little family. The vehicle had to be able to not be too long or wide (for city driving), but at the same time do 100 mile plus motorway journeys, have a 5 star safety rating, be comfortable, have decent boot capacity to be able to fit large pushchairs etc. So we are talking about a vehicle with a small footprint overall, but at the same time being spacious enough for a small family. Somehow the GLA ticked more boxes than the Hondas, Mitsubishis, Audi Q3 and BMW X1. SIze was the main consideration. seems like the overpriced GLA hatchback somehow won out, even though it is not a proper SUV which is what i was sort of looking for initially. Being smaller than proper crossovers like the BMW and audi, it just about won out (the GLA 250 is what i was looking at). But because i wanted a performance version (the GLA 45), the natural competitor was its own A class hatchback. The performance of the A-class was better but due to the increased boot space, much better comfort and overall looks, i much preferred the GLA (surprisingly). Even though i was stung by around £5k more for the base GLA vs the A class, i somehow justified the purchase. I have kitted out the vehicle with the premium package (HK sound, moon-roof), COMAND online and driver assistance package (distronic plus etc). I didnt pick any performance type options like the performance exhaust or limited slip suspensions. So what i've ended up with is a comfortable, compact vehicle, with crazy performance too and very nice kit. I've got it on a 3 year lease so at least the cost isnt totally prohibitive either. Now if width dimensions werent a consideration, i would have got a GLC 43 AMG coupe over this GLA 45 any day of the week as I think that one justifies its price more than the entry level GLA, and the GLC is slightly more of a proper SUV than the GLA which is a hot hatch.
Hey Jason, great video. How would you compare the acceleration/pull feel against your STI considering similar specs (power/displacement/traction) obviously not taking transmission into account?
ANC Similar, little bit faster, better response. Both are geared pretty aggressively (especially in the lower gears) and so you get a large amount of wheel torque.
Race brakes makes noise No worries I had an C63 before Changed the brakes to carbon fibre for track and it screaming Looking at this review cuz I wanna get rid of my Civic :)
You didn't mention any trouble with the dual clutch transmission. I have seen other reviews as in depth as yours stating that there is no turbo lag (as you do), but they have been disappointed with this car's ability to choose which gear to go into quickly when accelerating hard - Particularly, when it is "deciding" between 2nd or 3rd. Did you not experience that lag at all? Thanks.
Eric Leach Only if I was light on the throttle. If I had the brake hard or the throttle hard, I felt the logical gearshift (down for braking, up for accelerating) was quick.
gvvvv2300 I think the CLA is slightly quicker. I don't know what the differences are between the GLA and A, the A is not sold here but it looks to be about the same car.
Engineering Explained thanks for the reply:-) so there is not much difference in performance and handling between GLA and CLA? is it the same powertrain just in different forms (sedan vs "suv")? thanks again. btw, great review. i really like the power and fuel efficiency of this engine.
Why should cables run from door switches to seat motor directly? will it not be run between switch to control module located elsewhere and from there to the seat motor?
Can any owners tell me about the reliability of the car ? I want to buy this GLA45 from 2015 with 70000km on it. It looks very clean and well taken care of.
When you said about ventilated disc brakes I realized that you did not review the brake, suspension, and tyres/wheels, youtube limiter? I also noticed that it has so I called "nail lock", is there any reason for that? Oh and can you do a review with the cheapest option? :v Btw, laughed really hard when you said "not American sized cup holder" and "red seat belts"!
The A45 is faster, has slightly better handling too. What the GLA does better is it is more comfortable to drive, has better room and bootspace. It is a slightly better family car and the A45 is a better all-out performance vehicle.
one more thing to note is the A45 will save you plenty of money vs the gla 45 which has quite a significant premium on it. I think the newer A45s with dynamic select probably have a nice comfortable suspension too. I reckon the base A is around gbp 6k lower than the base gla so value for money wise the A is much better in that regard too. certainly I went for the GLA 45 but if it weren't for the fact that I've got to put a baby seat in , I'd have probably got myself an A and saved 6k and had a slightly more fun car. I do quite like how the gla looks. it has a nice presence and as you say it has some extra space.
