Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 e review

The Mercedes GLA 250 e is right for you if you want a posh and practical SUV that will cost buttons to run if you have a short commute and somewhere to charge it. 

Cars that are similar to the Mercedes GLA 250 e include the BMW X1 xDrive25 and the MINI Countryman Plug-in Hybrid – both are posh SUVs that can run on cheap electric power for short distances.

Even entry-level 250 e's have a real leather interior (not the man-made Artico stuff you get in basic GLAs) with contrast stitching that extends onto the insides of both the front and rear doors. The armrests are padded and your get chrome finished door handles and pulls. Factor in the pin-sharp glassy infotainment screens – which, as you'll read later, are option dependent – turbine-style air vents, and 64-colour ambient lighting and you end up with an interior that's great to look at.

But not infallible. Exploratory trim pokes reveal plastics in the lower half of the cabin are hard and quite cheap feeling and closer inspection of the carbon fibre trims fitted to our car reveal them to be no more than graphics on a humble plastic base. Disappointing but not unexpected at this price point. 

More of a criticism is that cars don't come with the 10.25-inch digital instrument binnacle – something you get as standard in a Hyundai costing half as much. Instead, you're left with an apologetic single-dial surrounded by an expanse of black glass (and a good reason to go for a high-end model). 

You can judge the specification level of your GLA by its infotainment screens.

The conventional GLA range kicks off with Sport models which get two seven-inch screens, but GLA 250 e hybrids dodge this bottom rung of the ladder hopping straight to Exclusive Edition. 

Out goes the weedy seven-inch centre display and in its place, you'll find an expansive 10.25-inch touchscreen that also comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto fitted as standard – handy features which mean you can mirror your phone's apps on the car's big screen. 

Their graphics are colourful and pretty and the touchscreen understands gestures like 'pinch' and 'swipe' and responds to them slickly, plus you get Mercedes MBUX operating system which can – and usually does – understand colloquial commands so long as the phrase "Hey Mercedes..." precedes them. 

You can also you can use the touchpad in between the front seats or the surprisingly useful micro touch buttons on the steering wheel. 

Route calculations are completed quickly and, on this hybrid model, charge points are displayed on the map along with info on their availability. A wireless phone charging pad on the tray in front of the gearstick completes the standard kit list.

Haul yourself up the ladder one more step – to Exclusive Edition Premium – and you'll reach the GLA's infotainment Everest. That sees the larger central-touchscreen joined by an equally impressive 10.25-inch digital instrument binnacle. 

It gets a trick augmented reality sat-nav which uses a camera mounted in the windscreen to beam the road ahead onto the infotainment screen complete with sat-nav directions seemingly hovering over it. Like the best tech, this not only looks great, it's also practical. 

At this point, you also get an upgraded stereo – the decent 100W standard unit and is swapped for a 225W system with a subwoofer, centre speaker and a sprinkling of tweeters for clearer, heartier sound. 

One of the reasons you choose a small SUV like the GLA 250 e over a hatchback such as the A-Class is because it offers significantly more interior space.

Upfront, you can have your seat set high for the full SUV (commanding view) experience or lower it to the floor for the hunkered feel of a normal car and the steering wheel offers the same range of adjustment for both reach and rake. Meanwhile, the front seats slide so far back that even six-footers won't be able to reach the pedals when they're as far back as they go. 

The cabin's width means you don't need to worry about bashing your passenger's elbows and there's space for large polished aluminium pedals that make the car easy to drive even when you're wearing chunky boots, plus there's a rest for your left foot. 

Storage spaces are generous with large door pockets and a big glovebox, plus a deep cubby under the front centre armrest and a couple of cupholders. 

Even if you're a six-footer sitting up front, behind you passengers of the same height will have a couple of inches between their knees and the back of your seat. They'll also get loads of headroom, find the backrest sits at a comfortable angle and that there's plenty room to rest their feet under your seat even when it's at its lowest setting. 

