The New 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA is a really fun little five-seater luxury SUV.Ā It is the smallest SUV in the Mercedes-Benz range and I didn't think, given its size, that it would be a very practical family car. Let's see how we get on with our BabyDrive testing…
Prices for the GLA range from $55k all the way up to $107k for the top-spec model. We tested the GLAĀ 250 priced around $66,500.
I have to start with how much I enjoy driving this zippy little SUV, it has that fun ‘go kart' feel where there is not the winter glove padding that you feel when driving most SUVs. That said, in comfort mode it is smooth and quiet to drive the kids around in and then you can slip it into sport mode once you've dropped them at school š
The Mercedes-Benz GLA looks great and this continues on the inside too, with grey leatherette seats and the same fun flowery shaped aircon vents that we enjoyed in the GLB seven-seat SUV and a seemingly seamless double media screen that wraps in front of the driver.
The media system is lovely and modern and in-depth. There were some standout features that I enjoyed using during my week with the GLA with my family. The seat kinetics was a favourite of mine!
Second is the “Hey Mercedes” voice control. Whenever you say “Hey Mercedes” you can ask it to do something, for example, turn off the air conditioning or open the sunroof.Ā It is actually quite handy and I found myself using it more with the GLA than I did when I previously tested the GLB seven-seater SUV, so I imagine if you live with the car then it would become second-nature to use it.
The media system has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as digital radio so you can access all the things you and your children listen to on your journeys.
You can control the media system using the front of the trackpad and buttons down in the central console…
…or I found the controls on the steering wheel the easiest and most intuitive to use whilst driving. Swiping the little black square enables you to scroll through things and pressing it selects them.
The camera image is crystal clear in the Mercedes Benz GLA, you can select from 360-degree views as well as the bird's eye view too.
When it comes to child seats, I found two child seats fit nicely in the back of the Mercedes Benz GLA.
We found it best to put a rear-facing child seat on the passenger side and a forward-facing child seat behind the driver to give the best balance of legroom, allowing a 182cm passenger in either front seat. There wasn't room for a third passenger in the central seat between two child seats.
There are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats and top tether anchorages on the back of all three rear seatbacks in the Mercedes-Benz GLA, giving you flexibility for child seat positioning.
Space in the boot of the Mercedes-Benz GLA is slightly smaller than its competitors as it will hold ten shopping bags compared to the BMW X1 and Audi Q3, which will both hold eleven shopping bags.
However, it is just as practical for a family, fitting a double stroller in the boot underneath the parcel shelf.
The boot floor has a protective carpet over it and a small dog would fit in the boot of the Mercedes-Benz GLA. The boot floor is nice and flat for an emergency nappy change too!!
There is no spare tyre underneath the boot floor, but there is a breakdown and tyre repair kit.
Storage in the front of the cabin is good too. The central console has two practically sized cup holders, a phone tray and a large central console box. The glove box will house your wallet and the net in the passenger footwell can store an iPad.
The door bins are a good size in all the doors and will hold a large refillable water bottle. Storage in the rear is minimal with just net map pockets and door bins.
One of my favourite features of the Mercedes GLA is the auto-lock and unlock doors which you can access from any door, you do not have to go to the driver's door first. This makes loading and unloading children and all their things much easier.
I wasn't a fan of the double sunroof in the Mercedes GLA with children in the back. I felt the fabric covering was not sufficient to block the heat of the Australian sun from cooking my babies as we drove along and it was a constant battle with the air-conditioning to combat the heat. On a longer journey, we actually blocked it with cardboard!
There is one gripe I have with driving the Mercedes GLA and I found the same thing with the Mercedes GLB when I tested it; I found the lane keep assist very sensitive, especially on narrow country roads where you're trying to avoid the verges and when I got close to the central line of the road it would brake quite violently which was quite shocking as the driver and disturbing for everyone on board. I appreciate this is a safety feature to prevent cars from crossing the central line and into oncoming traffic but it felt very sensitive and I found we turned it off within the media screen when driving on anything other than motorways.