Yea I think it's quite definitive which is the more livelier car, which is the A45. Both are great and they have these little differences for different buyers. My bro loves the GLA while I love the Mercedes A45 for its performance, although I'm swinging towards GLA now for it's size.
just to throw more complications out there but if something a bit larger was not an issue (it's a bit tricky for me parking wise though so the extra width would be an issue ) I would have gone for the glc amg 43 . in the UK we can get really good discounts on vehicles using websites like carwow that that allow dealers to bid how much they'd do the car for you. so a glc 43 amg would cost 5k more than the gla 45 but has C class quality kit which is superior to A class kit. this includes self driving features and heads up display , full 360 cameras etc. performance wise it isn't quite in the same ballpark as the a or gla but one thing I'd say is its a proper compact SUV vs the GLA which is a hatchback. for looks the glc 43 coupe looks great ! certainly the coupe is even more expensive but worth looking at. so in summary if you want raw performance then GLA or A. if you want kit and suv type ride then glc is worth looking at .
This "SUV" weighs less than the new Mustang. The more you know.
Congratulations on getting access to higher end cars!
You deserve every bit of success that has come your way.
I'm reading this in 2019 and this guy now has 2.46m followers holy cow
I think this is the best review of a car I've ever seen! So detailed!
Still a relevant video today. Just picked up a 2015.
What are they going for now?
Joe Miles 30
How is it treating you now?
@@Freerider93 Upgraded to a GLC63S (2018, so, V8 goodness). 😀
@@swagger7 nice!
This is a proper review of the GLA 45. Way better than the others I've seen
I attended the launch of it last year at the dealers here in Jamaica and must say, that car is a beast of a car.
The smile on your face says it all! Nice review!
Do people still smoke? I do... My tyres. 8)
BOOM!
Good reviewer, honest, no gimmicks and not trying too hard.
Red makes you go faster.
Seatbelts are supposed to keep from going fast through the front of the car.
I don't think red was the right choice for seatbelts.
Ash tray is actually great place for other trash and shit. Mine is always full of empty gum packages or receipts from highway or a parking. ;)
that is the happiest mood I've ever seen you in.
Thanks for this great video, which confirmed me in my decision to get an GLA45. Was not dissapointed! Great car.
Love your channel. You do such good work. I started watching a couple years ago for your engineering explanation, and just recently started watching your reviews. I think you do a great job, so thank you.
On this review, I can't possibly imagine spending $60k+ on this car when I could get an ATS-V for the same. The interior looks very late 1990s to me. Base price, sure very decent especially with that great engine. But fully loaded, not a chance. I love the engine noise, is it genuine in the interior or is it augmented?
+Anthony Levens Very happy to hear it! Regarding sound, I'm pretty sure Cadillac pumps in sound, a feature they call "Engine Sound Enhancement." So many are doing it these days unfortunately. Not sure on the Mercedes, but the crackles are legit. It has a violent exhaust - love it!
That section of road out by Vista House is one of my favorites in the area - perfect testing ground for this car!
you're definitely one of the best car presenters on youtube. I rarely see people pointing out bits and pieces under the bonnet, but you just did, that's awesome. I assumed your 4.5s/4.6s was probably due to a descending slope during acceleration, as mercedes claimed a 4.8s.
+Scuderia11052011 The slope does help, but there's also a slight amount of steering which draws it back. The 4.5 was actually on a flatter area (not the onramp), and Car and Driver managed 4.2 seconds in their testing. I think Mercedes was giving a conservative estimate.
How much hp do you think the red seatbelts add?
50 each.
Chinesefoodrocks1521 it all adds up: 50 each red seatbelt * 5 seatbelts, 30hp per front caliper, 20 per rear caliper + 5hp from that rear wing = 355
Do you know where I can get these parts for a IS 250? Asking for a friend
I had one as a daily driver, it was a blast. I posted a few long term reviews of it after 12 months, 18 months
Absolutely love this car
I love it when a techie goes the review.
Amen
I wish they brought the lower version of this car, the A45 AMG to North America
***** it is a lower version of the car, and that's pretty much the only difference. This is the same car as the CLA, and the A class is the hatch back of that. The GLA is the raised up A class, minus some plastic cladding
+Bryan Doherty that was my belief until further investigation. Learned the GLA has a larger body as well. It is more than some black cladding, unfortunately. Good news: rumor has it MB USA is bringing the A240 and A45 here after the success of the CLA/GLA. Hope so. The C & G don't interest me.
