Mercedes-Benz GLA 200 d 4Matic AMG Line Auto 2017 first drive

Lovers of small, premium SUVs lend me your ears, for there is news to tell - and if UK car sales reports are anything to go buy, that should be quite a few ears. Indeed, if you were heading out (physically or digitally) to buy a Mercedes-Benz GLA this weekend, it might be worth holding off, because there's an updated one just around the corner.

The engine line-up remains the same: there's a 2.1-litre four-cylinder diesel in 134bhp 200 d and 175bhp 220 d forms, a 154bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol (200) or a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol as the 208bhp 250 or the range-topping, 376bhp Mercedes-AMG GLA 45.

The 200 d we're driving has traditionally been the best-seller and should continue to be so, with official fuel economy of 67.3mpg and CO2 emissions of 110g/km, albeit in front-wheel-drive form. 

This year's revisions start with a new front grille, headlights and bumpers, plus interior trim upgrades. They also include different alloy wheel choices and a new paint option: Canyon Beige. All GLA's now come with keyless entry and start, a reversing camera, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring and Mercedes's 30mm-raised off-road comfort suspension chassis as standard. Two special edition models (White Art and GLA 45-only Yellow Night) are now available.

Mercedes-Benz's strong brand image and the GLA's sleek looks have thus far ensured decent sales, but it's true that the GLA's ride comfort and general refinement have been unbefitting of its badge. So, the question is, has this new model closed in on its rivals, the Audi Q3 and BMW X1, in these regards?

To drive? Well, this won't seem the most professional start to an Autocar review, but we're not 100% sure. You see, while every UK GLA will come with that 30mm-raised suspension (aside from the GLA 45 which gets an AMG-specific sports set-up), none of the test cars available to drive had it fitted. They did, however, have adjustable dampers (£595), although those will only be available on cars in AMG Line trim. Still with me?

As such, our 200 d rode much the same as the old car did on lower adaptive Comfort suspension, which is to say, not particularly well. Even without the extra height in place, our GLA felt vertically loose over crests and into dips in Comfort driving mode, and although it was better controlled in Sport mode, it suffered a more fidgety secondary ride as a trade-off.

Comfort mode also makes the steering too light, while Sport gives it too much resistance - neither communicates anything of much use back to the driver. There are certainly high lateral grip levels, and our 4Matic four-wheel-drive car showed decent wet-weather traction, but the GLA never feels eager to change direction or comfortable being hustled through bends. Of course, we'll have to wait until we drive a UK-spec car before we can confirm if any of this improves.