A little early for winter... my new ride! (Part 5)

[flipstah]

Is that a hanger? I'm a peasant so I only recognize the ones from IKEA.

[Mibz]

It's stiffer than it needs to be, that's my problem with it. I could live with it, but it's stiffer than pretty much every other "regular" car I've driven, as well as some aftermarket suspensions. It still feels like a modern suspension where it deals with bumps very well, I just think it's unnecessarily stiff.

That and the throttle response are my only two complaints. I disagree with "It should be driven over 3000 rpm at all times". It's not a Honda, but it needs to be driven like one.

But, again, neither of those things would dissuade me from buying one if I could afford it. Easily the best year-round daily commuter I've driven recently. Very easy to drive at the limit, very easy to cruise in.

[gpomp]

How does this compare to the Evo X?

[Mibz]

Originally posted by gpomp
How does this compare to the Evo X?

Find me a relatively stock Evo X to drive and I'll let you know.

[rage2]

Originally posted by gpomp
How does this compare to the Evo X?

It's similar. The Evo is better at trail brake corner entry, other than that, I'd say they're close in terms of handling trait. The Evo feels like it wants to rotate more, where as the GLA rotates but doesn't want to really kick the tail out even if you go way too fast into a corner (right Mibz? lol). Honestly, I think the GLA's handling brilliance is in the software, the torque vectoring (they call it Curve Assist) hides the suspension setups weaknesses, but it hides it well. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, because it's the same reason I don't enjoy driving the GTR. I haven't been able to turn off that torque vectoring yet. Even with traction control off, I can go balls out WOT out of a corner in the rain. Or it could be just the AWD system compensating. I'm not sure yet. Will need snow to really understand wtf it's doing.

The interior, no comparison. GLA is way more spacious, and much nicer interior, even if you don't option it as hardcore as I did.

Performance, the GLA45 will run circles around the Evo X. With that being said, if I didn't need to have space for family and crap, I'd probably choose the Evo X over the GLA45. I still love the Evo X, and find an excuse to test drive one yearly for the hell of it.

[Mibz]

I have no idea what you're talking about

But yeah, it GLA doesn't want to be sideways. I'm not sure if it's the AWD. The Cayenne was much easier to get sideways than the GLA, for sure, but it's got a heavy rear biased AWD system. Maybe the front wheels of the GLA are just pulling it out of the slide.

I dunno. Hard to say without knowing exactly when the nannies are kicking in and what they're doing. They don't make themselves obvious, but you know they're doing something. Every other car I've been in, you can hear/feel the brakes actuating to either stop a slide or pull the car into a corner. Maybe it's just a smoother system.

Either way, it's fun. I'm not sure rage2 will be able to make it do whatever he wants, but what it can do is, IMO, enough to not be boring.

EDIT: I'm super curious about the "GLA will run circles around an Evo X" comment now. I would've assumed the much lighter Evo would be a lot easier to throw around.

EDIT 2: A GLA 45 weighs less than a loaded Evo X. I think. Hard to find numbers on GLA options.

[Aznhulk]

.

[rage2]

Originally posted by Mibz
EDIT: I'm super curious about the "GLA will run circles around an Evo X" comment now. I would've assumed the much lighter Evo would be a lot easier to throw around.

Power. The GLA45 is much faster in a straight line. I'd argue the GLA45 also has as much, if not more grip than the Evo around corners as well. Even if it didn't, the power is pretty far apart.

Ignoring factory hp ratings, the stock Evo X puts out around 250-260whp to the ground, while the stock GLA45 puts out around 330-340whp to the ground.

Like you mentioned in your post, both cars weigh about the same, depending on options.

[schocker]

Rage, is your GLA a 2015? I see the 2016 CLA/GLA gets the updated engine from the A45 which is kind of dickish for those who bought early.

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/07/14/2...power-quicker/

[Loose]

Did you cross shop the Macan or SQ5? Or just buy it cuz it's a Benz?

[Mibz]

Originally posted by Loose
Did you cross shop the Macan or SQ5? Or just buy it cuz it's a Benz?

I'm not sure why you think the answer to this question needs confirmation.

[kenny]

Originally posted by Loose
Did you cross shop the Macan or SQ5? Or just buy it cuz it's a Benz?

rage2 cross shopping a vehicle? No star, No care.

[rage2]

Originally posted by schocker
Rage, is your GLA a 2015? I see the 2016 CLA/GLA gets the updated engine from the A45 which is kind of dickish for those who bought early.

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/07/14/2...power-quicker/

2015. I don't have any of the upgrades. Those will be available in November when the 2016's hit the dealers.

Originally posted by Loose
Did you cross shop the Macan or SQ5? Or just buy it cuz it's a Benz?

Originally posted by Mibz
I'm not sure why you think the answer to this question needs confirmation.

Originally posted by kenny
rage2 cross shopping a vehicle? No star, No care.

You guys are hilarious, but in this case, absolutely correct haha.

I wasn't even looking into this segment at all. I was looking at the E63 Wagon. When I saw the GLA45 in person, and realized it's more hatchback than a SUV, it popped up on my radar. After reading a couple reviews, I was sold. There's nothing else to cross shop against really. The Golf R is the closest competitor, but it's too small for my needs. I guess I cross shopped the X1, but glad I went with the GLA45 instead (my brother ended up with the X1 based on my shopping/testing).

Macan, SQ5, those are SUV's, not even on my list at all. The Macan was even less roomy than the GLA45 when I sat inside it.

I do keep sticking with Benz's because they're familiar, and they keep giving me loyalty incentives that makes lease rates better than the competition.

[benyl]

Originally posted by rage2

I'm a Benz Super Fanboy!

Fixed it for you.

[ExtremeSi]

Liking the all black colour scheme a lot. Glad you didn't go with the hideous AMG graphics package.

[vengie]

^^^

[ExtraSlow]

That AMG graphics package looks like a bad Arash photoshop. Brutal.

[rage2]

Yea, no clue wtf they were thinking with that Edition 1 graphics package. On all the other cars it looks a lot nicer. Here's the A45 one, this is what the GLA45 E1 should've looked like:

[Euro_Trash]

Do you know if the hitch (for a bike attachment) is available for the AMG? This ticks all the boxes unless it only comes with the roof rack.

[rage2]

It does not. Unfortunately, the hitch is Euro only (along with that badass bike rack) and ONLY for the 250. It's not available here because it's a metric hitch that's completely useless for our imperial gear here. Also, the AMG has a lot more exhaust work under there and can't fit the hitch.

Still waiting for an aftermarket solution, those too are 250 only right now.