Joel deSanto i guess you have to see them next to each other to see the difference. Aside from the plastic cladding. Hopefully they do bring the A45, I'd love to have one
Bryan Doherty it's obvious when side-by-side: wider and taller rear proportions. My hope was it is simply a raised A45; a suspension upgrade could remedy that. If they offer the A45 my order will be in for one in Cocoa Brown Metallic. If not, 997.2 C4S PDK it is!
Joel deSanto Yea I'm used to Subarus, and the Outback is just really a lifted Legacy wagon, which they don't sell in North America, but you really can just put legacy struts and control arms on the Outback and you have a legacy. The same with the XV Crostek, it's just an Impreza hatch with Forester struts and control arms. Because the Forester and Impreza are the same chassis
Growing up with gran turismo i thought the limits of a stock 2liter engine is 280hp. So when this 2l from amg came up i sure need several weeks to let it sink in my head.
$66k , that is NEW c63 coupe sticker, the S option tuned makes Hellcat HP
Still just as quick as the c63.
Do you need a mechanic with a PHD to do an oil change on this car?
for the transmission ATF you do need a scanner to read ATF Temp.
The fill bolt is also the drain bolt so it takes a pump to refill this gem
Oh god that engine noise. I want lol. Amg always feel special. The e63 I drove wasn't as powerful as the gt500 I drove . Buy it just felt faster .
YES!!! I've been waiting for this one for sooooo long. I want to work for AMG SOOOOOOO BAD
A really good review and POV description - well done mate.
I don't think AMG left too many horses on the table, with a specific output of 178 hp/liter. I'm sure there's people out there who want to modify it anyway, as if they know more than AMG. For comparison, other forced induction supercars:
McLaren 650S: 168 hp/Liter
Bugatti Veyron 16.4: 125 hp/Liter
991.2 911 Turbo: 142 hp/Liter
Ferrari 488 GTB: 169 hp/Liter
SRT Hellcat: 114 hp/Liter
My tuned R56 MINI Cooper S (220 hp): 138 hp/Liter
I bought one and it's an amazing all weather daily driver
that smile on the 0-60 ! gtood video ! hey i was wondering if you have been logging all the datas for all the cars you'Ve tested. It would be pretty amazing to get some basic online spreadsheet with your ratings on DB, handling, brakes, body roll, space, etc so we can compare one vehicule to another. tyvm !
***** Yes, I have a big spreadsheet with all the data. I provide access to it for my Patrons on Patreon. Link in the video description. :)
Best review of the car I have watched yet. Great job and love your videos.
You should do more car reviews. I’d definitely watch them!
Congratulations for your videos. I saw all of them since nr 1. They are getting better. Best regards from Protugal.
Nice car! Wish Subaru would make a Turbo "STI" version of the Crosstrek to compete with this, but much cheaper.
My initials are AMG :)
OMG!
Great review as always! Everyone seems to thing this car is ugly, but in person I thought it looked pretty great, if over-styled
Great review. I'm in Oregon also. Our drivers tend to move slower than the posted speed limit, and their heads are often in the clouds.
KingPNW And they have zero idea how to merge. You just drive till the lane ends, right? ARGH!
Your driving skills are getting better!
Great overview, just got the 2016 with pretty much the same options and I love it!
If price is not an issue, which one you prefer: A45AMG or Subaru STI?
What about a comparison between both!
Trying to be apart of a community? STi. Anything else, AMG. But I did hear that Subaru is getting better about warranty claims for people that have damaged their cars on track. Not sure about AMG and track related failures.
A45
Well equipped car, it is. Good job Jason.
I really enjoy your reviews! Greetins from italy
this is such a beautiful car.
Nice review. But you should try to find a flat road for 0-60. Keep it up~
totszwai The 4.5 was done on a flatter area than the video shown (which did a 4.6). Fairly surprising.
What a lil monster!! I think I may get one now 🥰🥰
Holy crap! awesome video and car, and apparently it's been awhile since I've checked in, because you are really pumping out the videos!! I've got some catching up to do!
You may know this by now but the large coolant reservoir on the fender (the black one) is your regular one. The small white one on the engine is the intercooler one.
Javier Godoy Ahh, I had them mixed up then!
This was a wonderful video until the last moment when you got passed by a semi. 🤙🏿
Best review on youtube thanks a bunch 👍
I recently drove in one of these... To me the transmission is much slower than a DSG or S-TRONIC.
