SUV Review: 2021 Mercedes-Benz AMG GLA 35

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David Booth: Methinks there’s a common misconception that Mercedes’ AMG and BMW’s M divisions produce similar products. Oh, everyone gets that they’re different in appearance and perhaps even in tone. But, to many, especially anyone who’s never actually driven either one in anger, they can appear brothers from a different mother. They both bump up the volume with turbocharged engines. Both add big gumball tires, stiffer suspension and, truth be told, more than a little pretentiousness. They fight on the track, compete on sales charts and pretty much every turbocharged Bimmer has a similarly forced-induction Merc prowling the same segment. The rivalry harkens back to the bad old days of FoMoCo versus Chevrolet, only with double overhead cams and far plusher seating.

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In truth, they are far more different than any competing GM and Fords ever were, Munich the master of manners and deportment while Stuttgart is all about urge and grunt. Even the little GLA, the least of AMGs, is not an exception. Oh, to be sure, there’s all the high-tech gadgetry we’ve come to expect of anything German these days, not to mention a sense of pomp and circumstance not normally associated with compact hatchbacks. But the real attraction, the reason you would be shopping the GLA — rather than the equivalent BMW — is its fire-breathing little 2.0-litre Turbo. It’s a powerful little beast, often impudent, hardly ever economical, but always engaging. Like every other AMG I’ve ever tested, the GLA 35 is all about the motor.

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Never mind that the little rascal packs a 302 horsepower punch. Or that it accelerates to 100 kilometres in five or so seconds — yes, it only has four cylinders — five seconds. The real reason to buy this particular GLA is how engaging it is to play with the throttle. Massage it gently and there’s a burble of promise. Boogie it off an on-ramp and its rasps more serious intent. Bang it off its rev limiter and it really does become a little fire breather, the exhaust popping and crackling madly as dual-clutch eight-speed cuts ignition timing. Keep it matted and the turbocharger will do that whole hollow rasp of intake and exhaust thing all over again till you run out of road, license, or both. It’s waaaay more entertaining than anything with four pistons has a right to be. Who needs six — or even eight — cylinders when four are this entertaining?

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Nadine Filion: I totally agree with you, David, the engine is everything. Besides, let’s face it, what Mercedes-Benz wants us to believe is its smallest SUV (but which you and I consider to be a disguised hatchback) is really not the sexiest in its category.

Truth be told, this second-generation GLA, which landed last year, had no choice but to increase its previously tight interior dimensions. So the wheelbase extended 30 millimetres, the body widened 30-mm and raised 104 mils is resulting in a silhouette that looks a bit frog-ish. The only moment the coup d’oeil recognizes the three-pointed star’s class is when it lands on the front grille — a success, that one — and when it slips into the cabin.

For now, let’s get back to basics, which is that the 2.0-litre AMG-massaged four-cylinder turbo boasts 302 horsepower and 295 lb-ft, and is like all AMGs, a product of AMG’s “one man, one engine” philosophy. That said, it’s not built in Affalterbach plant where the 382-hp GLA 45 M139 is built. Rather, it’s put together some 300 kilometres north in Mercedes’ Kölleda, Germany plant.

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Either way, it puts paid to the sentiment of then AMG boss, Thomas Rappel (yes, as in “recall” in French) who swore, back in 2006, that the AMG stable would never see a four-cylinder, let alone one with 4Matic. How the rhetoric has changed since. Some will celebrate technological prowess. Others, more cynical perhaps, will tell you that Mercedes was tired of losing sales to small BMW M’s and even RS Audis. So voilà, we have a car — sorry, a compact crossover — with AWD and which comes not in one, but two, four-cylinder AMG variants: the GLA 45 4Matic + and the GLA 35 4Matic.

DB: Too true. Time makes four-bangers out of all cars. Nonetheless, AMG has a certain magic with internal combustion, no matter how many pistons are involved. But, where AMG does fall down a bit is in the suspension department. Oh, the GLA 35’s handling is lithe and athletic, the suspension upgrades sufficient to minimize roll when playing silly buggers. But it all gets a bit Boom! Crash! Bang! when you hit the potholes that have turned our Toronto roads to moonscape. BMW manages to get equal levels of road-holding without resorting to bridge girders for shock absorbers. For the gearheads out there, it appears to be more an issue of compression damping than overly stiff springs. Over small bumps, it’s compliant enough, but tends to lock up when larger bumps move the wheel more quickly.

