Mercedes displayed its compact SUV GLA at the 2014 Auto Expo earlier this year. The German carmaker will be launching the GLA in India in October this year. The GLA looks very good at first glance and the styling is quite sporty. While the exteriors boast of modern and eye-grabbing design elements, the interiors too will be typical Mercedes style. Mercedes has started accepting bookings for the GLA Launch Edition. Just like other launch editions, units of the GLA Launch Edition will also be very limited. Mercedes will offer two variants of the GLA in India – GLA 200 CDI and GLA 200 Sport. Another variant called the GLA 180 will be offered later.
The GLA 180 will be positioned as a base and entry-level variant. It will be priced lesser than the GLA 200. The GLA 180 will miss out on a few important features like bi-xenon headlamps, roof rails, dual exhaust and maybe even alloy wheels. It will be powered by the 1.5-litre DCI engine from Renault that gives out 109 PS of power. This means that the GLA 180 will be bought only by those who are buying the vehicle for the three-pointed badge and the snob value that it commands. The GLA 180 will not be offered at the time of launch.
The GLA 200 will be offered in two variants – CDI and Sport. The 200 CDI variant is powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine producing 136 HP of power and 300 Nm of torque. The 200 Sport version will be powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine giving out 185 PS of power and 300 Nm of torque. Both the engines are mated to a 7-speed automatic gearbox with steering mounted paddle shifters.
The Mercedes GLA boasts of the biggest sunroof in the industry. The suspension of the compact SUV has been tuned specially for Indian conditions and the GLA’s ground clearance has also been raised. The vehicle will be offered with a range of colour options but one colour will be exclusive only for the Indian market. The Mercedes GLA will compete with the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 mainly. The GLA is expected to be priced between Rs. 28 – 31 lakhs while the Q3 is priced between Rs. 25.35 – 36.36 lakhs and the X1 is priced between Rs. 30.75 – 36 lakhs (all prices ex-showroom, Delhi).