I have a 2017 GLA 45 “Yellow Night Edition” it’s awesome. Reminds me of a rally car. The thing goes like warm crap off a shovel. My only criticism is that in the uk there is only 1 type choice for the 20” rims (well that and the performance seats could be a little more forgiving)
I’ve got the 2018 in the metallic grey (it has an MB name but for the life of me it escapes me).
Interesting analogy you use: I refer to mine as the old Subaru Impreza rally car - “in a suit....”
Is it worth going from the 250 to the 45 on the used market. Was looking at a ‘15 250 model with 32k miles for $18k. To get the same year and mileage 45 model it’s going to be like $30k. I am 21 years old, my sweet spot for budget is $18k-$22k so I’d be stretching the budget a bit to get the 45. Is it worth it?
Did you get it???
Thanks Jason! Wondering how this compares to the new Golf R, and if I should wait to see the new Audi. 🤔
awesome job. glad you are getting some of the "cooler" cars now :)
Great video as always! I missed the wheel off/look at suspension section though.
Nice! More rapid car reviews, please!
Seems silly to have cup holders that would normally have a cup with liquid in it so close to all that technology... I wonder if it's IP66 rated
Awesome video! Awesome review! Your good! I really like the car!
Another great review. Keep up the good work!
I test drove this car last week and it was an amazing machine. My biggest complaint is the initial throttle response from stepping on the gas from a complete stop. I would have to depress the petal down at least 25% before getting any response from the car. I haven't seen any other car I've driven ever do that. To me, it's almost a safety issue since the throttle can be unpredictable if you're not used to the car. I was hoping you would address that in your review. However, that exhaust sound is pretty spectacular though, hard to divert your attention from that sound!
ascendantP Actually you're right now that you mention it. I was figuring it was due to the DCT, they wouldn't want to engage the clutch much unless you were going to be moving a decent speed.
Engineering Explained After doing some research, the aftermarket seemed to provide a work around system to the throttle response issue called, "GLA 45 Throttle Response System". It modifies the signal from the petal to the ECU and also allows for more power than Mercedes conservative settings. The GLA forums says it solves a lot of issues with the throttle. Hope you can get your hands on a Porsche Macan, I think it's the only competitor to the GLA 45 in terms of price/performance/utility. I'm torn between purchasing these two. Keep up the good work on your car reviews. I always enjoy watching as your reviews are equally comprehensive as they are informative regarding the engineering details
Thanks Jason for another fantastic car review and I think that car is awesome because I could tell you were having fun driving it. Thanks again.
Great review. Looks like fun!
hi there :)
would love to see a video from you and your thoughts on the A45 AMG :)
This is an amazing car
I hope you will someday get to review a Lamborghini.
Now that these are $40,000 barely used would you buy one over an STI?
this^. I have the same question.
I think I would. Maybe not an STi as those are rough but if I was in the market for a new Golf R that would definitely be an alternative.
Absolutely.
Yes
Yes, Subarus are hot garbage
Love your videos! Keep them up :D One question though. Does the transmission auto shift on "manual" or does it allow you for full control on the revs?
i can't believe you still have to stick a key in the engine instead of having an automatic start button
Wildhoney there is a starter button; you can pull it out if you want to use the key instead
All push button Mercs to have a way to start the car with the key in case the button doesn't work for whatever reason
is the aero actually functional? A lot of manufacturers these days are putting stuff on to make it better and not just look good, so has mercedes followed suit?
The GLA is clearly an SUV, and the STI clearly a hatchback. It's not just about dimensions and ground clearance, but also about wheel size, suspension travel, center of gravity, feel on the road, ride, ride type, and so on.
The AMG is fast, but so is the Subaru. They are fast in different ways. The Subaru is a great rally car, the SUV is a good sport/off road vehicle (which the Subaru is good at neither).
The Subaru seems less fuel efficient because it has a great symmetrical AWD system. The Mercedes is a part-time AWD car. In essence, the GLA is only a front-wheel drive car that can send power to the rear wheels when gauged necessary by the on-board computers (which for most people is close to never).
Furthermore, due to its amazing AWD system, the Subaru is really fast and really fun when it comes to rally especially, what it's made for. The Mercedes is not nearly as good, although the brakes are excellent and initial turn-in is surprisingly good, the front-wheel drive characteristic of the car makes it unable to match the AWD/RWD cornering capabilities (that the STI has).
