2024 Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 Review: Playful Luxury Comes With A Hefty Price Tag

Regardless of whether or not it's a G-Wagen, an impossibly luxurious SUV with the Maybach crest on the hood, or just your aunt's new E-Class, Mercedes' cars have a certain gravitas to them. The brand has managed to cultivate an instantly recognizable symbol of wealth and luxury. It's inescapable. When you bring AMG, the famous tuning house, into the mix, it becomes almost another animal entirely. You not only have a status symbol, you have one that's been obsessed over in every conceivable metric for the sole purpose of making it fast, too.

After spending a week with the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLA 35, turns out it's a bizarre vehicle. On one hand, it's a GLA, the brand's "entry" level SUV; on the other hand, it has over 300 horsepower and looks like it's always screaming. There's a juxtaposition between the luxury interior and the sporty exterior that works in a way that only AMG seems to be capable of. While the car is mostly cohesive, there are however some instances where its Mercedes pedigree competes with the tuning from Affalterbach. Not to mention, in typical Mercedes fashion, it's hardly a cheap vehicle.

If you were to be reductive, you could say the GLA 35 was a spicier GLA 250 crossover. But that doesn't tell the full story. While the sheet metal and general footprint are very much shared with the GLA 250, the drivetrain, exterior, and even the interior have not escaped the AMG treatment. The hybrid assist engine is a 302 horsepower, "AMG-Enhanced" turbocharged four cylinder that generates 295 pound-feet of torque. The 8-speed dual-clutch transmission and the 4Matic all-wheel drive system all bear the AMG name, as well as the drive mode selections, the steering wheel, the buttons on the steering wheel, and the suspension.

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If the rowdy exhaust note, extra aerodynamic bits, and gaping maw of a grille are too much, you will unfortunately find no solace in the interior. The GLA 35's cabin is bedecked in all manner of AMG badges, and there is even red stitching all over the inside to remind you the true nature of what, exactly, you are driving at any given moment. Red means fast, after all. 

If I were to have one major gripe with the interior, my ire would be directed towards the AMG steering wheel. It's not uncomfortable to manipulate and it achieves the primary goal of steering the vessel just fine. It's just — as we found with the bigger AMG GLE 53 — too complicated for its own good. Most of the infotainment functions can be controlled through the touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel, and that means there's pretty much an entire keyboard on the wheel.

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That's alright for functionality, but it will undoubtedly result in several accidental button pushes or taps while you're driving. More than once, I accidentally changed songs or hung up a call because I inadvertently pressed a button while turning the wheel. If that wasn't already complicated, the AMG drive modes are controlled through two tiny circular screens affixed to the steering wheel that were a little obtuse to operate. You shouldn't be able to accidentally turn off traction control with an errant button press that isn't clearly labeled. You can, at least, remap what those buttons do to avoid that.

Other than that, the interior is genuinely nice. Someone clearly put a lot of effort into the seat design and layout. I was stuck in a major traffic jam while driving the AMG and, while that would normally be an annoyance, I took it as an opportunity to let the car work its Mercedes magic. While the car was entirely stationary, I kicked back a little bit, cranked the Burmester sound system, and relaxed while traffic figured itself out. An hour and a half later when the cars finally cleared, I got back to driving feeling ever so slightly more refreshed. There's no other synonym for "comfortable" that can quite work in describing that the Merc just worked in a way that made the journey a whole lot easier.

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I applaud Mercedes for somehow making a traffic jam enjoyable. That said, there was room for improvement. Instead of a conventional leather interior that you might expect to adorn the interior, there was Mercedes' own "MB-Tex" microfiber material that was more akin to the upholstery on a stripped-down track car than a luxury SUV with an MSRP well north of $60,000. That's where the race-ready AMG-ness conflicted with the luxuriousness Mercedes is known for. It's a small quibble, but worth mentioning nonetheless.

As far as actually driving the AMG goes, it's an absolute riot. The suspension is stiff, the engine is loud, and it's remarkably quick: 0-60 mph takes 5.1 seconds, the automaker claims. There's something hilarious about seeing a tiny SUV take off like the Saturn V when you push the pedal to the metal. It's flat out a lot of fun. I successfully startled my friends in the passenger seats when hammering the accelerator and that's all I could ask for in a performance SUV. 

For many, the phrase "performance SUV" may still seem like an oxymoron, but AMG managed to get it to work in a way that made me audibly laugh while driving. Its wide tires, worked-over suspension, and 4Matic all-wheel drive system allowed it to stick to corners in ways that seemed to initially defy physics. But alas, I am no mechanical engineer or physicist.

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Being able to propel a crossover to speeds that are not approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in a matter of a few seconds is rather enjoyable. It's not "punch you in the face" fast, and it's not keeping pace with Lamborghinis or AMGs with a twin-turbo V8 under the hood, but it's definitely enough to have fun. And that's' really all that matters. Yet with all that fun comes the downside. It's not even remotely fuel-efficient for a crossover. It carries a combined estimate of 24 miles per gallon which puts it squarely in the "not great, but not terrible" category, yet that can drop to as low as 18 or 19 when you are really taking it through its paces. Since it seems to be happiest with higher octane premium fuel, fill ups are frequent and expensive. Yet, it may be worth it if "Spirited Driving" is your jam.

The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 starts at a very Mercedes-like $54,540. Add in the Manufaktur Patagonia Red Metallic paint, the AMG-ified steering wheel, the 20-inch wheels, the driver assistance package (which includes blind spot assist, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, and all manner of safety features, some of which you'd be forgiven for expecting to get as standard), the AMG Night Package, and the adaptive headlights, and you end up with a total of $64,650 for the car. 

There are all manner of words you could make when reading that price, and most of them are probably a variation of "oof." For reference, the base model GLA 250 starts at $41,850. Then again, this is German luxury we're talking about: even non-AMG Mercedes vehicles can merrily exceed six-figures. 

Is it worth well over $20,000 for the AMG treatment? That's up to you. It's not at all an inexpensive car, and it doesn't try to be either. Just like the BMW Z4 M40i we reviewed recently wasn't trying to compete with a Mazda Miata, the Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 isn't trying to compete with a Chevy Equinox. It's on a different playing field entirely. Yet, if going all-out while driving is your idea of a commute, the AMG might be your car of choice. Thomas Aquinas said "If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever." Similarly, if your highest aim while driving was to get good gas mileage, respect the speed limit, and be reasonable in any way, then this AMG probably isn't for you.