One of my best friends doesn't 'get' cars.
Don't get me wrong, he isn't willing to spend money on some random piece of crap. He will do the needed research to buy a quality car, quality tires, where and how to get quality maintenance done, etc. He even has a dream car (Audi A8).
But a car is just a "vehicle" to him. As such, if he even chooses to rent a car at all during vacation, he'll pick the cheapest option that lets him do whatever he needs to do.
Pragmatic and reasonable, of course, but it's in stark contrast to my approach.
The rental car is part of the experience for me: get a car you hate, and you'll hate that part of your trip. Get a nicer one, and you'll enjoy your experience that much more. Not to mention that renting a car on a trip invariably means spending lots of time in it, so it may as well be one you're genuinely interested in.
This is why I reserved a 330i/A4/C300 for my recent trip to Winnipeg, for said friend's wedding. I knew that on top of driving everywhere in town
Turns out they were fresh out of that.
I got upgraded for my trouble – but in true rental car company logic, the next category up contained a cheaper vehicle... SUV > sedan, I guess, even though said SUV is smaller and stickers for $10k less.
Still hits my objective, so close enough.
Welcome, then, to the 2024 Mercedes-Benz GLA250 4Matic.
Even as a base model with only a couple options (Exclusive Trim Pkg + optional wheels), it's pretty well-equipped:
- Pano roof
- MBUX with nav
- 8-way heated power memory (Artico) leather front seats, with 4-way power lumbar
- LED headlights
- Blind spot assist
- Keyless Go
- Kick-to-open power liftgate
- Configurable ambient lighting
- Automatic parking
The list goes on.
All the materials inside are decent, too – it's mostly soft plastic, stitched fake leather, and a combination of fake and real aluminum. I just wish my initial impressions stayed high when I shut the door for the first time, while the door card creaked to all hell.
The memes are real.
Still, there's a lot to like. Almost all of the tactile controls are physical buttons or toggles (plus a clickable scroll wheel), the air vents look pretty cool, and piano black plastic use is at a relative minimum. It's a roomy little scamp by any measure, and the very comfortable seats are easy to adjust to the ideal driving position.
I just wish it had a spare. Not because of the obvious benefits, but because runflats don't mix with Winnipeg's lunar-surfaced streets.
This thing scoots, though. While the mild hybrid assist is best described as precisely that – mild – you still have plenty of juice to dart through traffic on Portage, or pass anyone on a single-lane road beyond the perimeter.
If you want your city "vehicle" to be nicer than most, I wouldn't blame you for picking one of these up. Its minuscule yet space-efficient footprint, extremely tight turning radius, and fuel efficiency (it can shut the engine off while coasting) tell me the smart fortwo is gone, but not forgotten at Mercedes-Benz.
If it could take a corner, and also not sound like a Corolla, I'd probably be pretty smitten with this thing. But as-is, for my ~$53k, I'm looking at however much used GLC or C-class Estate that buys me. I feel like you get a much more complete 'Mercedes' experience with those cars, from the driver's seat.
Key term is "from the driver's seat." If your main goal is to leverage the badge, look no further, because nobody but me seemed to notice or care about its shortcomings.
-Uroš M.
2024 Mercedes-Benz GLA250 4Matic
[five-door subcompact crossover; all-wheel drive, front engine]
[five-door subcompact crossover; all-wheel drive, front engine]
L4 16-valve, DOHC
Turbocharged
GASOLINE
[forward gears]
AUTOMATIC
w/ manual mode
48v
mild hybrid assist
13 hp, 111 lb-ft
0.9 kWh
lithium ion
[top speed] 214 km/h
[L / 100 km]
highway
7.3
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