To be fair, of course, the brakes and the interior of the AMG are way superior to the Subaru's.
yannw258 Can you explain to me why the AMG is "clearly an SUV" in ways that it differs with the Subaru?
Engineering Explained I already did, but sure, I can repeat myself:
"It's not just about dimensions and ground clearance, but also about wheel size, suspension travel, center of gravity, feel on the road, ride, ride type, and so on." Also ride height I will add. You're sitting higher in the GLA, even in the GLA45 AMG.
Like I said, the Subaru is a lot more comparable with the A45 AMG, but again, you'd be comparing cars that are not meant for the same purpose. The A45 is a part-time AWD sports car, while the Subaru is a permanent AWD car meant for rally racing (even the street version tends to be built somewhat with those capabilities). They're not really comparable, except for the average driver that will never experience the advantage of true AWD.
But at least, the A45 is a hatchback.
I love your reviews man. Very detailed. Will you be getting to test the new Honda Civic Type R anytime soon? :)
Mercedes cars would be more popular if they were a bit cheaper. I think the price is the one thing that discourages buyers.
Very confusing car indeed. I've been looking at a good compact crossover as i'll soon have a little family. The vehicle had to be able to not be too long or wide (for city driving), but at the same time do 100 mile plus motorway journeys, have a 5 star safety rating, be comfortable, have decent boot capacity to be able to fit large pushchairs etc. So we are talking about a vehicle with a small footprint overall, but at the same time being spacious enough for a small family. Somehow the GLA ticked more boxes than the Hondas, Mitsubishis, Audi Q3 and BMW X1. SIze was the main consideration. seems like the overpriced GLA hatchback somehow won out, even though it is not a proper SUV which is what i was sort of looking for initially. Being smaller than proper crossovers like the BMW and audi, it just about won out (the GLA 250 is what i was looking at). But because i wanted a performance version (the GLA 45), the natural competitor was its own A class hatchback. The performance of the A-class was better but due to the increased boot space, much better comfort and overall looks, i much preferred the GLA (surprisingly). Even though i was stung by around £5k more for the base GLA vs the A class, i somehow justified the purchase. I have kitted out the vehicle with the premium package (HK sound, moon-roof), COMAND online and driver assistance package (distronic plus etc). I didnt pick any performance type options like the performance exhaust or limited slip suspensions. So what i've ended up with is a comfortable, compact vehicle, with crazy performance too and very nice kit. I've got it on a 3 year lease so at least the cost isnt totally prohibitive either.
Now if width dimensions werent a consideration, i would have got a GLC 43 AMG coupe over this GLA 45 any day of the week as I think that one justifies its price more than the entry level GLA, and the GLC is slightly more of a proper SUV than the GLA which is a hot hatch.
Hey Jason, great video. How would you compare the acceleration/pull feel against your STI considering similar specs (power/displacement/traction) obviously not taking transmission into account?
ANC Similar, little bit faster, better response. Both are geared pretty aggressively (especially in the lower gears) and so you get a large amount of wheel torque.
excellent review. will subscribe!
would this be your choice out of this and RSQ3?
I love how you complain about the small "German cupholders"... :D
And yes, Germans are world champions in smoking, hence the huge ashtray...
Nice review (as always) and impressive fuel economy but I'd still take an S4 over this mini SUV.
Does the transmission blip the throttle on downshifts?
definitely looks like a smiles/hr car :D
haha... Awesome car, good engine, good interior... better not to buy it because the cup holder isn't big enough xD keep doing this good reviews
please review Land Rover Discovery 3 or 4. It is my favorite SUV
Are they dive planes or canards? I thought dive planes were much more drastic aerodynamic pieces and canards were more subtle like on this car.
Hi im owner of a GLA45 2017 and i experiment a lot of brake noise, did you experiment it either while your review ????...thx you.
Race brakes makes noise
No worries
I had an C63 before
Changed the brakes to carbon fibre for track and it screaming
Looking at this review cuz I wanna get rid of my Civic :)
You didn't mention any trouble with the dual clutch transmission. I have seen other reviews as in depth as yours stating that there is no turbo lag (as you do), but they have been disappointed with this car's ability to choose which gear to go into quickly when accelerating hard - Particularly, when it is "deciding" between 2nd or 3rd. Did you not experience that lag at all?
Thanks.
Eric Leach Only if I was light on the throttle. If I had the brake hard or the throttle hard, I felt the logical gearshift (down for braking, up for accelerating) was quick.
Engineering Explained Gotcha....In other words, drive it hard! - Thanks for the review and comment, much appreciated.
Is it safe to say you are Mercedes fan now? Or at least an AMG fan? :)
cla45 or gla45 in terms of performance? difference between gla45 and a45? thanks!
gvvvv2300 I think the CLA is slightly quicker. I don't know what the differences are between the GLA and A, the A is not sold here but it looks to be about the same car.
Engineering Explained thanks for the reply:-) so there is not much difference in performance and handling between GLA and CLA? is it the same powertrain just in different forms (sedan vs "suv")? thanks again. btw, great review. i really like the power and fuel efficiency of this engine.
Do you know roughly what the ground clearance is? Granted it's an SUV... do you think it would compete with the STI?
WannabeGearHead You'll enjoy this Friday's video. It's no SUV. :)
I thought you mentioned SUV when you were talking about weight on the video?? and Oh.. are you going to do a head to head with the STI?!
WannabeGearHead He's obviously not going to spoil it. lol. Possibly.
try to do next time the ram rebel
Why should cables run from door switches to seat motor directly? will it not be run between switch to control module located elsewhere and from there to the seat motor?
Can any owners tell me about the reliability of the car ? I want to buy this GLA45 from 2015 with 70000km on it. It looks very clean and well taken care of.
Don't do it. Unless it's in mint condition. Or unless you have a dumpster full of cash
@@User_fr3256 I bought a Mustang GT instead 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Is it keyless entry and go?
Hello,
Would know how to do a boost leak test on this car?i looked for a long time and no luck.Thanks an advance.
When you said about ventilated disc brakes I realized that you did not review the brake, suspension, and tyres/wheels, youtube limiter? I also noticed that it has so I called "nail lock", is there any reason for that? Oh and can you do a review with the cheapest option? :v Btw, laughed really hard when you said "not American sized cup holder" and "red seat belts"!
the seat adjusting buttons are on the door panels for decades now at mercedes.
Between this and the A45 AMG, which is faster? Does the taller height affect handling a lot?
The A45 is faster, has slightly better handling too. What the GLA does better is it is more comfortable to drive, has better room and bootspace. It is a slightly better family car and the A45 is a better all-out performance vehicle.
Interesting. My pick would go for the GLA then, since it can do comfort and handle pretty well. The extra space is also nice
one more thing to note is the A45 will save you plenty of money vs the gla 45 which has quite a significant premium on it. I think the newer A45s with dynamic select probably have a nice comfortable suspension too. I reckon the base A is around gbp 6k lower than the base gla so value for money wise the A is much better in that regard too.
certainly I went for the GLA 45 but if it weren't for the fact that I've got to put a baby seat in , I'd have probably got myself an A and saved 6k and had a slightly more fun car. I do quite like how the gla looks. it has a nice presence and as you say it has some extra space.
Yea I think it's quite definitive which is the more livelier car, which is the A45. Both are great and they have these little differences for different buyers. My bro loves the GLA while I love the Mercedes A45 for its performance, although I'm swinging towards GLA now for it's size.
just to throw more complications out there but if something a bit larger was not an issue (it's a bit tricky for me parking wise though so the extra width would be an issue ) I would have gone for the glc amg 43 . in the UK we can get really good discounts on vehicles using websites like carwow that that allow dealers to bid how much they'd do the car for you. so a glc 43 amg would cost 5k more than the gla 45 but has C class quality kit which is superior to A class kit. this includes self driving features and heads up display , full 360 cameras etc. performance wise it isn't quite in the same ballpark as the a or gla but one thing I'd say is its a proper compact SUV vs the GLA which is a hatchback. for looks the glc 43 coupe looks great ! certainly the coupe is even more expensive but worth looking at.
so in summary if you want raw performance then GLA or A. if you want kit and suv type ride then glc is worth looking at .
this car is becoming affordable at just over 25,000$ now.
i am just so scared of the reliability.
Is this DCT transmission the same one in the CLA45? Because I have heard the CLA45's DCT isn't that great.
Yes it is, but has had a software update to make it better! All CLA are being updated now as they go in for services.
Yes you finaly did Launch control the audi had it too
please do a toyota highlander 2015
I'm buying this car just for the ashtray...
Does the multimedia package include a hotspot or not?
A