Cadillac Optiq vs Mercedes-Benz GLA35

What's the difference?

A taste test, but so far so good for the Cadillac Optiq, which is already my favourite model in the Caddy range. More space than you think meets a lovely cabin experience and a punchy powertrain.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number of automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

Fast and small SUVs from Germany have arrived thick and fast over the last couple of years and of course Mercedes has to show off by having two, the GLA 45 will be along shortly.

A new addition to the GLA range, the GLA 35 is a welcome one, a step down from the brink of madness that will undoubtedly be the GLA 45 while putting itself into combat with the X2 M35i.

It's fast, fun and for a family, it's reasonably roomy, a sensible upgrade to an A 35. It's not cheap, but that doesn't ever seem to have stopped Mercedes buyers. I'm pretty sure the GLA 35 will be no exception.

I really like the exterior of this Optiq, and especially the front-on view, with its vertical DRLs and that bold Cadillac grille delivering real medium SUV street presence. 

You could argue the side profile is a little more vanilla (discounting the big wheels, of course), but it looks swept-back and sporty, and not as though it has been designed exclusively for aerodynamics above all else. That's a compliment, not an insult. Cadillac's engineers say every line and crease has been developed to help it slip through the air, but it does it without looking like a science experiment. 

The material choices inside are lovely, too. The brand says it has focused on sustainable and recycled materials (the centre console is made from tulip wood and recycled newspaper, for example), but the highlight in my test car was the fabric derived from recycled polyester fabric that lined the door panels and much of the dash. It's a refreshing (and comfy) departure from the norm.

Less positive is the level of Mar-a-Lago bling dotted elsewhere in the cabin, like the chrome ringed centre console and silver-tipped vent controllers. They jar with the otherwise dark, calming and modern-feeling space.

There are physical buttons galore, controlling all your climate settings along with steering-wheel controls as shortcuts for key functions, but there is also still a bit of on-screen action for things like quick access to your driving modes.

The tech looks fab, though, with the curve through the screen looking intentional and elegant and way nicer than the tablets plonked in a lot of EVs these days.

The new GLA's styling is much more obviously an SUV. One could say Mercedes was a bit timid first time around, but just about every car maker's first small SUV attempt was having a bet each way. Mercedes, however, really phoned it in, but got lucky because it worked. Put that down to the power of the three-pointed star. 

By the same token, it's not a wild departure from the theme set by the A-Class, but with thematic influences from the GLC. The AMG version now pick up the Panamericana grille and a more aero-aggressive front bumper, skirts and rear bumper, but does keep the tough unpainted wheel arch extensions. The AMG Night Package - which every other brand seems to call a black pack - adds a bit of menace.

Inside is almost indistinguishable from an A, which is a very good thing. The GLA ups the ante with the excellent, squared-off AMG steering wheel and a few extra buttons to choose the chassis and engine settings. The seats have lairy red inserts that might be a bait and switch to get the performance seats but that's the only mis-step in what is an otherwise excellent cabin.

The Cadillac Optiq is around 4.8m long, 1.9m wide and 1.6m high, which is slightly longer than your average mid-size SUV. And I would argue most of that extra space is located in the back seat, where – at 175cm – I had no problem stretching out behind my own driving position. There was plenty of knee room and, thanks to a virtually flat floor, no bulky tunnel getting in the way for the middle-back rider, either.

Headroom could be a touch more challenging. It was no issue for me, but there wasn't a ton of clear air between the top of my head and the raked roofline, so six-foot-plus passengers might be stooping. Still, if your kids are six-foot-plus, get them into the NBA and have them buy you a car instead.

Elsewhere in the back there are cupholders in the pull-down seat dividers, ISOFIX attachment points in each window seat and twin USB-C ports. There are air vents but no temp controls for backseaters.

The boot is sizable, too, with Cadillac promising 744 litres of cargo space with the rear seats in place and 1603 litres with the rear seats stowed flat. And kudos for not just providing a neat charging cable space under the boot floor, but also giving you a little zip-up suitcase to store it in.

There are two key stats worth knowing, particularly if you're a current GLA owner wondering what the point of an upgrade might be. The MFA2 platform on which it rides has a longer wheelbase and wider track to liberate more room for people and stuff.

