Used 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class SUV Consumer Reviews
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A big car in a small wrapper!
HPB (Colorado), 11/05/2020
updated 05/06/2021
2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
32 of 33 people found this review helpful
Mercedes somehow squeezed a big car into a small car! This tiny SUV is classified a subcompact, but I'm 6'1 and have plenty of headroom, legroom, and shoulder room front and back. It's high enough that it's easy to get into and out of and to see out of. It's built very solidly, has a peppy but full efficient engine, and 4-matic for Colorado mountains and weather. And the Burmester sound system is just about the finest I've ever heard. The only negative is price, which rises quickly with options. Got mine for $47K and change with 4-matic, panoramic moonroof, premium package, and the Burmester. Feels a little high. But, hey, it's a Mercedes. And it feels like one, albeit in a small package. UPDATE AFTER 6 MONTHS: Still very happy with this car - - manages the mountain roads over Loveland Pass in bad weather, comfy, fun to drive, enough room in the back for ski stuff or german shepherd (but not both). It was this or the GLB and having driven a GLB loaner (while my wife's GL was in for service) I made the right choice, driving dynamics of the GLB totally different - - more like a truck than the GLA which feels like a GTI on the road. My only wish? A 5 speed manual transmission option. Alas, the manual transmission is disappearing.
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Luxury Crosstrek at semi-luxury price
WhereHaveTheManualsGone?, 06/04/2021
2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
16 of 16 people found this review helpful
Much like another reviewer here, we had test driven both the Volvo XC40 and Mazda CX-30 Turbo. While they were both great cars in different ways, they both had major flaws. The Mazda had bland interior options which really only allowed for choosing seat and headliner colors, the infotainment system was frustrating and was only controllable via the dial-interface, the headroom and rear passenger cabin is smaller than a Ford Focus's, the whole car's windows were tiny and hard to see out from. And for a $35k car, the cheap exterior black cladding was and odd choice. And the overall look of the car, in my opinion, is fairly bland. It genuinely looks like a Mazda 3 Turbo with a 3" lift kit. Still the interior looked and felt high-quality, and is a huge step up for Mazda in the CUV market The XC40 was a complete mess. The tire-on-road noise was very poor, the infotainment screen seems to be a cheap knockoff of Tesla's, some interior parts are really nice and some were sourced from Fisher-Price, the door cubbies are lined with bargain-bin RV carpet material, and all of the infotainment controls are buried deep in the sub-menus of the annoying touch screen. Great looking and powerful SUV, but that's about it. While the lower-tier 2021 GLA's lacks some of the features of these other two cars, the interior quality and design is far beyond what they offer. I understand some buyers loath touch-pad controlled infotainment systems, but the Merc's was fairly easy to use. Especially if you're an Android user, the mouse-style controls seem to mirror that of stock Android controls. But if you don't like it, the screen is easily reachable from the driver's seat, and is a touchscreen. The interior design is unique, but not entirely cohesive. I would say the Mazda's interior design is like a new/modern mountainside suburb, and the Merc's design is like those random housing communities near the coast in L.A. I like it, but to each his own. The seats are fairly firm, especially if you opt for the ventilated seats, but their design is fairly comfortable. The headroom will work for anybody under 7' tall, and mostly the same for the rear seats and rear legroom. The exterior looks like Mercedes took their GLC, and used a machine to shrink it by 30%, then added normal size wheels/tires. I personally think the car looks better with the standard 18" wheels than the Fast and Furious 20+ inch options, the base wheels make it look more like an SUV rather than a massive hatchback. It has fair power, and the 8-speet dual-clutch is great for shifting yourself, but can be sluggish in auto-mode in certain situations. Yes, this is far more expensive than other small SUV's made in Asia, especially when you start adding options. If you are considering the 2021 GLA, I'd suggest sitting in and driving your other considerations, then go take the GLA for a spin. The GLA we purchased had an MSRP of $45k, but we were able to knock off around $3k through a common "SuperCostShopperMart" auto-purchasing program included in the membership. The other factor is the auto-industry's poor supply of inventory at the moment, and finding other high-demand small SUV's is either difficult, or equally expensive. It's a decent option, and the base-model GLA's are a decent middle-ground between the economy options, and the spec'd-up versions of the luxury models. Reliability is a long-term question, and we're just not there yet...
