2016 Mercedes-Benz GLA

Mercedes-Benz GLA

Mercedes-Benz’s GLA has always been the halfway house for South Africans who want that three-pointed star but aren’t keen on the bulk or price tag of a full-blown GLC. On paper at least, it’s what the GLA should have been from the start: a compact SUV with enough badge pull to keep the Joneses interested, yet small enough to slot into a tight Rosebank parking bay without breaking a sweat. You’re shopping in the same sandpit as the BMW X1, Audi Q3 and Volvo XC40, with all the badge-driven baggage that brings. Every current listing is used, not a single new GLA on the lot, with prices jumping from R269,900 to a heady R849,900. That’s a gulf that splits the market: you’ve got older, high-miler GLAs under R400k for the budget-conscious, and late-model, low-km versions nudging R850k for those who want the latest shape. If you’re clocking big distances, the GLA 220 CDI A/T 4MATIC is where your money should go. Four of them are on sale between R269,900 and R349,900, averaging just over 94,000 kilometres — the diesel’s better suited to that kind of life. The petrol GLA 200s are scattered across price bands, from R289,900 right up to R599,500, then a big leap to R739,800-plus for the newer Auto versions. There’s even a GLA 45 AMG at R329,500, which sounds like a bargain until you check the odometer. What tips the scales for Benz over the Q3 is the cabin: the switchgear feels properly considered, and the driving position has that premium upright vibe without any of the stiffness you’d expect. For South African buyers, that blend of comfort and class is what matters most when you’re dropping serious cash on a used badge.