New Mercedes GLA does off-road - a bit (video)

With the new Mercedes GLA now revealed, Mercedes seem keen to demonstrate that the latest A-Class model can do a degree of off-road thanks to its 4MATIC drivetrain.

Mercedes want you to know the new GLA (pictured) can do off-road too.

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Mercedes are wasting little time in promoting the new GLA, with yesterday’s reveal of the A-Class Compact SUV coming with the first video trailer to whet potential buyers’ appetites.

But it seems Mercedes are quite keen to show that the GLA might just offer a bit more than soft-roader credentials if you opt for a 4MATIC 4WD version (initially available on the 2.0 litre petrol GLA 250 or turbodiesel GLA 220 CDI) in their latest promo video for the GLA.

We’re treated to the driver opting for a bit of off-roading down an unpaved road, frolicking at the water’s edge on a beach and generally enjoying the GLA’s ‘off-road’ abilities.

It’s probably a bit of a stretch to imagine the GLA has anything like the off-road credentials of the Range Rover Evoque, but with the vast majority of Evoques probably never seeing anything rougher than a boot sale muddy field, it’s not going to do the GLA’s potential sales any harm to show it can get a bit down and dirty.

It’ll be interesting to see if the arrival of the Mercedes GLA – and the Porsche Macan – early in 2014 start to dent Land Rover’s Evoque sales.

We doubt it will – especially if Land Rover get their act together with an Evoque Sport with some decent performance as a headline model to go up against the GLA 45 AMG when that arrives – but it could be a thorn in the side of Porsche with its bid to turn the Macan in to another cash cow.