A centre armrest doesn't come as standard but you do get a rear air vent, a USB-C plug and decent-sized door pockets. It's also worth noting that interior quality doesn't nosedive in the back – you get the same stitched leather and soft-touch plastics on the tops of the doors as you get in the front. Complaints? Well, the standard tinted rear windows do make the place feel a bit gloomy on an overcast day. 

You'll feel even more gloomy if you're sitting in the middle seat. It's tightly packed padding feels like you're leaning on a tombstone while simultaneously being wedgied by a pommel horse. The ample foot room for three people doesn't quite make up for this. 

Fitting a child seat is more pleasant. Marked Isofix points are easy to aim for and the large door opening, tall roofline and the GLA's raised height should make it easy to direct a seat into position at the first attempt. 

Boot space is another GLA strong point. Okay, so the electrical gubbins hidden under the 250 e's floor means that it's 50 litres smaller than in the standard car, but you wouldn't know it. 

The electrically operated boot lid reveals a large opening that makes bulky luggage easy to load, there's only a small boot lip to lift stuff over, and the back seats flop down under their weight for a total capacity of 1385 litres. You also get a couple of smaller cubbies on the sides of the boot, an elasticated strap for holding items in place and a 12v socket. 

The 250e uses a 160PS 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol that boosted by 75kW electric motor to produces a total of 218PS and 450Nm of torque through a quick and smooth eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. That's enough to get the Mercedes from 0-62mph in 7.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 137mph.

The clever bit is the electric mode that allows for a battery range of up to 37 miles and will happily accelerate up to motorway speeds on battery power alone. That raises the prospect of driving on cheap electricity almost all of the time if you have a short commute and somewhere to charge the car. Meanwhile, you can call on the petrol engine for longer drives or when towing because the 250 e can pull up to 1800kgs – much more than any pure electric. 

The Mercedes GLA 250 e displays something of a Jekyll and Hyde persona depending on whether you're using petrol or electric power. 

Drive enthusiastically and the former can sound very strained especially when anticipating acceleration in Sport mode, but drive at a normal pace and the electric motor hums along almost silently and will do so happily up to 70mph and beyond. 

Sure, there's some tyre roar and a bit of wind whistle but there isn't a small SUV on sale that doesn't suffer from these afflictions. 

The current Mercedes GLA has yet to be crash-tested by Euro NCAP for safety, but you can expect to do as well as the mechanically identical B-Class which scored five stars under 2019's tough regime. 

As well as the aforementioned autonomous driving aids, the GLA's kit list includes automatic emergency brakes and attention assist that can warn you when you need to take a break from driving.

The GLA 250 e has yet to be allocated an insurance group but the GLA currently spans from Group 31 to Group 37 and you can expect the 250 e to sit towards the higher end of that scale. 

The Mercedes GLA 250e is free to tax in the first year and costs £140 to tax every year thereafter, so long as you duck under the government's 'premium' tav rate for car's priced at £40,000 or more. Specify your GLA so that it exceeds that limit and you'll pay a thumping £465 every year thereafter for the five years after registration. 

The GLA 250e model line-up starts with Exclusive Edition trim. It looks sporty on the outside thanks to 19-inch alloy wheels, an AMG body kit, chrome grille and roof bars, LED headlights and tinted rear windows. Kit includes an electrically operated boot lid, a leather interior, a 10.25-inch centre touchscreen and a seven-inch digital instrument binnacle. You also get Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and wireless phone charging.

Exclusive Edition Premium models look almost identical but inside swap the underwhelming seven-inch digital instrument binnacle for the full-sized 10.25-inch version, get augmented reality sat-nav and swap the standard 100W stereo for a 225W item. They also add handy keyless entry, so you can open the car while the key's in your pocket.

GLA Exclusive Edition Premium Plus models get an impressive list of equipment to go with their impressive name. Along with everything fitted to lesser 250 e. cars, they add powerful multi-LED headlamps that mean you can use your full beams around other traffic, a panoramic glass roof and electrically adjustable seats with lumbar adjustment.