Mercedes GLA (2014-2020) review - Reliability and Safety

After a dip in quality in the nineties and early noughties, Mercedes once again produces some of the most reliable cars you can buy.

That being said, in our latest Driver Power satisfaction survey, Mercedes ranked in the lower half of the manufacturer poll, which isn't particularly indicative of a highly reliable marque, with owners reporting more issues with faults than rival brands Audi and BMW. The GLA itself hasn't appeared in our Driver Power satisfaction survey, so we will have to wait to review the car on an individual basis.

In terms of safety, Mercedes has always set a high standard, as many of the features of its flagship luxury saloon, the S-Class, make their way down to the lesser models in the range.

All versions of the GLA come with Pre-Safe, which prepares you and the car for an impending accident; Attention Assist sounds a warning if the driver looks as though they’re about to nod off; and Collision Prevention Assist automatically applies the brakes if it detects an impending front-end collision.

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Plenty of other hi-tech safety kit is also available, although it does push up the price of the car if you specify several as options. The result is a full five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating, awarded in 2014.

Warranty

Mercedes’ warranty is a three-year/unlimited-mileage package. This is identical to the package supplied with Land Rover and BMW models, but goes one better than the Audi warranty, which limits cover to three years and 60,000 miles.

Servicing

Buyers are offered a service plan based on mileage that Mercedes tailors for each car. For GLA owners covering up to 15,500 miles a year, the payment for the service plan starts at around £27 a month, which gets you one annual service and runs up to three years. By increasing the monthly cost, it’s possible to have more services in a shorter space of time and account for higher mileages.