Video by Leah Carroll. Words by Donal Byrne.
It will be quite a while before we see Mercedes’ new GLA SUV in Ireland – 2028 in fact. The electric SUV will be the replacement for the Mercedes EQA currently on sale here and the EQ badging will eventually disappear altogether.
The GLA will have two battery options – a 58kWh unit and a longer range 85 kWh unit. It is the latter to which Mercedes is giving the headline treatment, claiming it can achieve a range of up to 657 kilometres.
This won’t be the first or the last time I have cautioned on claimed ranges for electric cars. They rarely reach the maximum range claimed by their makers and even Mercedes concedes in the small print that the range on this car depends on things like driving style and “non technical factors”.
You can take this as shorthand for motorway speeds, cold weather or other factors that can have a significant impact on range, even wind strength and direction.
Thus far Mercedes has not released any claimed range for the entry level 58kWh battery.
The new version is bigger than the current GLA, which competes with the likes of Volvo’s EX 40 and BMW’s X1. At 4.5 metres in length, it is slightly longer too and allows for 38 mm of extra legroom, which addresses the issue of the current model’s cramped rear.
The car will use Mercedes’ impressive operating system and there will be two screens, a 14″ infotainment screen and a 10.3″ driver’s information screen. Those curious about the car may already have seen images of the “super screen” that spans all the way over the dashboard but that big screen will only be available as an optional extra.
Other options will be a head up display over the dashboard, parking assist and a “transparent bonnet”, which will have imagery of what’s underneath the car when it meets difficult terrain. What will they think of next?
A 1.5 litre hybrid version of the GLA will also be available at a later stage. There are no indicative prices available yet for either version.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