The rear seats are roomier than the old car and make for a more pleasant journey for taller folk, who also have more headroom than in the old car. While we're back here, you get bottle holders in the door but, crushingly, there is no armrest and no cupholders.

Things improve in the front with a pair of cupholders and a wireless charging pad that fits larger phones and a long, shallow bin under the armrest.

The boot holds an okay 435 litres (the Audi Q3, by comparison, has a massive 530 litres) seats up and 1430 litres seats down and has a nice flat loading lip to floor relationship, to go with the powered tailgate.

One of the reasons there is a 35 version of both the A and the GLA is that the 45 versions are so much more expensive than the 250 models that there was a gap you could drive...well, another spec level through.

That's not not to say the GLA 35 is cheap - starting at $82,935, you're still paying a hefty premium of $15,000 over the GLA 250 4Matic. Here in Australia, that buys you 20-inch alloys, a nine-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, active cruise control, electric front seats with heating, sat nav, auto LED headlights, leather seats and steering wheel, auto parking, power tailgate, auto wipers, panoramic sunroof and wireless phone charging.

The MBUX entertainment system is superb. While it does have wireless charging, you do have to connect via USB to get Apple CarPlay or Android Auto up on the second of the crisp 10.25-inch screens. The media screen works as both a touchscreen and you can run it from the pad on the centre console. And a number of the many buttons on the steering wheel.

You can get the signature AMG shell seats for $3290 (good if you're not, er, generously proportioned) as well as 21-inch wheels for $1990 which I think look far too big in the arches and quite possibly ruin what's left of the ride. You can also go all boy-racer with the Aerodynamics Package for $2990. Tick a few boxes and you can easily get the GLA 35 to the mid-$90k mark.

My car had the Communications Package which has three more speakers for a total of 12 and rather usefully, a head-up display, all for a stiff $2490.

Five of the GLA's colours cost $1490 (Cosmos Black, Denim Blue, Mountain Grey, Iridium Silver and Digital White), one is $1990 (Patagonia Red), not even white is free but at least it's only $500 while Night Black is the sole freebie.

There is only one trim level and powertrain on offer in the Optiq, called the Sport AWD, and with it comes dual electric motors – one on each axle – delivering a total 224kW and 480Nm. 

That's enough, says Cadillac, to push the Optiq to 100km/h in a hot-hatch-feeling 6.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 210km/h.

Under the bonnet is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo with 225kW at 5800rom and 400Nm between 3000 and 4000rpm. Merc engine-spotters will spot that it's not a hand-built  engine with Fritz or Heinz's signature on a little plate like the "proper" AMG engines do.

Called M260, it's the GLA250's basic setup with more cooling, a water to air chargecooler, its own air intake and a twin-scroll hotside turbo that spins up nice quickly given its proximity to the exhaust header.

There is also an AMG exhaust with a flap you can open at startup by pulling one of the gearshift paddles for what Mercedes calls an Emotive startup - one imagines this will inspire some emotive language from your neighbours if you fire up at 6am. The paddles operate an eight-speed twin-clutch transmission driving an AMG-calibrated all-wheel drive system that can send 100 per cent of power to the front wheels and a maximum fifty per cent to the rear. An off-road mode locks the torque split to 50:50 if you're keen to take this thing into the loose stuff on shiny 20-inch wheels and sporty road tyres.

Mercedes claims you'll crack the run to 100km/h in 5.2 seconds. Yikes.

The downside of the Cadillac EV experience arrives here, with surprisingly slow charging speeds for a vehicle in this class. Remember, Australia's fastest DC chargers are rated to 400kW, and a vehicle like the BMW iX3 will accept it, taking you from 10 to 80 per cent charged in 21 minutes.

The Optiq, though, is rated to just 110kW, which feels a bit odd. The brand doesn't quote a 10 to 80 per cent time and instead says you'll accrue "up to 94 kilometres of range in 10 minutes".

Still, most people charge at home, and there the Optiq can be plugged into anything from a regular wall socket to a super-fast 22.1kW three-phase AC wallbox. 

The brand is promising a total 425km WLTP driving range with a fully charged battery.

