2024 Mercedes-Benz GLA Mild-Hybrid Mildly Updated

The premium subcompact crossover segment is bristling with talent, with established class leaders such as the Volvo XC40 and BMW X1 calling the shots. To stand out against such excellence is no easy feat, but the second-generation GLA has made a strong case for itself since it arrived four years ago, with a lot more interior space, smart looks, polished driving dynamics, and a stylish interior. It’s been usefully upgraded this year with a mid-cycle facelift, big new dual digital displays, and mild-hybrid tech to augment the carryover turbocharged four-cylinder, which still produces 221 horsepower. But it has two problems: the first is an excellent new BMX X1 that went on sale in the USA last year, and the second is that the near-$42k starting price of the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class represents a steep increase, pushing the smallest Merc SUV well beyond $40k. It’s now even more expensive than the AWD X1, despite the base GLA being FWD. Will this be its undoing?
 

New for 2024
For its fourth year on the market, the GLA gets a facelift. Immediately noticeable on the 2024 GLA-Class are new LED headlights and reconfigured taillights that go with modified new front and rear fascias. In the cabin, the dual digital displays for the gauge cluster and touchscreen increase in size from seven to 10.25 inches as part of the updated MBUX infotainment system Mercedes is rolling out across its range of cars. This is accompanied by wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto this year. The only other change in the cabin is that the steering wheel is now trimmed in Nappa leather. Under the hood, the existing turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine gains a 48-V mild-hybrid system to improve response and economy, though peak outputs remain unchanged at 221 hp/258 lb-ft. The bad news is that the base price of the new Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class has increased by more than $4k, now starting at nearly $42k.
 
2024 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class SUV Price: Which One to Buy
The MSRP of the front-wheel-drive GLA 250 is $41,850, and adding 4Matic all-wheel drive will cost you an additional $2,000. These prices don’t include Merc’s $1,150 destination fee.
 
Whether you select the FWD or AWD version will depend on your usage patterns, but we don’t see the need for the 4Matic unless it snows where you live. We’d rather save the $2k and spend it on the $1,500 Exclusive sub-trim package to get the navigation and upgraded audio system, along with an additional $600 for adaptive cruise control to flesh out the somewhat meager driver assists a bit.
 
Interior and Features
The cabin still looks very smart and stylish, with more glitz and glamour than many rivals and mostly upscale materials throughout.
 
In step with other modern Mercs, the dashboard of the GLA is extremely stylish with its modern decor, aircraft-style round air vents, and impressive MBUX dual-display infotainment system, now even more eye-catching because both screens measure 10.25 inches this year. It’s a glamorous cabin that makes some rivals look plain, and the strong initial effort is bolstered with good interior space – surprising given the GLA’s sleek profile. The materials are generally of premium quality, but there are some hard surfaces, and the odd creak can be elicited from the trim under casual finger pressure. The seats are very comfortable, but heating and leather costs extra; the standard pews are leatherette-trimmed and power-adjustable. The car’s ground clearance seems lower than that of an XC40, and you also sit lower, which will bother some people, but it’s easy to get inside through wide-opening doors. Standard automated parking takes all the stress out of low-speed maneuvering.
 
Space
The GLA is properly spacious inside, and passengers in the second row won’t have much to complain about, with enough room for adults. It outdoes the X1 and XC40 on legroom back there thanks to a wheelbase of 107.4 inches that outstretches them both, and loses out only slightly on headroom – which is still generous. As expected in this class, a fifth passenger is best a child or a small adult, with three-across rear seating a bit of a squeeze. For $360, you can option on an adjustable third row that can slide up to 5.5 inches to vary passenger and cargo space.
 

Cargo
Unfortunately, all holds well until it comes to trunk space, where the GLA is outpaced by the class best with both seating rows in use. You have to make do with a mere 15.4 cubic feet of trunk volume – about as much as a mid-size sedan. To be fair, the XC40 is similarly small, but the X1 beats both by around 10 cubes, which is a lot. With the 40/20/40-split rear seat folded, things look much better with over 50 cu-ft on offer, which is fully competitive in this class.
 
Cabin storage includes the usual glovebox, front and rear door pockets, a wireless charging pad, a lidded front under-elbow storage bin in the center console, four cupholders, and front seatback pockets.
 
Materials and Colors
You have a choice of several interior colors for the GLA, with the basic interior having MB-Tex leatherette on the seats and a cabin environment in either Black or Macchiato Beige. The $3,150 AMG Night package comes with a choice of a combination of MB-Tex and microfiber upholstery, and you have a choice of black seats with red stitching or brown seats with gray stitching. The standard car can be upgraded to brown leather upholstery for $1,500 as long as you also add the $500 heated front seats, but to get either the black or Classic Red leather, you have to select that AMG Night package and heated seats for a total outlay of $3,650.
 
The steering wheel is trimmed in Nappa leather, and the default interior trim is in Star Pattern, though you can exchange that for brushed aluminum for $175 or in either black or brown natural-grain Linden wood for $325. Illuminated Star Pattern or Carbon Structure trim can only be had as part of the AMG Night package.
 
