By Adrian Padeanu, Motor1.com
The first-ever GLB
isn’t the only new compact SUV from Mercedes to debut this year as a
new report indicates we’ll also get to see the second-generation GLA.
While the boxy model previewed last month by a namesake concept at Auto
Shanghai in China will be revealed in production form sometime this
summer, the most affordable SUV from Daimler is expected to make an appearance this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
If the report published by Autocar is to be believed, we might end up seeing the new GLA
online a few days before its IAA premiere, some six years after the
original model’s debut at the very same show. Going up against the likes
of the Audi Q2
and the BMW X2, the next generation of Mercedes’ entry-level SUV should
follow just about the same recipe as the current version by essentially
being a jacked-up A-Class hatchback with some mild SUV touches. This
time around, it won’t serve as the basis for a new Infiniti QX30 as
Nissan’s premium brand has admitted the current GLA-based model is “not a very successful product,” which is why its replacement will be all-Infiniti.
With all of the new-era compact Mercedes
models sharing largely the same interior cabin, it should be a similar
story with the second-gen GLA. Just look at the A-Class, B-Class or CLA-Class
models to get an idea of what to expect from the dashboard layout,
which will also have quite a lot in common with the upcoming GLB.
The oily bits are pretty much known already, with a turbocharged
1.3-liter gasoline engine co-developed with the Renault-Nissan alliance
to power the lesser versions of the range and a larger 2.0-liter for the
higher-end models. Customers will get to pick from manual and automatic
transmissions along with a choice between a front- and an
all-wheel-drive layout.
We don’t see a reason why there shouldn’t be both AMG 35 and AMG 45
derivatives, with 302 horsepower for the former and as much as 416 hp
for the latter in the “S” flavor. However, it’s highly unlikely the
Affalterbach-tuned GLAs will be available from day one as logic tells us
the amped-up models will be launched in 2020.
If memory serves us well, a product roadmap
released by Mercedes showed a GLA Coupe earmarked for a 2017 release,
along with a pickup truck. While the latter went on to become the Nissan
Navara-based X-Class posh workhorse, the swoopy compact SUV is still
nowhere to be found. That product roadmap was actually updated soon
after emerging online, with the GLA Coupe being eliminated. Is it still planned? Your guess is as good as ours.
