- The new Mercedes GLA will offer both combustion engines and drivetrains.
- The fully electric GLA is going to replace the EQA.
- Mercedes will livestream for the first time on its main website.
The GLA is hardly the most exciting model in Mercedes’ vast portfolio, but the company’s accountants love it. Not necessarily because it offers huge profit margins, but because it is one of the brand’s best-selling models. It has been around for 13 years and is about to enter its third generation, taking on other established players in the segment like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3.
Although Mercedes won’t say what we’ll see next week, the GLA is likely to launch with both a combustion engine and an electric drivetrain. The latter will replace the EQA as the German luxury automaker finally does what it should have done a long time ago: merge its ICE and EV lineups instead of giving them separate designs based on powertrain.
Camouflaged prototypes have been a common sight in the world of car paparazzi, with both mild-hybrid and electric test vehicles having been spied on numerous occasions. Love it or loathe it, the three-pointed star motif is coming to the GLA, with both the headlights and taillights getting the starry treatment seen on many recent Mercedes models.
We’re not surprised as car bloat is still in full swing, but the disguised test vehicle appears to be slightly larger than the current GLA, although it still looks like a sizable hatchback on stilts. There’s a good chance that the front and rear light bars are hidden under camouflage as they have become a recurring design element in the latest Mercedes models.
The work-in-progress crossover also featured flush door handles to improve aerodynamics and help extract a little more range from the electric model. Some would argue that the electrically operated pop-out setup cleans up the vehicle’s profile as well. On the other hand, there are safety and usability concerns that traditional door handles easily avoid.
Like its bigger and boxier seven-seater brother, the GLB, the new GLA will feature a triple-screen setup on the dashboard. Expect a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster connected to a pair of 14-inch touchscreens, one for the infotainment system and the other for the front passenger. There is also the possibility of an optional panoramic glass ceiling that changes from opaque to transparent, complete with countless illuminated stars.
While the mild-hybrid version is expected to have a turbocharged 1.5-liter gasoline engine under the hood, the electric GLA should feature a front trunk like the GLB. Don’t expect a three-row version, as that role belongs to the GLB. Mercedes has engineered its entry-level crossover for the combustion-engine model with front- and all-wheel drive, while its electric twin is expected to come in rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations.
The yellow wrap will arrive on July 29 during a special event that Mercedes will host on its website at 1:30 pm ET (7:30 pm CEST or 5:30 pm GMT).
Motor1’s Opinion: The new GLA obviously won’t get your heart racing, but hopefully enough people will buy it to fund the development of more exciting models. Mercedes could make the GLA more fun by giving it the AMG treatment similar to the ultra-powerful electric AMG CLA 45.
However, we wouldn’t count on Affalterbach to develop another gas-powered version, as only the larger AMGs in the C-Class and above have been associated with combustion engines. We haven’t forgotten about the A45 hot hatch, which is still on sale, but its days are now numbered as a successor to the A-Class is already in development.
