Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class Reviews

You can thank/blame (take your pick) Scottish engineer James Watt for the confusing way we measure engine performance in cars. He was the person that came up with the bright idea of measuring power based on a horse.

What is the safest car in Australia?

Mercedes-Benz has revealed its all-new CLA, the brand’s most technologically advanced EV yet.

The brutally powerful all-electric Mercedes-Benz G-Class has made its Australian debut and it comes with quite the price-tag.Called the Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology, the charged-up beast will set you back a cool $249,900 before on-road costs, while the limited-run Edition One is $299,900.That opening price puts it right up there in Benz’s catalogue, but it’s still not the German brand’s priciest SUV - that title is held by the Mercedes-Maybach EQS680 which is $327,990. The electric Geländewagen sits somewhere between the regular EQS450 SUV ($195,900) and the Maybach version.In terms of rivals, there really are none for the G-Class, but even more so for the electric version. You could look at other high-end electric SUVs like the Lotus Eletre which is $279,990 for the R version. Or something with a combustion engine, like the V8-powered Land Rover Defender Octa ($291,542).But the electric G-Class is more than its price tag. It packs quite the punch from its all-electric powertrain - the first time in the model’s 45-year history it’s been powered by electricity.Maintaining its ladder-frame underpinnings, the G580 features four individually controlled motors located near the wheels, all powered by a 116kWh lithium-ion battery delivering a WLTP range of around 473km.Combined outputs for the big Benz are 432kW of power and 1164Nm of torque.Mercedes says the 0-100km/h acceleration time is 4.7 seconds, before hitting an electronically limited top speed of 180km/h.The 400-volt system allows for a charge from 10 to 80 per cent battery capacity in about 32 minutes on a fast charger. The official energy consumption figure is 30.3kWh/100km.Given the off-road chops of the G-Class, Benz says the G580 can still “confidently traverse 45-degree slopes and drive along 35-degree angles”, and it has virtual diff locks generated via torque vectoring.There are various driving modes from ‘Comfort’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Individual’ for driving on regular roads, to ‘Trail’ and ‘Rock’ for off-road driving adventures.One of the G580’s tricks is the G-Turn function, which is when the wheels on either side of the vehicle spin in opposite directions, and that in turn makes the G580 do a full 360-degree turn on the spot, but Benz says this should only be activated on loose or unpaved surfaces off-road.A G-Steering function helps manoeuvre in tight spots with the wheels turning at different speeds, which causes slight oversteer and ensures a much smaller turning circle.Despite retaining the regular G-Class’s retro cool ‘block-of-flats’ design, Benz has added some touches to aid aerodynamics, like vents in the flares over the rear wheel arches, a small roof spoiler and more.Inside it gets the full MBUX multimedia setup including all-digital displays and a new Offroad Cockpit function. It also gets a ‘transparent bonnet’, which uses cameras to show a few under the front of the car during off-roading.It wouldn’t be a Benz without numerous options and options packs and they include a Night Package, Superior Line Interior Plus Package and a Manufaktur Exterior Package.The Edition One grade is based on the AMG line and gets blue calipers, different paint, and more high end interior materials exclusive to the grade.

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the price and specs for its all-new E 53 AMG Hybrid sedan as order books officially open for the upgraded model.

Mercedes-Benz has announced the return of the entry-level GLC 200 variant for Australia, bringing down the entry cost of its most popular model by $14,400.

The Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4Matic+, for now, serves as the CLE flagship. That means no V8, but a 'double charge' turbo and electric compressor enhanced 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder mild-hybrid petrol engine that nearly matches the Audi RS5 and BMW M4's outputs. All-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and adaptive dampers provide further grand-touring credentials – but does it drive like an AMG should?

The second-gen Mercedes-AMG GT coupe looks similar but changes substantially compared to before. The now larger body gains more seats and a larger boot, dramatically improving practicality. Performance is in the supercar league. 4WD and 4-wheel steering are standard, replacing the old rear transaxle layout, and a 50:50 weight balance aids handling. But is this enough to beat a Porsche 911?

Everything that could have possibly gone wrong for the German car industry has.Skyrocketing energy prices as a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine war, rising competition from China, the end of the German government's EV subsidies and dwindling global EV demand have strained the sector unlike ever before.And now, to add insult to injury, US President Donald Trump is vowing to slap 25 per cent tariffs on all cars imported from the European Union to the United States, a critical market for German brands.On our own shores, the impact of these external pressures is clear. In 2024, Volkswagen’s Australian sales fell nearly 17 per cent compared to the previous year, Mercedes-Benz's fell by nearly 18 per cent and Audi's by nearly 20 per cent.BMW is the outlier, with sales remaining steady at a slight 0.6 per cent increase on 2023's numbers, helping the brand maintain its lead as Australia's most popular premium brand by a comfortable margin.So, in a market where the odds appear so heavily stacked against them, how can struggling German car brands reverse their fortunes?Increasingly, it appears, by looking to BMW.Its success over the last 12 months and beyond has proven that the electric car transition can be leveraged to a brand’s advantage.BMW’s early investments in flexible architecture, which allows the same models to be built with internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid and EV platforms, has seen their EV sales start to command their global growth.Its EV sales grew 13.5 per cent in 2024 as the brand registered 2.45 million global sales and its M performance wing tallied an all-time record of 206,582 sales.Notably, the i4 M50 sedan, an electric version of the mild-hybrid 4 Series, claimed the title of M’s top-selling model for the third year in a row, showcasing the growing appeal for electric performance cars.Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz have largely focused on expensive EV-only platforms underscored by new model ranges, a strategy that has struggled to attract traditional ICE vehicle buyers.That said, signs of a strategic transition amongst these brands are beginning to emerge.Mercedes-Benz will launch its all new CLA later this year under both hybrid and electric guises, the latter of which is promising big advancements in range. Recent road testing of its own solid-state batteries could also see it register a major milestone in EV advancement before its rivals.Porsche and Audi have pledged to invest further in their hybrid and petrol technologies, as Porsche mulls a possible return of the petrol Macan under a new-generation model.Both brands’ parent company, Volkswagen, has said more plug-in hybrids are on the way, including for Australia, as the brand readies its ID.1 budget EV hatch for a proposed sub $33,000 price tag in early 2027.BMW, meanwhile, will debut its sixth-generation Neue Klasse EV batteries later this year, which are aiming to improve energy efficiency by at least 20 per cent compared to its current EVs, while offering up to 30 per cent more range.They’re industry-wide strategic shifts that indicate a turning point for the German automotive sector could be on the horizon. That said, any future prosperity will depend on how well its struggling brands can uphold their defining principles of sustained innovation and engineering excellence under increasing pressure.

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed pricing for its new CLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupe, which has officially arrived in Australian showrooms.