• Great driving position with good visibility
• Boot space, seats up almost as good as C-Class estate
• Rear legroom very impressive for two people

How much space is there?

The larger Mercedes GLB remains a more spacious and practical offering, but this new GLA has benefitted enormously from its shift to a genuine SUV. Its interior is hugely more accommodating and better finished than the previous model. It’s a little bit shorter than the last GLA but thanks to better packaging still has more space inside.

You sit up higher and more upright than before – the seating position is 140mm loftier than an A-Class – which is great for visibility on the road. Taller drivers may find themselves wishing they had a bit more headroom, though it’s certainly a cabin that feels spacious and in which you can get comfortable.

The windscreen pillars have been given a new shape to help you get the best view out the front, too. Though the same can’t be said for the B pillars as their width impedes over-the-shoulder visibility.

Thanks to the extra 110mm of rear legroom granted by a longer wheelbase (the distance between front and rear axles), the GLA’s cabin is perfectly big enough to fit four adults in comfortably. Compared to the old car, it’s a night and day difference.

The extra space in the back is also owed to a combination of its greater height – the body is some 10cm taller – as well as the new model’s more upright sides. It feels proportionally more like a larger B-Class MPV inside than A-Class, which is a good thing.

Boot space and storage

In the rear, the seats can be moved forward or back by 140mm and the backrest adjusted to near vertical, in order to maximise boot space. A 40:20:40 split-folding rear bench is now standard, while a height-adjustable boot floor is standard-fit, too.

There’s still a powered tailgate available, but one very cool feature is the new car wash function – which folds the door mirrors, closes the windows and roof, turns off the rain sensor, and sets the climate control to recirculate, all with one press of a single button.

Is it easy to park?

The GLA is compact and perfectly sized for small families, and is a car that’s easy to drive, see out of and manoeuvre. It’s barely longer than a Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and the higher driving position is beneficial for visibility when finding a space in a cramped car park.

Its compactness makes it easy to thread around town, and down country lanes. Useful touches such as parking sensors and a reversing camera aid getting the GLA safely into its slot. Self-parking is available, but it’s awkward to use.

Safety

• There’s a raft of cutting-edge safety equipment
• Five-star Euro NCAP rating
• Some very clever camera technology

For a carmaker that takes safety so seriously, it’s no surprise that the GLA earned a Euro NCAP rating of five stars when tested in 2019. Benefitting from the A-Class’s technology means the GLA can boast a similarly high level of driver assistance.

The GLA gets autonomnous emergency braking and LED lighting technology across the range as standard, but the optional Driving Assistance Package gives it class-leading levels crash avoidance and mitigation systems.

With all of the options ticked, you get:

• Active Distance Assist Distronic
  Adaptive cruise control able to brake for stationary vehicles and ‘glide’ in eco mode
• Active Steer Assist and Lane Change Assist
  Keeps you in your lane under normal driving conditions and helps steers left or right in response to the indicators
• Active Emergency Braking Assist
  Automatically unlocks the doors and starts an SOS call in the event of a crash
• Active Speed Limit Assist
  Adjusts the cruise control speed to the prevailing conditions, including changes in speed limit, bends,roundabout and exit ramps
• Blind Spot Assist
  Able to pick up cars and bicycles, and works when the car is stationary with the drive about to open the door
• Crosswalk Assist
  Spots pedestrians at zebra crossings and warns the driver
• Active Brake Assist 
  With cross-traffic function – this brakes the vehicle to avoid collisions in front, but also from crossing vehicles and cyclists.