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In another BMW comparison, the steering is not nearly as precise as, say, a 2 series. In fact, the GLA 35 can get fairly loosey, goosey if you push it through fast bumpy corners, the steering wheel waggling more than a bit. AMG’s four-bangers may be more engaging than their BMW counterparts, but Munich still owns the chassis department.

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NF: I agree tout à fait about the suspension — decidedly too firm even in “comfort” mode. And the AMG seats that hold us so well in place on twisty roads are a little thin in the padding department, so we feel even the “small” bumps that a Toronto spring always brings (if you don’t mind, we will leave the analogy of craters Moonscape to the roads of La Belle Province, ok?). I also totally agree with you about the direction, not as suave in its manners as BMW’s. That said, did you notice that our AMG boasted the optional performance steering wheel? Combining Nappa leather with Dinamica microsuede, this is, in my humble opinion, one of the nicest volant these hands had ever felt, BMW included.

I also think that where Stuttgart really has the upper hand is in the aesthetics of the cabin and the intelligent technology that goes into it. In fact, the frog from the exterior styling transforms itself, inside, into the prince charming of design. The materials are classy, the finish is to the millimetre. These chrome circular vent openings and this glossy piano line of clean controls? Ma-gni-fi-ques.

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I was especially charmed by the screen that stretches in one piece from the driver’s eyes to the centre of the dashboard. Not only the graphics are clear and logical, but they are also highly refined – far from the “cartoons” of certain other luxury brands. Another bravo for the mini touchpads housed on the steering. This is very clever: The left thumb manages everything in the dash instrumentation, the right thumb controls everything on the central screen, all with just the right amount of customization of comfort and driving aids.

DB: Boy, it sure is good our relationship isn’t based on agreeing about infotainment systems. I like the little Merc’s interior. Well built, fairly luxurious and more than a bit stylish. But this version of Mercedes’ MBUX system, not so much. Oh, the graphics are good and system speedy, but who the H-E-double-hockey-sticks thought trackpads were the way to go. Seriously Mercedes, Lexus gets chewed a new one because it decided trackpads were the way to control its infotainment menus and you think the solution is to just double down and use three trackpads?

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That’s right, the GLA has three trackpads, one large in the centre console and two other teensy, tiny versions — we’re talking about 8 millimetres square here — on the steering wheel. And yes, despite their small size, you can swipe left and right as well as up and down. The problem is that Mercedes in its wisdom, also got rid of submenus and so all the various controls are in wide, thin horizontal “tiles” on the screen at once. In audio mode, for instance, there’s a layer of “genre” choices that is above the actual station you’re currently listening to, which, itself is above the controls that let you change channels. Get it all right and you can swipe through things quite quickly. Get your swipe of that tiny touchpad even minutely wrong and you’re in a submenu above — or below — where you want to be. I found it unnecessarily distracting. And, oh love of my life — because you never take my word for anything — know that Consumer Reports, who I know you trust implicitly, says, and I quote, “we’ve found its multiple screens distracting and its control inputs too easy to activate unintentionally while driving.” Will I have to wait another five years — like usual — for you to finally admit I’m right?

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NF: Well, my dear-boyfriend-who-will-be-on-the-verge-of-being-70 in five years, the problem isn’t me recognizing (or not!) that you are always right, but you, who forgets that someone who will drive this car for more than a week will rapidos learn its nuances. Not only he/she will use this infotainment with more ease than for those offered by BMW, Lincoln and, yes, even Lexus, but, cherry on the Sunday, no fingerprints to sully up the beautiful screen…

Now, a (last) word on price tags: At a base price of $52,900, or of $60,750 for the unit we test-drove, I think this is a fr&?%g lot of money for a compact hatch. Hell, it didn’t even have ventilated seats — a $1,200 option — or intelligent cruise control (hidden in a $1,600 techno package). You want the head-up display? It’s $1,500, while Android Auto/Apple CarPlay is only available if you order the $3,900 Premium package.

But then, it is the cheapest way to get into an AMG SUV and, as you know, Canadians loooove AMG. In fact, we are, per capita, among the most important markets for AMG in the whole world. And I (re)discovered why the minute — no, the second — I heard the AMG GLA 35’s vibrant four-cylinder engine.