Other than that, the Mercedes-Benz GLA is a surprisingly practical little SUV for our family of four. Its small size makes parking very easy and it's a great car for around town and school and supermarket car parks, then great fun out on the open roads. It still has room in the boot for a double pram and inside two child seats fit well in the back seats and the legroom allows for a 182cm driver in front of a forward-facing child seat or 182cm passenger in front of a rear-facing child seat.
The 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA five-seatĀ SUV has yet to be ANCAP crash tested but the old version scored a five star EuroNCAP test in 2014. It has nine airbags as standard.
BabyDrive Indepth
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How good is the storage in the 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA? How big is the boot of theĀ 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA?
TheĀ 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA has two cup holders in the central console that are well sized to hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup. In front of them is a rubber-lined wireless phone charging well with USB-C socket and 12V socket.
The central console box is a good size, there are two USB-C sockets inside…
…and the lid opens in two halves and doubles as your armrest.
There is a glasses case in the ceiling and the front visors both have lit vanity mirrors.
The glovebox is a good size to hold my wallet with the manual, but I could not squeeze my iPad in there too.
There is a little net on the side of the central console in the front passenger's footwell which would hold an iPad or book.
The front door pockets will hold a large refillable water bottle and there is a good amount of space behind it too.
In the second row, there are net map pockets on the back of both front seats that will hold but not conceal an iPad.
In the back of the central console, there is a little storage shelf and drawer with two USB-C charging ports inside.
The rear door bins are smaller than the front ones but will also hold a large refillable water bottle.
StorageĀ in the boot of the Mercedes-Benz GLA is fairly practical for a small five-seat SUV, although space is slightly smaller than its competitors as it will hold ten shopping bags compared to the BMW X1 and Audi Q3 that will both hold eleven shopping bags.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I donāt want to move around while Iām driving such as Tulsiās lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where itās not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they donāt move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mumās life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
A twin side-by-side pram fits in the boot with one shopping bag.
The tandem pram fits with eight shopping bags but the parcel shelf wouldn't go over it.
The single pram fits with three shopping bags around it.
The compact stroller fits with seven shopping bags around it.
The boot floor is nice and flat with a carpet mat covering it too, so you could fit a small dog in the boot and it is perfect for an emergency nappy change!
There is no spare tyre under the floor of the boot of the Mercedes GLA, there is a breakdown and tyre repair kit.
The boot opening is nice and wide and I found it easy for lifting prams in and out of. The netted storage areas behind the wheel arches on both sides are handy for popping objects you don't want rolling around the boot.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA? How good is the media system in theĀ 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA?
The 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLAsĀ media system is modern and in-depth, just like that of the Mercedes GLB seven-seater SUV I tested previously. The system menu options are easy to navigate by scrolling left and right, which you can do on the touch screen…
…or on the front section of the pad down in the central console…
…or using my favouriteĀ way of navigating the media screen, which was using the black square and buttons on the left-hand side of the steering wheel. They feel really intuitive and simple and you can avoid fingerprints on the media screen!!
Those mirrored buttons on the right-hand side of the steering wheel controlĀ the screen in front of the driver and its options and layout.
This screen is quite adaptable to show many things at the same time. I found the left-hand image showing the length of my trip and the number of KMs of fuel I have left was really handy and is really useful with children so you know whether you need to visit the petrol station with them in the car or not!
The Mercedes GLA has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
You can control a lot of things through the media screen by saying “Hey Mercedes” and then asking the voice control to do things for you! This is, of course, a lot of fun with kids in the car and my daughter quickly remembered from our time with the Mercedes GLB and she'd repeatedlyĀ catch me off guard by saying “Mum, what's this car called again” and every time I answered Mercedes, it would activate the system! You can use it to control all sorts of things and I found actually used it a lot more in the Mercedes GLA than I did during my week with the seven-seater GLB and I think it is because I was more used to it, so I am sure if you owned the car you would end using it a lot.
You can use it to set upĀ the sat-nav, although I mainly used it for instructions like turning on and off interior lights, opening the sunroof, turning up and down the air-conditioning and making phone calls.
