Skip advert
Advertisement

New Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 2017 review

Mercedes updates its hot GLA 45 crossover with styling tweaks, and new tech, but is it any good?

Overall Auto Express rating

3.0

How we review cars
Find your Mercedes GLA
Compare deals from trusted partners on this car and previous models.
Or are you looking to sell your car?
Value my car
Fast, no-nonsense car selling
Value my car

Though little changes for 2017, the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 is still a mightily fast and genuinely entertaining car to drive. It’s suitably racy to look at, although those who want to use it on the school run will find Audi's, now discontinued, RS Q3 more useable day-to-day. It’s not exactly cheap, either, and doesn’t offer much over the similarly-sized, more agile and just as rapid AMG A 45.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Like the diesel GLA we've also driven, the engineers at Mercedes – or more specifically Mercedes-AMG – have endowed the brand’s second smallest model with a series of mid-life revisions for 2017. We’re driving the updated hot crossover for the first time to see it’s raised its game. 

The exterior tweaks for the revised GLA 45 focus around the front end, with a new front apron adding vertical louvres to the air intakes and a silver chrome splitter. These features aren’t just glitzy add-ons, they’re designed to more effectively direct cool air to the radiators. At the rear there’s a new diffuser insert and a revised spoiler, too. All of these changes give the GLA 45 a lower drag coefficient than before, at 0.33Cd.

Further upgrades include standard-fit LED headlamps, a fresh grille and optional 20-inch multi-spoke alloys. Inside, though you’ll quite easily miss the changes – with the tweaks limited to new man-made leather trim on the dash and a redesigned instrument cluster, while additional optional extras include a hands-free electric tailgate and 360-degree camera. 

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

All fairly minor changes, then. But few people would see any need to upgrade what sits under the bonnet. Boosted from 355bhp to 376bhp in 2015, the 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine is still startlingly rapid, firing the crossover from 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds. For reference, that’s an astounding four tenths of a second faster than a Porsche Macan Turbo

Advertisement - Article continues below

As a result it rips through the rev range with real ferocity, only pausing as the seven-speed dual clutch box quickly but jerkily goes for another gear. The sound it makes is more industrial than tuneful, though there’s no arguing with the volume – especially with our car’s optional (and even more intense than before) AMG Performance exhaust popping and crackling on the overrun. The lighter, mechanically identical AMG A 45 is faster still, however.

But it’s not an engine that ever really settles down to a refined cruise; exhaust noise is always present in the cabin, while the eager throttle and highly-strung gearbox means it lacks finesse in town. There are no changes to the suspension or the 4MATIC four-wheel drive system, either. The damping is surprisingly supple, however, meaning the ride is only jarring over the very worst surfaces (and actually not that much worse than the standard GLA), while the steering is nicely weighted but not bristling with interaction.

It resists understeer well as torque is shuffled between the front and rear axle, but playfully moves about if you lift off the power - a trait which gives the GLA 45 a bit of extra personality. It’s fun, sure, but the A 45 responds slightly more sweetly and sharply to inputs, while there are considerably cheaper (and no less practical) hatchbacks like the Volkswagen Golf R that can put as big a smile on your face for substantially less cash. 

Skip advert
Advertisement

New & used car deals

Volkswagen Golf

Volkswagen Golf

RRP £24,405Avg. savings £2,749 off RRP*Used from £12,220
Kia Sportage

Kia Sportage

RRP £27,795Avg. savings £2,400 off RRP*Used from £18,203
Audi A3

Audi A3

RRP £26,075Avg. savings £1,664 off RRP*Used from £14,990
Nissan Qashqai

Nissan Qashqai

RRP £27,135Avg. savings £5,771 off RRP*Used from £13,571
* Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on Auto Express vs manufacturer RRP
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

New Renault Clio to shun electric power and stick with petrol and hybrid options
Renault Clio design render - front

New Renault Clio to shun electric power and stick with petrol and hybrid options

Renault’s sixth-generation Clio hatchback will get a clean look and hi-tech kit, and our exclusive images show what it could look like
News
12 Feb 2025
The small petrol car lives! Pint-sized Fiat Pandina due in 2027
Fiat Panda Cross - front static

The small petrol car lives! Pint-sized Fiat Pandina due in 2027

Fiat will build a new city-sized Pandina based on the new 500 platform, bringing a proper, petrol powered A-segment city car to market as early as 202…
News
12 Feb 2025
Car Deal of the Day: retro Renault 5 for £232 per month, plus four years to enjoy it
Renault 5 - front cornering

Car Deal of the Day: retro Renault 5 for £232 per month, plus four years to enjoy it

The reborn Renault 5 is one of the most feverishly anticipated cars in a long time, and at such a low price, our Deal of the Day for 8 February is a p…
News
8 Feb 2025