Mercedes-Benz GLA to arrive in 2014

It's the compact SUV that will take Mercedes-Benz up against the Toyota RAV4, Subaru Forester and dozens of hopefuls in the compact family class for the first time.

And it'll deliver a sideswipe to the Audi Q3 and BMW X1.

The GLA is previewed this week as a concept car at the Shanghai motor show in China, filling in the biggest missing piece of Benz's bold, new small-car picture.

It follows the A- and B-Class hatches, as well as the four-door CLA, leaving just one model to come (Perhaps a wagon? Perhaps a cabrio?) as the luxury brand drives down deeply into the mass-market showroom scene.

Benz is looking to secure its future by luring younger buyers to the brand with cars that are cheaper and much less conservative, before feeding them up through the C-Class channel towards its flagships.

In the case of the GLA, it's also building a stronger SUV presence that includes a second-generation GLK - similar in size to the BMW X3 and Audi Q5 - for Australia.

While Benz is talking mostly about the design work on the Concept CLA crossover, as well as the mechanical package for Shanghai - a 2.0-litre petrol turbo engine, seven-speed double clutch manu-matic gearbox and all-wheel-drive - the production plan for the car is already set for next year.

''The GLA will arrive here next year. It will be in the second half of the year,'' the spokesman for Mercedes-Benz Australia, Jerry Stamoulis says.

''If you look at what we've done with the A- and B-Class, it will be competitive in the segment. And well specified.''

Stamoulis is not talking price, but with the two-wheel-drive X1 and Q3 opening from $46,900 and $44,800, it's likely to have showroom stickers starting at less than $45K.

Based on its aggressive action with the A-Class that now threatens the Volkswagen Golf, Benz is also likely to also target upwardly mobile brands including Toyota and Mazda.

''It's a new category for us and this is one of the vehicles that our customers have been craving for some time. We cannot wait to get it here,'' Stamoulis says.

''They have always said there will be five models, and this is number four. We've already seen A-Class and B-Class, and the CLA which will arrive here at the end of this year, and now GLA.

''That leaves one to go.''

Stamoulis confirms Benz's overdue launch of the GLK, which was built only in left-hand drive until now, and says it's likely to land close behind the baby SUV.

''We're still working on the timing but we're hoping for late 2014. And it's also got some really cool stuff.''

The Concept GLA is claimed to be more of a crossover than an old-school SUV with a coupe-style roofline on a body that sits at 4.38m in length and 1.57m in height.

Benz says the message for the vehicle is ''Escape the Everyday'', which helps explain the Shanghai party trick for the Concept GLA.

It is fitted with laser-lit headlamps which also double as projectors, allowing the car to show pictures or film onto a screen or another surface - perhaps a garage wall? - from a wide range of sources including television and computers.

This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover