Mercedes-AMG GLA35 and Mercedes-Benz GLB: Which model and trim should you buy?

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The second generation of compact crossover GLA that landed on our shores last year brought a new “cheaper” way for consumers to jump into an AMG’ed Mercedes. And it did so not with one, but two variants from the German performance division: the GLA35 4Matic and the GLA45 4Matic+.

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As those names imply, both vehicles feature all-wheel-drive, something Mercedes-Benz said a decade ago would never happen in an Aufrecht Melcher Grossaspach . And both AMGs feature a four-cylinder 2.0L twin-turbo, another item that those putting their efforts – and their brass-plate signatures — on powerful AMG V8s and V12s for the last half-century absolutely did not have on their radar.

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Mercedes-AMG GLA35 and Mercedes-Benz GLB: Which model and trim should you buy? Back to video

Thank God even the most stubborn people can change their mind, because here we are, talking about a four-cylinder AMG delivering, through its eight-speed automatic double-clutch transmission and 4Matic, some 302 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. The envelope is pushed even further with the AMG GLA45, to 382 hp and 354 lb-ft, currently the most powerful and the torque-iest four-cylinder ever.

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With a price tag starting at $52,900, the GLA35 4Matic is the most affordable AMG SUV – although we really consider it a hatchback – but it crosses the $60,000 mark when you move up to the GLA45 4Matic+ (if you’re mystified by that little “+”, it stands for the added sophistication of torque vectoring).

Not only are those AMG variants $10,000 – if not almost $20,000 – higher than the “base” GLA250 4Matic, they also ask more of your wallet than the (oh, just a tad) bigger brother Mercedes-Benz GLB.

Indeed, the GLB250 4Matic starts at $46,500, with its 2.0L 4-cylinder turbo channelling – also through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission – some 221 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Although the GLB’s dimensions are not that much larger than the GLA’s, you can equip it with third-row seat, a mere $1,300 option that adds two places on board.

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Said option can even be ordered on the GLB35 4Matic ($57,700), a version boasting the same engine and the same performance as the GLA. But those 302 hp and 295 lb-ft achieve a little less glamourous zero-to-100 km/h time, taking 5.2 seconds to hit the mark, now, versus 4.9 seconds for the (75 kilograms lighter) GLA.

What about a GLB45 4Matic+? Well, we are still waiting for that one, a year after Mercedes filed a patent at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for just such a beast.

Note: Usually, we give you the price tags of our “duet” vehicles including the prep and freight fees, but with Mercedes-Benz Canada, things are a bit — complicated. Each dealer is “free to charge their own freight and PDI,” says Litsa Rorris, Engagement Supervisor for the brand, so you may want to check with your “concessionnaire” if he’s asking $2,900 – or more – to “PDI” your new car.

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Three reasons to choose the Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 4Matic

The sound of music. If you read our He Said, She Said published not so long ago about the GLA35 AMG, you know the main reason – we even called it “the real attraction” – we often prefer one vehicle over another is its engine. “It’s a powerful little beast, often impudent, hardly ever economical, but always engaging,” wrote Mister Motor Mouth , before going on and on about how fun it is to “play with the throttle” and how “it really does become a little fire-breather.”

It really sounds great — enough to make you forget it’s “AMG-enhanced” in Kölleda, not “handcrafted” in Affalterbach, AMG’s “one man, one engine” Mecca, as is the “other” four-cylinder turbo in the GLA45.

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Love at first sight (well, inside.) Let’s be honest: the GLA is not a good-looking compact crossover. We mean, it’s not good-looking and it’s not a crossover. Indeed, it’s more a high-rise hatchback, one with a frog-ish style that doesn’t seduce the eye, even with its AMG appendages. But climb – well, with a ground clearance of 117 mm, about the same as for a C-Class sedan, maybe “slide” – into the cabin and you’ll feel the love.

The design is stunning, with this gorgeous panoramic touch-screen, its refined digital graphics stretching from the driver’s eyes to the center of the dashboard. Said interior design doesn’t refrain from being practical, too, from the storage compartments to the clean and user-friendly line of climate controls. Add classy materials all blended in a perfect fit and finish, and you wouldn’t think you’re in the smallest-Benz-SUV ever.

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For its (intelligent) technology. Here, not everybody will agree (especially not Mister Motor Mouth) but for this author, the technology onboard worked better than for any other competitor, German or not.

The mini-touchpads housed on the steering wheel are really clever: The left thumb manages everything in the dash instrumentation, the right thumb controls everything on the central display, where menus are clear and logical. There’s never a fuss to find the fuel consumption, choose a radio station or engage some driving aids — all this without a single fingerprint to interfere with the beautiful screen.

Which GLA trim should you choose?

At $52,900, the GLA 35 AMG may be the “cheapest way” to get behind the wheel of an AMG SUV, but if you care about ventilated seats or heads-up display, know that these are optional (respectively $1,200 and $1,500). Even Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is an add-on for $3,900, because said connectivity is stuck in an 11-item Premium package.

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You think the more powerful GLA 45 4Matic+ ($60,500) offers said features standard? Nope, optional as well. We recommend tyou seriously consider the next-step-up GLB, a (real) SUV that also boasts also -35 AMG version — here’s why.

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Three reasons to choose the Mercedes-Benz GLB instead

Two extra seats. The GLB is hardly 22 centimeters longer than the GLA, featuring a wheelbase even closer, with only 100 mm difference. But that doesn’t stop it from offering a third row — a $1,300 option — on the base GLB250 4Matic, and also the GLB35 AMG. Although these two extra seats are not very generous in terms of legroom (740 mm) and headroom (884 mm), at least they can help out once in a while.

More cargo space. The GLB doesn’t offer extra passenger dégagement versus the GLA, but it does offer cargo space. When its rear seats (second and third rows) are folded down, the area behind is 20 per cent more spacious than the GLA’s.

A more SUV look. Cabin for cabin, the interior design, ergonomics and materials in the GLB are literally a carbon copy of the GLA — or vice-versa, which is real good news. But, thank God, with its truck(ish) style, all square instead of bulbous, the exterior of the GLB is apt to please more eyes. Oh, we won’t go the distance and claim the GLB is a good -looking vehicle, but at least its silhouette is less — um, whatchamacallit as the GLA.

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Which GLB trim should you choose?

You want the AMG version, if only for the two-second-quicker zero-to-100-km/h time: 5.2 seconds with the GLB35 AMG, versus 6.9 seconds with the GLB250 4Matic.

If you need to better justify the extra 11 grand between the two, know the savoir-faire showed by the brand for its engines doesn’t reach, unfortunately, into its suspension engineering. So you’ll find that, in the base GLB as much as in the AMG “enhanced” version; with or without the Ride Control suspension; and in any Comfort, Sport, or even personalized modes, the suspended architecture is inexorably firm.

Since you’ll have to mercilessly feel – and hear the resonance of – even the smallest bump in the road (that observation goes for the GLA too, by the way) you might as well opt for the sporty AMG configuration, complete with sporty seats, sporty manners and, more than anything else, the performance and the fantastic sound of the sporty engine. The ride is no worse and the engine, far superior.

And if you really need softer suspension, we suggest a visit to your local Lincoln showroom instead.

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