Mercedes-Benz GLA200 2014 News

The uptown wagon market goes into overdrive as Mercedes enters the premium compact SUV sector. Shown this week at the Shanghai motor show, the Mercedes-Benz GLA concept becomes the third A-Class model and the first baby SUV to take on the Range Rover Evoque, BMW X3 and Audi Q3. Mercedes Australia spokesman Jerry Stamoulis says the GLA - heavily based on the concept shown at Shanghai - goes into production next year and is expected in Australia soon after. It will be shown in production form later this year at the Frankfurt motor show. Pricing is expected to be around $50,000-$70,000 to match rivals, with prices depending on drivetrain and specification. Mr Stamoulis says the GLA - which shares the platform and drivetrain with the current A250 hatch, the upcoming CLA sedan and the B-Series hatch - will be available with the same petrol and diesel engines. An AMG version is predicted by Mr Stamoulis says it hasn’t been confirmed. The GLA will be the second compact SUV from Mercedes to come to the Australian market within 18 months. The next generation of the GLK - based on the C-Class platform - is also on its way. The GLA repeats the styling of the A250 and other models with a large twin-bar grille and swept-back headlights. But it follows the A250 detail with coupe-style frameless doors, recessed door handles and wrap-around tail lights. The headlights have laser technology that shine more light on the road than other lights and can also become projectors. Mercedes vice-president of sales and marketing, Joachim Schmidt, says “the Concept GLA marks a new approach for us in the compact SUV segment’’. “This is a sporty and more coupe-like evolution of this category of vehicle. “It combines its sporting spirit with the all-round qualities of a tough, leisure-time companion. “It also makes clear the further potential of our compact vehicle architecture.’’ New Mercedes doubles as a drive-in theatre.

The drive-in theatre might be nearing its final act but the German car maker is trying to bring the good old days into modern household driveways. Mercedes has revealed its second concept car in a little more than six months that is capable of projecting movies onto a screen in front of the vehicle when stopped. At the Paris motor show last year the company revealed a tiny projector on the bonnet of its new Smart car, the baby of the Benz brand. Now the company that invented the automobile has released a new version of that technology ahead of the Shanghai motor show, which opens this weekend. The headlights of the new Mercedes-Benz GLA, a pint-sized SUV due on sale in 2014, double as movie projectors. The company claims owners can project any video on their smartphone or tablet via the system. But don’t hold your breath waiting for the technology to arrive in showrooms anytime soon, even if the car will. Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman Jerry Stamoulis says the technology is not yet confirmed for production. “It’s a concept car that shows what is possible,” he said. “Of course, if it became available, we’d love to have it.” Meanwhile the same system – which gives a new meaning to projector headlights – is also able to project directions (in the form of giant arrows) onto the road so drivers don’t need to glance at the navigation system in the cabin. “In this way, other road users, too, would be able to see where a driver is going,” the Mercedes statement said. This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling Find out more: Carsguide liftout

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

It will join the compact A and B-Class that are already public, going up against the Range Rover Evoque but with a body that's far less adventurous than the sellout British baby.    

The compact high-rider joins a range already spearheaded by the B and A-Class compacts already seen in Australia, with local deliveries likely in the final months of next year. It's a crucial car in a growing segment but is aimed more at the Range Rover Evoque than the Nissan Dualis. Here very late 2013 for less than $40,000.