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New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics

New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics New Mercedes GLA and AMG 45: full details and pics
Mercedes tweaks GLA family, AMG gives GLA 45 the 381hp 2.0-litre turbo engine.

What's the news?

The Mercedes-Benz GLA - the smallest of the company's seven-strong line-up of SUVs - is ready for its midlife makeover and Mercedes has made some modest changes to the exterior, interior and drivetrain. However, the big news comes at the top of the range, where the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 gets the uprated 381hp 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that was installed into the A 45 in late 2015.

Exterior

To mark the creation of the more powerful Mercedes-AMG GLA 45, a special Yellow Night Edition will be available on the 2017MY SUV flagship, which finishes the car in either Night or Cosmos Black, with matt Graphite Grey and yellow detailing. The alloy wheels are finished in black with yellow pin striping and there's a black painted AMG twin louvre array in the radiator grille. This pack will also be available on the corresponding 45-badged stablemates, which are the A 45, the CLA 45 and the CLA 45 Shooting Brake.

All GLAs have been subtly tweaked in the design department - standard cars get a lower A-pillar step with corresponding A-pillar geometry and revised door mirror housings, the underfloor of the chassis has been smoothed off for airflow and there's a new roof spoiler lip plus specially shaped taillights that trim the drag coefficient figure from 0.29- to 0.28 - and the AMG 45 is no exception, as it benefits from all the regular styling updates plus a new front apron with air intake grilles and splitter, plus its own shape of roof spoiler at the back. There's also a new diffuser insert at the rear, some silver chrome detailing and a fresh design of 20-inch light-alloy wheel.

Options added to the list include LED High Performance headlights instead of the old bi-Xenon upgrade and Hands-Free Access for the boot, meaning you can open it with a wave of your foot underneath the rear bumper when your hands are full of shopping. LED High Performance taillights are fitted to all models and there's a new colour, Canyon Beige, offered.

Interior

The GLA 45, if not optioned up as a Yellow Night Edition, gets a dashboard covered in Artico man-made leather with red contrast topstitching, with the trim in a black-and-red finish (black and silver is an option with the Exclusive package). Both the car's key and the E-Select gear lever now bear the AMG emblem as standard, while the instrument cluster has been redesigned with a speedo that now goes up in 30km/h increments. There are options of a 360-degree camera, while a mechanical front-axle locking differential is available with the AMG Dynamic Plus package. This also includes the AMG Ride Control sports suspension, a 'performance' steering wheel and an additional 'Race' drive setting.

The Yellow Night Edition, meanwhile, benefits from yellow trim on the Artico/Dinamica seats, the sports steering wheel, the dashboard and the armrests. There are also grey door sill panels with a yellow AMG logo, yellow-edged floor mats with a similar yellow AMG logo and yellow air outlets. Standard equipment on this GLA 45 includes the Aerodynamics package, the Night package, the Light and Sight package, performance seats with a memory function plus and a yellow 12 o'clock mark on the steering wheel (which also benefits from silver chrome trim and AMG Edition badging).

The regular GLAs see the addition of the 360-degree camera option, as well as new standard seat covers and trim panels, plus chromed control surrounds. The dials in the cluster are fresh and have red needles, while the electric seat adjustment switches and the frame for the centre console stowage compartment are now finished in chrome.

Mechanicals

With 381hp and 475Nm, the hotter 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine in the revised GLA 45 is up 21hp and 25Nm from its predecessor. That's enough to take 0.4 seconds off the 0-100km/h time, leaving the 45 with an incredibly quick 4.4-second sprint. It's still limited to 250km/h as standard, of course, but with the AMG Driver's Package that restrictor is raised to 270km/h.

Additionally, the GLA 45 has been given shorter gear ratios from third upwards in its seven-speed AMG Speedshift transmission, to make it feel livelier for acceleration no matter what pace you're travelling at. The 1,585kg GLA 45 also has a marginal improvement in green stats, with economy up to 38.2mpg (7.4 litres/100km) and CO2 down to 172g/km; previously, the same data read 37.7mpg (7.5 litres/100km) and 175g/km.

There is a new model added to the regular GLA range, which is the 184hp GLA 220 4Matic, but at the moment it is not confirmed whether that will come to Ireland - and, given our predilection for diesels, it's highly unlikely it will.

Anything else?

The revised GLA range, including the AMG 45, will debut at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, going on sale immediately afterwards. First customer cars should therefore be delivered in April 2017.

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Published on January 9, 2017