Used 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Consumer Reviews
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We have a limited number of reviews for the 2016 GLA-Class, so we've included reviews for other years of the GLA-Class since its last redesign.
A delightful car
kukaduro, 05/19/2015
updated 04/12/2018
2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 7AM)
94 of 94 people found this review helpful
I have been driving the GLA250 for about a half year. Absolutely no problems. It was parked outside in last year's Boston extreme winter and drove in the snow and ice like a champion. The car is a delight to drive. Fast with average 26 mpg (90% city, 30-31 mpg on highway at brisk speeds). I find the GLA a beautiful design and I received many compliment for it (often from Europeans who value the practical hatchbacks more than US drivers). What I don't enjoy is the wind noise on the highway, the very little leg room in the back and the low roof line at the front (I am 6'2")....but all those are compensated well by overall joy driving this car. I tested the BMW X1 and Audi Q3. Nothing changed after a year and a half. The car goes to a Mercedes dealer's service once a year. In between only gas and windshield washer tanks need fill up. Not even the tires needed air since I bought the car. (Here I had a line that claimed that the transmission settings were updated but I was wrong. It was wishful thinking. Sadly.) I had no technical problems in the first two years. UPDATE: Two and a half years of driving the GLA250 the car had no problem whatsoever. The single thing I am very unhappy about is the transmission's ECO mode. That is rather bad for a Mercedes. In the city (especially at slow cornering) the downshifting is delayed and abrupt. It shifts from 3 to 2 with a sudden jerk and unpleasant jump in gear2. The other shortcoming is - what many complained about - is the tendency of shifting into gear 7 also in ECO at ~ 35 mph which is annoying. The 2016 model has multiple gear options (e.g. comfort) but Mercedes won't bother to make the 2015 models any better by updating the software. This is such a disappointment in this otherwise great car that I am considering trading it in soon for a different brand. YEAR THREE UPDATE: See that for my initial impressions of the GLA250 above. Now the car turned three years old. Still running beautifully. The engine is superb. The transmission as annoying as ever and it was pointed out by a large number of reviewers. MB still does not bother upgrading the shifting properties. That is poor customer support especially because so many of us requested it. I took the car for the third annual service and they told me I need new tires. The car ran only 17500 miles and the Bridgestone Duellers are worn out on the front wheels (not sure whther they rotated them or not). They wanted to sell me that same junk tires again. What more, the Bridgestones come with NO WARRANTY (except defects). No minimum mileage, nothing. This is MB OEM quality and a $40k car. Last time I encountered this kind of tire "warranty" was my parents Russian Lada in the 1970s. If Mercedes thinks that this is their entry level car and people will buy higher class Benzes they ought to make a better impression. THREE + HALF YEAR UPDATE: I replaced those low quality Bridgestone tires with non-runflat Continentals. I bought a Mercedes donut spare wheel that I keep it in the trunk. Guess what? The trunk became so small (with the wheel in it) that a Porsche 911 may have more storage space. No technical issues. MB recalled it for an airbag grounding that was done on 30 minutes as promised. Herb Chambers' MB service is great. I can not say the same about Herb Chambers' sales. They can not confirm that I purchased an extended warranty for the car in 2015 and want me to buy that again. I asked them to check the warranty but they did not bother to respond. The 2019 facelift looks attractive. Since the BMW X2 is a massively ugly version of the double-boring X1 I may stick to the GLA and consider trading mine for the 2019 model. But first I check out the transmission :-)
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Love the GLA250!
