Mercedes-Benz GLA45 vs Holden Trax

What's the difference?

A performance SUV should be an oxymoron and is no doubt a niche product. Is it a high-riding hot hatch? Or a mega-potent small SUV?

Turns out the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 S is a bit of both and delivers the thrills of a performance car without any of the packaging or comfort-related issues.

While it is getting a little expensive at over $100,000, its blend of space and pace is hard to beat.

The Holden Trax looks nice enough and is pleasant enough to live with day to day. Like many others of its ilk, the Trax may be marketed as an SUV but that catch-call moniker, which has come to be accepted to mean that a vehicle is actually sporty and off-road capable, is misleading.

As an adventure vehicle the Trax falls well short – it needs a diesel engine and much improved capability (AWD) and space – but as a lively daily driver for a young starter, or a one-child family, then it’s perfectly adequate.

If you’ve got your heart set on a Trax and you’re patient, perhaps you’ll wait until 2020 when the next-generation Trax is due here.

The most obvious tell that the GLA 45 S is something a little special is the Panamericana front grille, an ode to the 1952 Mercedes 300 SL, which is found on all of the German brand's hot models.

But if that wasn’t enough to give it away, the reworked bumper with larger intakes, red-painted brake calipers, lower ride height, black exterior trim and 20-inch wheels should help.

Coming round to the rear, if the AMG and GLA 45 S badges aren’t enough to give away this car’s sporting intent, the quad-exhaust tips and diffuser are sure to give any tailgaters pause.

Our car also came with the optional 'Aerodynamics Package', which adds front fender flicks and a massive roof-mounted rear wing for an even racier look.

If you think the GLA 45 S looks a bit like a jacked up hot hatch, you aren’t far off. Overall, we reckon Mercedes has done a great job at translating the aggressiveness of its A 45 hatch to the larger, higher-riding GLA.

Without the aero package optioned, you might even call it a bit of a sleeper, and it’s certainly more subdued in styling compared to its Audi RS Q3 rival.

In fact, the GLA 45 S might be too subtle for such a hot SUV, at least for our tastes.

Whereas the A 45 S and CLA 45 S get bulky fenders and a hunkered-down, aggressive stance, the GLA 45 S could just blend into the sea of SUVs seen out on the streets, especially without the aerodynamics package added.

Your mileage will vary though, and for some, the subtler looks will be a positive.

Anyone who has sat in a recent small Mercedes should feel right at home in the GLA 45 S, and that’s because it shares much of its interior design with the A-Class, CLA and GLB.

As mentioned before, the 10.25-inch centre screen takes care of multimedia duties, but there are also clicky and tactile buttons underneath for climate controls.

Key to the interior design though is an all-digital instrument display, which is laid out on the high-definition 10.25-inch screen.

With two screens facing you, you might think it’s a bit of information overload, but you can tweak each display to show the information you want.

The digital instrumentation might not be as intuitive as Audi’s 'Virtual Cockpit', but the layout and design of the interior is easy to use and offers owners plenty of customisation to get it right.

It’s a small SUV and it looks sporty and outdoorsy enough in a generic sort of way. A nuggety stance, short-wheelbase and roof rails add to this Trax’s activity-friendly demeanour, without promising too much. Take a look and make up your own mind if it’s your cup of tea; I’m not your life coach so decide for yourself whether it’s cool or plain.

The new-generation GLA 45 S has grown in all dimensions compared with its predecessor, making it much roomier and more practical than before.

For reference, it measures 4438mm long, 1849mm wide, 1581mm tall and features a 2729mm wheelbase, but still sports a roomy cabin for four adults, especially in the front seats.

Storage options include decent door pockets that will accommodate large bottles, a deep centre storage bin, smartphone cradle that doubles as a wireless charger, and two cupholders.

Being a small SUV, the rear seats also afford plenty of room for occupants, with more than enough space for head, shoulders and legs – even with the front seat adjusted to my 183 cm (6'0") frame.

There are decent door pockets, air vents, and USB-C ports that should keep passengers happy on long trips, but the GLA 45 S doesn’t have a fold-down armrest or cupholders for the rear seats.

The boot, however, is where the GLA 45 S really starts to make a case for itself compared to the A 45 S.

The boot boasts 435 litres of volume, and can expand to a massive 1430L with the rear seats folded – making it about 15 per cent bigger than the A 45 S – while the higher load height should make loading and unloading groceries a bit easier. 

A downside of the GLA’s tech-focused interior, though, is that all the USB ports are now USB Type-C, meaning you’ll likely have to carry around an adapter to use your old cables.

Mercedes is generous enough to include one with the car, but given most device chargers are still USB Type-A, it is something to be aware of. 

Its interior is plain, but practical. The LS has cloth trim and expanses of plastic, which make it a bit ordinary to look at but very easy to live with in the real world because day-to-day life involves liquid spills, crumbs and dirt – lots of dirt.

Storage spaces include a narrow glovebox, narrow plastic door pockets, four cupholders in centre console (no lidded bin here) plus two in the rear centre armrest, and driver and front passenger seat-back pockets.

The rear cargo area is a 356-litre space with the rear seats in use and the cargo cover in place), or a 785-litre space with the 60/40 rear seats folded into the floor. For this to happen, the rear-seat bases flip forward into a vertical position and the seat-backs fold forward to make the ‘new’ flat floor.

The Trax is a front-wheel drive small SUV and the LS is the base-spec variant. 

