Mercedes GLA: New B Class SUV in 2013

Mercedes GLA based on the new B Class (pictured)

Another Mercedes niche car based on the new A Class platform will arrive in 2013 as the compact SUV Mercedes GLA.

Mercedes’ nomenclature has got confusing in recent years so it’s quite hard to pin down exactly what they’re likely to call a new car we know is coming but which isn’t yet official.

But it does now seem clear that the compact SUV we’ll see from Mercedes in 2013 – and based on the same platform as the new A and B Class – will be the Mercedes GLA.

On that basis Mercedes will be able to offer a compact SUV with the footprint of the new B Class – which will mean more space than most of the likely competition – and a choice of FWD or 4WD as we know the new Mercedes MFA Platform can already accommodate 4WD for the upcoming A Class AMG.

Expect engines to mirror what’s on offer in the new A and B Class, although whether Mercedes will go the whole hog and offer a GLA AMG with the 300+ bhp the A Class AMG will get we don’t know. But don’t bet against it.

The Mercedes GLA – which will almost certainly come to the UK, unlike the boxy GLK – won’t be the next model spawned by the new A/B Class (that honour goes to the Mercedes CLA) but it should arrive by mid-2013.