There are a few other things I really like within the media system like the seat kinetics. The ambient lighting, within that screen, Ā is useful for having on at night time while kids are awake and then asking “Hey Mercedes” to turn it down or off once they have fallen asleep.
The DAB digital radio is great for being able to access Kinderling and other stations kids like to listen to while you are travelling.
The reversing camera image is crystal clear in the Mercedes GLA and you can select from 360-degree views as well as the bird's-eye view too.
You can turn the parking sensors off with a button on the top right of the screen.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
Itās where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when Iām reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just donāt like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I donāt trust cameras alone.
The auto engine cut out was quite smooth and didn't disturb little passengers, you can turn that on and off with a button situated with the start/stop button.
You can lock the doors and windows from the driver's door control panels and you can lock the windows too.
The indicator volume can not be adjusted but it wasn't too loud and we didn't find it disturbed our daughters while they slept in the back.
There is a really good seatbelt removal visual that comes up in the screen in front of the driver clearly displays who is wearing a seatbelt and when a person removes their seatbelt.
TheĀ windows in the Mercedes GLA close relatively quietly and are not baby waking.
With baby asleep you can get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy. The same for the windows their mechanism is not too noisy and I didnāt notice them having a loud opening or closing sound.
With baby asleep you want to be able to get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy and wake Bub up!
An alarm did not sound when I came to a stop, took off my seatbelt and opened the door with the engine still running.
Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while myĀ daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out andĀ drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a carsĀ BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA?
The 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA has three top tether anchorages. They are all clearly labelled and situated within plastic guides on the back of the rear seatbacks and are nice and easy to access and connect the top tether straps to through the boot.
There are also two sets of ISOFix points in the rear seats of the Mercedes GLA.
I found I can fit two child seats really nicely into the Mercedes GLA. I found that I couldn't fit another passenger between the two child seat, being a small SUV.
I found legroom was good in the Mercedes GLA. We found it best to put our rear-facing child seat on the passenger side and forward-facing child seat behind the driver. This gave us maximum legroom and we could it a 182cm+ driver and passenger.
Posting bub into their child seat in the second-row of the Mercedes GLA is fine from inside and outside the car and there is room to feed bub in the back with only one child seat installed too.
Australia being a country of weather extremes blazing sun and torrential rain means you may find it easier to put bub into their seat from inside the car. If itās hot you can get the aircon going, cool the car down and not stand out in the heat with the door open while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst youāre doing it. So it is important to test whether bub can be easily installed from either direction.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA?
The front seats of the 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA are very comfortable and easily adjustable using the controls on the doors and they are heated in the model I tested too.
The headrests are adjustable which is fantastic and meant we can wear a ponytail!!
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get it just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down.
The cruise controls are situated on the right on the steering wheel and I found them simple to use and it was very accurate on motorways as well as on undulating roads at slower speeds.
There are five round air-con vents across the front dash. One larger one at either end of the dashboard and three smaller below the media screen. Their flower-like design is characterful and brings a smile to your face!
There are two rear air vents in the back of the central console, which you can reach from the front to control and direct the airflow.
You can control the air conditioning using the controls on the front dashboard, below the three air vents.
I found visibility to be good out of the Mercedes GLA, using the rear side windows. Visibility is quite good for rear passengers to see out too because the rear windows are quite deep.
The crystal clear 360-degree reversing camera is really helpful too so you can see out all around the car. Being a compact little five-seater SUV, I found the GLA easy toĀ park and maneuver in school, supermarket and apartment block car parks.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread when we drive new cars as they tend to take longer to park in our tight apartment block carpark, the Mercedes GLA was easy to reverse park!
In the back, the ceiling lights are situated with the handles above the rear doors. I could not reach them while driving but you can ask “Hey Mercedes” to turn them on and off for you! The handles are well-positioned to hang a baby toy.
I often will reach back to turn on the interior light if I am driving at night time, I find my little girl gets less distressed travelling at night that way. It helps if I can reach the interior light from the driver's seat so I can turn it on and off whilst driving. I often find my daughter will need it on as we start our journey in the dark but once she falls asleep I can turn it off.
