With the recent unveiling of the Mercedes-Benz GLB,
the company’s new family of compact models is almost complete. The A-Class hatch and sedan, CLA
four-door coupe and CLA Shooting Brake, B-Class, and GLB are all here, yet one
model is still missing – the GLA crossover. Earlier this month we brought you
the most revealing spy shots yet of the second-generation Mercedes-Benz GLA and
now it’s time to see it without any camouflage courtesy of the folks from
Kolesa and one designer’s imagination.
Their Photoshop expert virtually peeled off the
disguising material from the 2020 GLA and the result is definitely
unsurprising. We say that because the two renderings reveal a jacked-up
A-Class, something the GLA has always been.
The second-generation model will follow in its
predecessor’s footsteps, emulating the design of Mercedes’ compact hatchback,
while giving it a more muscular identity courtesy of the increased ride height
and SUV-like elements. Those include the plastic cladding that surrounds the
wheel arches and the beefier bumpers.
More subtle changes include the position of the side
mirrors and the addition of a third lateral window that the A-Class lacks.
Expect the GLA to offer a similar package of turbocharged gasoline and diesel
engines, including the new 1.3-liter petrol unit developed together with
Renault. AMG-branded GLA 35 and GLA 45 versions should also become available
with up to 302 hp and 416 hp, respectively.
When it launches later this year, the GLA will compete
with the Audi Q2 and BMW X2, leaving the bigger and boxier GLB to deal with the
Audi Q3 and BMW X1.