The GLA carries an official combined cycle figure of 8.0L/100km. Over a reasonably wet weekend and a motorway-heavy run down the coast from Sydney along with some suburban running, I got an indicated 11.3L/100km. I thought that was alright given I liked hearing the exhaust pop on the upshift and I wasn't messing about in the corners. I'd go so far as to say you could get quite close to the official figure if you were paying attention.

First things first, this was a limited test of the Optiq, mostly stop-start Sydney traffic, so you’ll have to wait 'til we get the Caddy through the CarsGuide garage for a full and thorough test for a detailed driving review. But on first impressions, the signs are good for the Optiq.

The power delivery is rich and plentiful, and while it’s not aggressively fast, there’s more than enough punch from the line to get you up and moving in traffic.

It rides well, only feeling a bit brittle over properly rubbish road surfaces, and it offers a refreshing sense of connection to what’s going on beneath the tyres.

The steering can feel a little vague on-centre, however beyond that it feels direct but not darty, with a nice weight to the movement. 

The active noise cancellation and sound deadening appear to be doing their roles well, too. I drove past a roadworks site, and most of the drilling occurring outside was banished from entering the cabin. Impressive stuff.

Again, I want to spend more time with the Optiq before passing full judgement, but so far so good – it's my favourite of the Cadillac products to date.

Unusually for an AMG, the engine does not completely dominate the GLA 35 experience. That's clearly by design - this car is meant for the everyday. While it is hugely powerful for this kind of car, it's a friendly engine that's ready to punch you in the kidneys when you want it, but bumbles around happily when you're in Comfort mode. Which is a pretty good mode.

Moving to Sport amps up the engine but not the suspension, at least not too much. It's at this point you suspect that the 20-inch wheels may not be the right choice for the GLA 35 as the suspension starts to fidget on anything but the smoothest of surfaces. Moving on to Sport+ and unless you're really getting stuck in, it's fidgety and thumpy. One neat trick is that you can avoid all that with the I (individual) setting. Like the C 63, there's a dial for the drive select. But to make life easier for you, you can set up the I setting to your liking, meaning you can keep the suspension in Comfort or Sport mode while turning everything else up to Sport+.

The big sticky Continental tyres are terrific but they're surprisingly noisy. That's kind of the price of entry for a sporty German car, but you do have to raise your voice over the rumble on most surfaces over about 60km/h. The flipside is that you've got a ton of grip, wet or dry in the GLA 35. The throttle reacts quickly to your inputs with the power coming on quickly, the gearbox shifting smoothly (or firmly, if you ask it to). The paddles are very useful and when you're braking into a corner, you can hold the paddle and it will find the lowest practical gear. Nifty.

The brakes are four-piston calipers up front gripping huge 350mm brakes, the rears are single piston but still big discs at 320mm.

Steering is typically AMG, with a strong turn-in to corners and with enough feel to let you know what's happening under the tyres. It's never too chatty, so it's not a tiring car.

On the highway it does settle somewhat and the tyre noise calms down. The suspension keeps you comfortable in comfort mode and the engine is barely noticeable.

The GLA 35 comes loaded up with eight airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, blind spot monitoring, forward AEB (low and high speed), forward collision warning, reversing camera, auto high beam, lane keep assist, road sign recognition and reverse cross-traffic alert.

You can add front cross traffic alert and active cruise with the $1990 Driving Assistance Package.

You also get two ISOFIX and three top-tether points across the back seat for child and baby seats.

The current GLA has not yet been EuroNCAP or ANCAP tested but I would be staggered if it didn't breeze through with a five star rating.

The Cadillac Optiq is covered by the brand's five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which lags the similarly sized and priced Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Kia EV9, but is on par with the Germans. There's also five years of roadside assistance, while the battery is co vered for eight years or 160,000km. 

Service intervals are 12,000km or 12 months, and the brand says it is still finalising service pricing, so that’s something to ask about before you commit.

Rather than conventional dealers, Cadillacs are typically sold online with hands-on inspection at 'Experience Centres' - currently one in Sydney and one Melbourne. Service and test drive sites are also in place in Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart.

Mercedes has upped the ante on its German rivals by offering a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Service intervals are an impressive 12 months/25,000km. Under the capped-price servicing regime that runs for three years, you'll pay $2650 or an average of $883 per service. The third service is the killer, at $1250.

If you pre-pay your servicing, you can save $500 with a three-year plan for $2150. A five year plan is $3500.