Features and Infotainment
In the cabin, you’ll find star-pattern interior dashboard trim, MB-Tex leatherette upholstery, power front seats with three-position driver’s memory, remote start, manually tilting/telescoping steering wheel trimmed in Nappa leather, adjustable 64-color LED ambient interior lighting, and a garage-door opener. The $1,500 Exclusive sub-trim is a package containing navigation with augmented video and complimentary map updates for a year, illuminated door sills, and a 10-speaker audio system. The $5,150 Pinnacle sub-trim package contains all the Exclusive’s features, plus adaptive LED headlights, a power panoramic roof, the MBUX Interior Assistant, a surround-view camera, and a head-up display. Heating for the front seats or steering wheel will cost you extra, as will leather upholstery or sports front seats, interior trim in Carbon Structure, brushed aluminum, wood, or illuminated star-pattern, aluminum shift paddles, a sports steering wheel, and stainless-steel pedals.
 
The newly updated MBUX infotainment system is cloud-connected and can be updated over the air. This year, it comprises dual 10.25-inch digital displays – a gauge cluster and a touchscreen – and comes with one year of Mercedes Me Connect services, voice control and “Hey, Mercedes” keyword activation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, five USB ports, a wireless charging pad, Bluetooth with audio streaming, HD Radio, SiriusXM with a six-month Platinum Plan trial subscription, and a six-speaker audio system. The system can be operated via touch-control buttons on the steering wheel, a center touchpad, or via touch inputs on the screen itself. Options include in-car Wi-Fi, the MBUX Interior Assistant, online music streaming, a head-up display, navigation, and various audio upgrades, including a 10-speaker setup and a 12-speaker Burmester setup.
 

Performance
The mild-hybrid powertrain puts in a class-competitive performance, but fuel economy still lags the class leaders, despite the new fuel-saving tech.
 
The only available Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class engine is a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder with 221 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. It benefits from a 48-V mild-hybrid system that contributes up to 13 hp in the mid-range for better launch performance and allows the car to coast with the engine off under certain conditions. It sends its power to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and you can choose between FWD and 4Matic AWD drivetrain configurations. The added traction of 4Matic gives the AWD Mercedes-Benz GLA a 0-60 sprint of 6.6 seconds, 0.2 seconds quicker than the FWD version. Its top speed is governed to 130 mph. The GLA is little more than a top-hat hatchback, so off-road work is out of the question, even in the AWD version. In fact, trailering is off the table, too; Mercedes doesn’t provide a towing capacity and won’t sell you a factory tow hitch.
 
The GLA still impresses with its fine driving dynamics. The ride quality is absorbent, with even large bumps ably filtered out, although highway refinement suffers a little due to rather high levels of road noise for a premium brand. It is surprisingly amenable to being thrown into corners, and the sharp steering and progressive brakes make it fun to pilot. The powertrain benefits from a newfound smoothness imparted by the mild-hybrid system, and overall performance is good, with quick, crisp shifts from the dual-clutch auto and a punchy mid-range that always has something in reserve for overtaking and merging.
 
Fuel Efficiency
Gas mileage is unremarkable, considering the new 48-volt hybrid system. As expected, the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class with the best mpg figures is the FWD trim, which returns 25/34/28 mpg on the EPA’s city/highway/combined cycles. While this is better than the XC40’s 26 mpg combined, the AWD X1 matches it and beats the AWD GLA, which returns 24/32/27 mpg.
 
The car’s fuel capacity is just 12.7 gallons, so don’t expect a range of more than 355 miles with FWD or 342 miles for the 4Matic.
 
Safety
With the exception of the standard automated parking, safety specs are meager, with most of the advanced items costing extra.
 
There isn’t an IIHS or NHTSA safety review of the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, but last year’s GLB, which sits on the same MFA2 platform, achieved five stars overall at the NHTSA, so we have no reason to believe that the GLA won’t be able to match these results.
 
The standard driver-assistance features are cruise control, front-collision alert with automatic brake initiation, e-Call, driver-alertness monitoring, crosswind assist, automatic high beams, blind-spot alert with vehicle-exit warning, parking sensors front and rear with automated Active Parking Assist, and rain-sensing wipers. Optionally available are adaptive headlights, a surround-view camera, adaptive cruise control, and rear side airbags.
 

US NHTSA Crash Test Result
NHTSA safety ratings are not available at this time.
 
Reliability
The reliability of the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class is rated as average by JD Power, with a score of 79 out of 100 for Quality & Reliability – significantly better than the new X1’s 72. Since the launch of the second-generation GLA, there has been only one recall of the 2022 model for improperly adjusted headlights.
 
The limited warranty of the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class runs for a period of four years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first, with the same limits applicable to the powertrain warranty.
 
Design
The GLA is lower, squatter, and sportier than taller rivals such as the Volvo XC40, giving it a dynamic stance, further sharpened up this year with its reprofiled fascias and new LED headlights and DRL signatures. There are LED foglights and restyled LED taillights as well, and the car sits on 18-inch alloy wheels and has privacy glass, aluminum roof rails, a power liftgate, and electrically operated and heated power-folding side mirrors. Options include a power panoramic glass roof, blacked-out exterior trim and AMG body styling via the AMG Night package, and larger wheels of up to 20 inches in size.
 
Verdict: Is The 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class SUV A Good SUV?
The GLA still looks stylish, drives well, and is roomy inside, while benefiting from updated cabin tech this year. But its price has increased sharply, and even the FWD trim is now more expensive than the more competent new BMW X1 in AWD format. The XC40 also remains a class act that is difficult to beat for safety and premiumness. This leaves the GLA to rank lower in this class, alongside other capable but not cutting-edge premium subcompacts such as the Audi Q3. It’s not disgraced by any means, it’s just not a class leader in a very competitive segment awash with talent.