2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Review

Name: 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Review
Brand: Mercedes-Benz

Price Range: $26,999 - $36,998

Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class AMG GLA 35 4dr SUV Exterior

This second-generation Mercedes-Benz GLA is a huge improvement over its rather compromised predecessor. It's comfortable and suitably refined for an entry-level SUV.

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Price & Payment

784 cars

$29,415 avg. price

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2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Review

by the Edmunds Experts

What's new

Dashcam no longer available for AMG trims
Part of the second GLA generation introduced for 2021

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.74 per gallon for premium unleaded in Iowa.}

Monthly estimates based on costs in Iowa

$161/mo

$153/mo

Avg. Compact SUV

Calculate my fuel costs

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Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

4/5Excellent

#4 out of 18 among Luxury Compact SUVs

RepairPal Reliability Ratings are based on the actual cost, frequency, and severity of unscheduled repairs and maintenance on make/model data for select 2008-2022 vehicles. The reliability of a specific vehicle may vary depending on its maintenance and driving history, model year, trim, and features.

Cost

^{The average total annual cost for unscheduled repairs and maintenance across all model years of the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class from 2008-2022.}

$544/yr

vs. $559/yr
for Average Luxury Compact SUV

Frequency

^{The average number of times this model is brought into the shop for unscheduled repairs and maintenance in a single year. RepairPal calculates this metric by tracking millions of unique vehicles over multiple years to determine an average number of visits per year (omitting small routine visits, e.g., oil changes).}

0.72x/yr

vs. 1.23x/yr
for Average Luxury Compact SUV

Severity

^{The probability that a repair will be a major issue, meaning the repair costs 3x the average annual repair cost for all models. This threshold will be higher for vehicles that have higher labor rates and parts costs (such as a premium brand).}

6.1%

vs. 8.6%
for Average Luxury Compact SUV

powered by RepairPal ^{Based on RepairPal reliability data as of 8/23/2023. Ratings are provided by RepairPal and Edmunds is not responsible for their accuracy.}

Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Reviews

Owner Reviews

4.4

33 reviews

5(76%)

4(6%)

3(6%)

2(3%)

1(9%)

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Most Helpful Owner Reviews

A big car in a small wrapper!

HPB (Colorado), 11/05/2020

2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4MATIC 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)

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 …

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)

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...

Best kept secret in the automotive world

Paul Scarpelli, 11/14/2021

2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class AMG GLA 45 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)

At age 74, I traded my ferocious '19 Z06 Corvette M7 even up for a loaded 2021 GLA 45 AMG. I immediately noticed the comfort and manners of the Mercedes, and decided I could live with a 12.6 1/4 mile instead of the 11.0 1/4 of said Corvette. Of the 17 new cars I've owned, this is the best. Comfort, sportiness, decent fuel economy, utility. And with Race Mode, it launches HARD. I had no …

Nice job MB

Ralph Dodds, 04/13/2021

2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class AMG GLA 45 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)

Now that I’m older and facing health issues I needed something more suitable than the 63 AMG I had and loved. This is it! Power and handling are almost as good. Comfort is as good or better. MBUX is okay so far. Build quality is exemplary. While I have happily owned SLCs, Corvettes, Carreras and Macans in the past I am perfectly happy in my GLA 45 AMG.

We have a limited number of reviews for the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, so we've included reviews for other years of the GLA-Class since its last redesign.

See all 33 reviews of the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class

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2023 GLA-Class Highlights

Type:

SUV

Trim:

GLA 250

Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee	$37,500
Engine Type	Gas
Combined MPG	28 MPG
Cost to Drive	$161/month
Seating	5 seats
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place	15.4 cu.ft.
Drivetrain	front wheel drive
Warranty	4 years / 50,000 miles

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Safety

Our experts like the GLA-Class models:

Mercedes-Benz Emergency Call service: Automatic collision notification system with an SOS emergency call button. Service is active for as long as you own the GLA.
Pre-Safe Sound: Standard feature that emits a special noise during a collision to protect your hearing during the impact.
Active Emergency Stop Assist: When using adaptive cruise control and lane centering systems, this feature detects an unresponsive driver and brings the GLA to a safe stop.

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2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Review

Price & Payment

2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Review

What's new

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.74 per gallon for premium unleaded in Iowa.}

Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

Cost

Frequency

Severity

Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Reviews

Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Trending topics

A big car in a small wrapper!

Luxury Crosstrek at semi-luxury price

Best kept secret in the automotive world

Nice job MB

2023 GLA-Class Highlights

Safety

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2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Review

Price & Payment

2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Review

What's new

Cost to DriveCost to drive estimates for the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.74 per gallon for premium unleaded in Iowa.

Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

Cost

Frequency

Severity

Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Reviews

Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

A big car in a small wrapper!

Luxury Crosstrek at semi-luxury price

Best kept secret in the automotive world

Nice job MB

2023 GLA-Class Highlights

Safety

People who viewed this also viewed

Related Used 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class info

Submodels of GLA-Class

Vehicle rankings by type

Research similar car reviews

More SUVs to consider

Automotive News

Join Edmunds

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class GLA 250 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8AM) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.74 per gallon for premium unleaded in Iowa.}