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2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class for sale near you
3 of 138 listings
- AMG GLA 35 4dr SUVMSRP: $30,950242 mi away
- GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUVMSRP: $26,489242 mi away
- GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUVMSRP: $27,420393 mi away
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Finally Found The Right Car for Me
What I Was Searching For, 01/18/2021
2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
38 of 41 people found this review helpful
I had been searching for an upscale small SUV for much of 2020. In early summer I researched and did 1-2 long test drives with a BMW X1, Volvo XC40, Audi Q3, Lincoln Corsair, and Mazda CX-5 and CX-30. At that time the all new 2021 Mercedes GLA was not yet in US showrooms. None of the luxury brand vehicles available in early summer sold me for the price. The Volvo, Lincoln, and Audi were all lovely inside and feature rich but lost me on the test drive. The BMW had the ride, handling, and powertrain I liked best (and the most straight forward infotainment and nav system to use when driving), but I couldn't find one equipped the way I wanted and was also concerned that that it was nearing the end of its model run and lacked some of the available features of the more recently redesigned competitor vehicles. The Mazda CX-5 was too big for what I wanted, but the Mazda CX-30 came closest to the feel of the BMW X1 at about 35% less MSRP so I bought one in July (you can see my review of it on this site). I had electrical system problems with it and was stranded three times, and was getting nowhere with the Mazda dealer who implied it was somehow my fault. I was frustrated and did not trust it, so I resumed a search in December that brought me to the GLA 250 4matic. I have had the GLA 250 for about six weeks and absolutely love it. Zero issues or criticisms. The powertrain, steering, handling, and ride are exactly what I was looking for in a small, sporty, luxury SUV. I bought one pretty well loaded with most everything except the panoramic sunroof and AMG trim. Infotainment, navigation, and safety tech are all state of the art. The new MBUX interface is easy to use while in motion after a couple hours of study. While the Mazda CX-30 was good value and had a handsome interior, there is undoubtedly more content quality and features in the Mercedes GLA 250 that clearly differentiate the two. The Mercedes dealer experience was probably the best of my life, and I am a senior and have purchased a lot of new cars in my years. I hands down would have bought the 2021 GLA 250 in July had they been available, and I am fortunate that I got a great trade value on my Mazda (only about 10% less than what I paid) that spurred me to proceed to flip it so soon.
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Beautiful but.....would have expected more from MB
Bill, 01/15/2023
updated 01/18/2024
2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
13 of 17 people found this review helpful
Got this car for my wife about 18 months ago, trading in a BMW X2 Xdrive when she fell in love with it. Pros: Beautiful car; best luxury and beautiful interior in the category out there, nice tech, powerful motor, excellent torque and handling. Cons: Uncomfortable hard seats (compared with my other car, an Acura RDX); transmission jerking and clunkiness particularly at low speeds. Heard this is mostly due to a normal issue with dual clutch transmissions, which I was not accustomed to, and will eventually get used to it. But coming from an expensive luxury car, MB would have done better with it. Hard cheap plastics in door panels and B pillars. Bumpy ride. Very noisy motor, it sounds like an old crappy coffee maker machine. Sound system is not even a joke. The depreciation for this car is a huge disappointment. The BMW X2 did not have this kind of beauty and luxury, but definitively was a way better balanced and performer in the road. Well..... will enjoy it a couple of years more while the value gets near the debt, and will get something else as soon as my wife gets bored with it. Update: after 30 months and only 15k miles on the odometer: 1) wiper and washer motors broke down, 2) the driver seat cheap MBTex ripped itself (no abuse or misuse, we are very careful with our cars), 3) the fuel door does not close. That is with so little use, imagine 3or 4 yrs from now and with warranty expired! No way, The love is over, already traded in and got rid of the thing. The lesson was: if you want a Mercedes, go to Cs and up, do not waste your money with the entry level cheap models.
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Mini GLC - What's Not to Love?
JennInTheDesert, 12/15/2020
updated 12/16/2021
2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
10 of 13 people found this review helpful
Turned in my beloved '19 GLA on the 2021 due to space concerns. The Good: ride quality (no longer feel like my joints are being dislocated when hitting a pothole) seat comfort phenomenal MBUX entertainment system (it's really easy to figure out, so don't listen to the haters) MUCH more interior space increased visibility edgy front grill ambient lighting augmented video navigation many high tech features acceleration The Not-So-Good: substandard audio system sound as compared to previous generation (upgrade to the Bermester sound system) gone is the fun, rally racer, almost WRX quality ride - it's now a true compact SUV
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