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
I appreciated the views and light to come in through the double sunroof however I found it far too hot in the back with just a fabric screen across the rear skylight, especially with my newborn in the back and the Australian sun.
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
The 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA is yet to be put through ANCAP crash testing.
It comes with nine airbags as standard. Dual frontal, pelvis side and window bags for driver and front passenger, side airbags forĀ rear occupants and a knee airbag for the driver.
Adaptive cruise control (ACC) and adaptive headlights are optional extras.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when my daughterās asleep!
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About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.
My initial thoughts were āwhat a nice looking vehicle from the front and I love the nose on this thing!ā The CX-5 we got to test was the top spec model so I was expecting it to be as impressive on the inside Read More
8 Comments
Thankyou !!
Do you think with narrow forward facing or two rear facing you could fit three seats in the back?
Thanks for this review. I just received my GLA35 and knowing where the securing points are will really help to make my baby seat install faster!
RE: active land keep assist – have you tried to set the actual sensitivity of the lane keep assist? It should help if you haven’t.
Setting Active Lane Keeping Assist via the MBUX system:
Settings > Assistance > Act. Lane Keep. Assist
Setting the sensitivity – The availability of this function is dependent on the country.
Select Standard, Sensitive or Off. [I believe by default it is set to Sensitive, so maybe set it to Standard?]
Glad we helped and we’ll be sure to try that setting trick in the next Mercedes model we test (speaking to other car reviewers they tend to agree it is a problem though)
Do you think an average-sized bike for a 5-year old would fit in the trunk? (With the backseat not folded down, of course) I brought a suitcase to the dealership to test it out and it fit, but just barely. Bikes are scratch-monsters and I wouldn’t dream of asking the dealer to let me try. If it doesn’t fit, we’re in trouble. What do you think? Thanks.
Hey there. Currently driving 2018 GLA250 and had my first experience trying to load a Nuna Pipa RX with Relx base. I had to move the front seat significantly forward, to the point it seems not practical. Iām trying to investigate this because itās just ridiculously different compared to what youāve reviewed here. Any thoughts appreciated. For strollers I tried to pick the absolute most compact one, knowing that a golf bag did not fit well. Thanks!
Thankyou !!
Do you think with narrow forward facing or two rear facing you could fit three seats in the back?
Possibly. Here’s dimensions and models of the seats we use: https://babydrive.com.au/articles/will-my-child-seats-fit-in-my-car/
Hi there,
Thanks for this review. I just received my GLA35 and knowing where the securing points are will really help to make my baby seat install faster!
RE: active land keep assist – have you tried to set the actual sensitivity of the lane keep assist? It should help if you haven’t.
Setting Active Lane Keeping Assist via the MBUX system:
Settings > Assistance > Act. Lane Keep. Assist
Setting the sensitivity – The availability of this function is dependent on the country.
Select Standard, Sensitive or Off. [I believe by default it is set to Sensitive, so maybe set it to Standard?]
Hope that helps.
Cheers!
Glad we helped and we’ll be sure to try that setting trick in the next Mercedes model we test (speaking to other car reviewers they tend to agree it is a problem though)
Do you think an average-sized bike for a 5-year old would fit in the trunk? (With the backseat not folded down, of course) I brought a suitcase to the dealership to test it out and it fit, but just barely. Bikes are scratch-monsters and I wouldn’t dream of asking the dealer to let me try. If it doesn’t fit, we’re in trouble. What do you think? Thanks.
So hard to know! The double pram went in ok but does fold more neatly than a bike…
Hey there. Currently driving 2018 GLA250 and had my first experience trying to load a Nuna Pipa RX with Relx base. I had to move the front seat significantly forward, to the point it seems not practical. Iām trying to investigate this because itās just ridiculously different compared to what youāve reviewed here. Any thoughts appreciated. For strollers I tried to pick the absolute most compact one, knowing that a golf bag did not fit well. Thanks!
They changed the GLA a lot in 2020; this is the newer version tested.