Our tester – a MY19 LS with a 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine and six-speed automatic transmission – has a listed price of $24,490 drive away. The Trax LS is available with a five-speed manual gearbox, but it’s matched to a 1.8-litre non-turbo petrol four-cylinder engine. The turbocharged LS is the way to go, I reckon.

The LS has a stack of standard features for the price, including Holden’s MyLink multimedia system, with a 7.0-inch colour touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity, USB port and power socket up front, cruise control, rear-view camera, rear parking sensors, as well as hill-start assist, hill-descent control, and more. No Trax has AEB.

Our test vehicle has 17-inch alloy wheels with a space-saver spare.

It has an Absolute Red paint exterior; prestige paint colours are available – including Mineral Black, Burning Hot and Abalone White – but they cost an extra $550.

Powering the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 S is a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, outputting a staggering 310kW/500Nm.

This means the new car jumps up 30kW/25Nm compared to its predecessor, explaining (at least in part) the price jump.

The GLA 45 S is also the top-spec version globally. The 285kW/480Nm GLA 45 which is available overseas would be more directly comparable to the old car.

The engine is also the most potent production 2.0-litre on earth, and is shared with the A 45 S and CLA 45 S.

Paired to the engine is an eight-speed automatic transmission, which sends drive to all four wheels via Mercedes’ '4Matic' system.

As a result, the GLA 45 S will accelerate from 0-100km/h in a frighteningly quick 4.3 seconds, and carry on to an electronically limited top speed of 265km/h.

This is 0.4s slower than its A 45 S sibling, in part due to its heftier 1807kg weight.

Our test vehicle has the 1.4-litre DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder iTi petrol engine – producing 103kW at 3000rpm and 200Nm at 1850rpm – matched to a six-speed automatic transmission.

The turbo gives the Trax a welcome kick in the automotive pants, making the turbo-equipped variant the pick of the bunch.

Official fuel consumption figures for the GLA 45 S are pegged at 9.6 litres per 100km thanks in part to an engine start/stop system.

We managed 11.2L/100km after a few days of testing around Melbourne’s inner city and winding country back roads, but those with lighter feet will no doubt come closer to the official figures.

A performance SUV that can ferry kids and groceries, out accelerate  nearly everything else on the road, and sip around 10L/100km? That’s a win in our book.

This Trax has a claimed fuel consumption of 6.7L/100km (combined). We clocked up more than 300km of highway and back-roads driving, with a smattering of gravel-road driving thrown in. We recorded 10.7L/100km, which is much thirstier than claimed. 

If the bespoke styling wasn’t enough of a giveaway, all it takes to realise you are behind the wheel of something special is to turn on the GLA 45 S.

The prodigious engine is fantastic in the A 45 S and CLA 45 S and is no different here.

With peak power coming in at a heady 6750rpm and maximum torque available from 5000-5250rpm, the GLA 45 S likes to rev and makes it feel a little like a naturally aspirated engine in character.

Don’t get us wrong, once the boost becomes available, you will feel that shove into the back, but it’s great that Mercedes has made the engine perform a little more predictably.

Paired to the engine is a smooth shifting eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which is one of the better versions I've experienced.

Many DCT bugbears, such as jerkiness at low speeds and clunkiness when putting into reverse, aren’t apparent here, and the transmission is up to the task when puttering around town or when driving spiritedly.

Speaking of which, the GLA 45 S’ different drive modes will easily change its character from tame to wild, with available options including ‘Comfort’, ‘Sport’, ‘Sport+’, ‘Individual’ and ‘Slippery.’

Each mode will tweak the engine response, transmission speed, suspension setting, traction control and exhaust, while each can also be mixed and matched in the ‘Individual’ drive mode.

However, a missing feature for the GLA 45 S that is found in its A 45 S and CLA 45 S siblings is a drift mode.

Sure, how many small SUV owners are going to take their car to a track to make use of it, but it still would have been nice to have the option.

With three levels of suspension setting, though, the GLA 45 S offers enough variability to be comfortable around town and soak up the bumps thanks to its long suspension travel, while also switchable for a more involved, driver-focused feel.

The GLA 45 S might never corner as hard or fast as its A45 S sibling, but being an SUV brings its own unique set of plus points.

Driving position is high, steering is quite sharp and handling is tight and controlled, so there’s plenty of welcome driver involvement from the get-go. 

The turbocharged engine makes for a lively and responsive drive and, combined well with the six-speed auto, this 1376kg Trax offers up plenty of zip from stop-starts and oodles of oomph for smooth overtaking.

Ride is very firm, bordering on harsh, with rear-seat passengers* especially feeling the lumps and bumps of irregular road surfaces by way of the tight suspension. (*I believe my children.) 

Interior space is not an issue though as everyone can manage head and shoulders nicely in the tall cabin. The seats are lacking in full support though, making long trips not such an appealing proposition, and in-cabin noise builds early and becomes quite hard on your ears.

The Trax has a five-star ANCAP rating as a result of testing in August 2013.

The LS has six airbags (including full-length curtain airbags), dusk-sensing headlights, reversing camera, rear-parking sensors, hill-start assist and hill descent control.

No Trax variant has AEB.

Like all new Mercedes-Benz models, the GLA 45 S comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty with five years of roadside assist – the benchmark in the premium car space.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever occurs first, and the first five services are available to purchase for $4300.

This actually makes the new GLA 45 S cheaper to maintain over its first five years than the outgoing car, which costs $4950 over the same time period.

The Trax has a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and service intervals are recommended at 15,000km/nine months.