Scott Lancaster, 07/20/2016
2016 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 7AM)
43 of 44 people found this review helpful
I love this car! It's an absolute blast to drive whether on the highway or on the curvy back roads and it looks great! You push this car to pass someone one the back roads and it just hunkers right down like it's driving on rails. The way it handles, drives, and looks is all Mercedes. Inside and out everything is polished. One odd thing is the multimedia display is not a touch screen. AppleCar play works great although I do prefer the Mercedes navigation over Apple's. One thing the detailed reviews don't tend to go over are the different driving modes you can put the car in. The different modes change how the steering feels, how sensitive the throttle is, where the shift points are, along with some specific behavior for the mode. There modes include Comfort (the default), Sport, Offroad, Eco, and an Individual mode where you can changes some of the settings. Eco will give you the greatest gas mileage: softer steering, slow throttle response (unless to punch it), shifts early, shuts the engine off at stops, and tends to "coast" the engine. Sport stiffens the steering, very sensitive throttle response, and shifts late (fun!). It also will use more active all-wheel drive (4MATIC models) going around corners. Comfort is in-between Eco and Sport. Offroad softens the steering, slower throttle response, shifts later, and cuts back on the anti-lock brakes for better stopping distance from "plowing" the gravel on braking. Individual mode lets you change some of these settings. All modes except Offroad turns off the engine at stops by default (this can be overridden). Honestly, other than suspension behaviour, it feels like you're getting 3-4 different cars in one. You can go totally green commuting and highway driving and get great gas mileage; get something in-between if you want more response and trade-off gas mileage, or go totally fun mode on the back roads. If you drive on a fair amount of dirt roads (like I do), you get the bonus of offroad mode as well. This didn't make or break the deal for me--it was an unexpected bonus! I ended up w/ the Kryptonite Green which looks much better in person than on the computer screen--great color! I used Edmunds to get $4200 below MSRP.
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Stylish, Sporty, Solid, Comfort!
FJG, 06/28/2016
2016 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 7AM)
18 of 18 people found this review helpful
This vehicle is a truly beautiful machine with robust power and a comfortable & luxurious ride. It's relatively compact, though seats 4 adults comfortably; the benefit to the smaller SUV size is great gas mileage. It's very well built (sturdy) and gives a sense of security and confidence in driving. With all the bells and whistles, it's a modern tech dream -- radar cruise control, blind spot monitoring, rear camera, big nav display, and simple bluetooth pairing for phone music/calls. The pano sunroof makes the cabin seem very spacious, and the sport package styling is sharp and aggressive. Ride is smooth & quiet, and we do not notice any erratic transmission shifting as others have commented -- maybe they re-programmed the transmission for this newer factory model? The dealer experience (Fletcher-Jones in Henderson, NV) was exceptional compared to any other. They didn't pressure us to buy inventory and cheerfully helped with a factory order. It took about 3 months to arrive. We ordered in South Sea Blue, Brown Leather, Satin Poplar Wood, Sport Package, Panorama Roof, Bi-Xenon & LED Lights, Interior Package, Premium Package, Multimedia Package, Power Passenger Seat, and Driver Assistant Package. Highly recommend this car in a "loaded config" -- it's the nicest car we've every owned or driven!
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Poor value for the price
J Shoup, 09/13/2017
updated 09/14/2018
2016 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 7AM)
36 of 38 people found this review helpful
Let's get to the fun stuff first -- this car accelerates and corners like a Mercedes should, quick off the start or merging on a highway, handling winding roads, and comfortably using the cruise control to increase speed 5 mph at a time. When you step on the gas, it feels like the engine is gently pullling you along. Even with cruise set at 75 through the mountains of WV, there's no lurching between gears. Panoramic sun roof and shade screen is nice. The GLA is definitely more hatchback than SUV, though, when it comes to size and fit. Cargo area is small, back seats are smaller, and even front head & leg room is slight. Reliabilty has been an issue: an electronic part failed, causing a complete electrical failure that would have cost $2400 to replace if the car wasn't under warranty. Tires replaced after 25,000 miles, mostly highway, dealership said I was lucky to get 20k from them because they're soft rubber for performance. On third set of tires after 46,000 miles. So plan on $800 every 20k for new tires. Entertainment system is unnecessarily complicated, and the iPad looking thing on the dash (that looks like a last minute addition) is NOT a touch screen, so it's all buttons and knobs. Electronic safety systems have quit on me 5-7 times in the last 15 months, but they work fine when the car is re-started later. Overall, I'd expect better reliability for this level of engineering. Would not buy in the future.
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GLA45 one of the fastest CUV ever, if not the fastest!
rskdsk, 12/01/2014
2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 45 AMG 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 7AM)
34 of 36 people found this review helpful
0-60 in just 4.2 sec and runs the 1/4 in 12.8 at 109 ... and it is a 4 cylinder! Handles great, sounds even better with the race exhaust. I looked at the SQ5 and found the outdated shape not thrilling anymore ... Looked at the Porsche Macan but the price with options and the wait time seemed outrageous and then add the maintenance cost and the fact that it rides like a truck ... I looked at the new Lexus NX but the lack of power and handling seemed weak at best. Same thing with the Q3. The GLA 250 seemed to be the better deal ... until I tested the GLA45 ... the rest is history.
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