2015 Mercedes GLA-Class - Photos and Info

Progressive in design, serene in day-to-day motoring and with an off-road capability: as a wanderer between automotive applications, the Mercedes-Benz GLA impressively reinterprets the compact SUV segment. It lightfootedly masters all day-to-day challenges and is also robust enough for off-road excursions.

The first Mercedes-Benz in the fast-growing compact SUV segment is highly manoeuvrable around town (length x width x height 4417 x 1804 x 1494 millimetres), lively on country and pass roads and dynamic and efficient on the motorway (Cd figure 0.29). The high-quality appointments, developed with much love for detail, and the flexible interior clearly position the GLA as a compact premium SUV.

The new GLA rounds off the extensive SUV portfolio of Mercedes-Benz. With five model series (GLA, GLK, ML, GL and G) the company offers the widest range of any European premium manufacturer, and meets all the individual mobility wishes of its customers. At the same time the GLA-Class is the fourth of a total of five new compact models from Mercedes-Benz. The sales figures amply demonstrate how well the new compact models are received by customers: In the first half of 2013, for example, 173,362 units of the A and B-Class and the new CLA Coupé were delivered worldwide (+58.0%). Especially gratifying is the high conquest rate of the new A-Class: around 50 percent of the buyers in Europe come from other brands.

Sensual clarity as an expression of modern luxury - this was the focus for the designers, and is the design philosophy of Mercedes-Benz. The aim is to create clear contours and smooth surfaces that communicate high-tech while exuding emotional appeal as a meta-level. The sensual clarity is reflected in the core design values of Tradition, Emotion and Progression. These are the guiding star, and are accentuated differently depending on the model. Mercedes-Benz creates a bridge between modernity and the avant-garde, between tradition and progression. Each model series has an assigned role and has a very specific character, depending on the attributes on which the design focusses. And yet a Mercedes-Benz is always recognisable as a Mercedes-Benz. Because in addition to incorporating new stylistic developments, and in the interests of keeping tradition alive, the designers draw from a gene-pool of styling features typical of the brand.