oldguy00

Hi all, wife and I were at the local dealer the other day and saw a beautiful 2021 GLA 250 on the floor, mountain metallic with a bunch of upgrades (premium, nav, amg appearance, etc). Sticker price not including freight/taxes was about 54 Canadian (so....low-mid 40's US $$).

Haven't started any talks with sales person yet, figured I'd do a little research. Most car forums you go on, people seem to rave about their car. Here I find a lot of people seem to really not think much of the GLA. Is that correct, is it not highly regarded? Or am I reading too much into a few select posts?

Although we haven't looked yet, we were also considering looking at a Q3 or Q5, and BMW X1/3.

Thanks!!

190Efan

The 2021 GLA is the 2nd generation that's only very recently gone on sale so there hasn't been alot of experience with it yet. You might also try www.glaowners.org for more opinions.

Huey52

Yes, forums tend to attract folks with issues. Not many bother posting "my GLA is fine." But I will, ....

We have a pair of 2018 GLA250's in our family and they are very capable and highway/biway drivable year 'round. I regularly load up small project lumber and grandchild car seats.

We cross shopped the Q3 (have had Audi's for a decade) but liked the styling of the GLA better. Note that the 2020/21 is more of an SUV than prior years CUV so in that respect it compares even more so to the Q3.

If you're looking for something a bit bigger my prior Audi allroad (A4/A5 derivative) was the most comfortable long distance driver I've ever owned. And its 8" road clearance was almost that of a CUV. 'course you have to appreciate the "station wagon" aesthetic. The Q5 is bigger still.

At differing times I almost bought the comparable X3 and X1 but ended up staying Audi. Until the GLA that is.

moosehead222

From one "old guy" to another, We recently purchased a 2021 GLA 250 (first Mercedes) and in case it helps a bit these were our (my wife and I) experiences. We were "Saab people" and in 2016 forced to look elsewhere and selected a Subaru 3.6. Loved it and had the chance sell it for a premium and thought we would just get a new Subaru Outback. We did not care for the ride (suspension) and the engine. So we drove an Audi Q3 as my wife wanted a small SUV. We did not like the suspension, way to soft even in sport or whatever they call it. And we did not care for the engine. Too much turbo noise which seemed to kick in too early. Anyhow.....

We drive a GLA 250 with the 19" wheels and loved how it drove (suspension) and the engine. The reviews as you pointed out were mixed but it was a new model so we took a chance. There was limited stock in the US so we had to order one with what we wanted which was great. I did not have to spend an extra $1,000 here and there for things I did not prioritize. Within 2 months we picked it up and simply love it. On a good highway I can get 39 mph (recently based on a 200 mile trip) ... which is not why we purchased it ..... but we do not complain about that. It is very well made with little touches well thought out. It has a lot of extremely technical "stuff" and something like 3 million lines of code driving a lot of the features. So I will not keep it without it being under warranty so we purchased the extended an the pre-paid maintenance. So it is a bit more expensive than we were use to. It is still very early but so far, we are happy.

By the way, I am a bit of a stereophile and their upgrade seems to be well worth it by others but I was over my limit and did not get it. The standard stereo in the car is just fantastic. Hi-Resolution tracks are just awesome.

Everyone has different preferences but if it helps you at all then I am glad I replied..... Good luck.. Carl

oldguy00

Thanks for the reply! I think our plan is to go test drive the GLA again, as well as the GLC.