The latest Mercedes-Benz GLA is an expensive car, costing between R642 040 and R805 360 depending on the model chosen. With the risk of collisions for first-time learner drivers being high, many people would deduce that it would be better to learn on a smaller, cheaper car, where the cost of replacement parts is much lower.
On the other hand, the Mercedes GLA is one of the safest vehicles around in terms of passive safety equipment and driver aids, and this could well be a factor that comes into play, when allocating a learner driver in the family a vehicle to use.
The latest GLA – just introduced
Over a million of the first-generation Mercedes-Benz GLA cross overs were sold, and quite a number of those were in South Africa.
The latest version of the car, based on the new A-Class platform, was first price-listed here in March 2020.
Although it has a very similar silhouette to the previous GLA, the new car is dimensionally quite different. It is shorter, wider and taller, and these changes, according to Mercedes-Benz, were made to improve the GLA where it really counts – in the passenger compartment.
The driver now sits quite a bit higher in the car – the difference is a substantial 140 mm – and all round visibility is improved. There is also much more cabin space.
Ease of driving for new drivers:
The Mercedes GLA comes with two engine installations. There’s a 120 kW 4-cylinder petrol engine and a 110 kW diesel. The diesel has 320 Nm of torque, so something to bear in mind here is that the greater torque means quicker instant acceleration.
Both models of the GLA have automatic transmissions. This makes learning driving basics much easier, as there are only two pedals that need synchronising and that is the accelerator and the brake. Also there is no gear changing that involves clutch actuation.
Personally, I am against learner drivers starting off their driving careers on an automatic-transmission car. I feel it is better to learn the basics of gear changing, pulling away and stopping, on a manual car. It is much easier to convert from a manual car to an automatic, but very difficult to convert from an automatic to a manual.
Driver awareness, visibility
The bigger cabin space in the new model will make things easier for a new driver. So will the taller seat height. Sitting low in a car looks “cool” but nothing beats seeing where the edge of the bonnet is, or being easily able to swivel round to see the rear end easily when parking. On the other hand, the GLA comes with a reverse camera and park sensors, so this should help with minor scrapes and bumps during parking.
Driver Assist systems
If you order the special driver assistance package, your resident novice driver could have the GLA park itself as far as steering wheel movement is concerned. This package also includes lane change assistance packages, lane keeping assistance, and Distronic braking, which automatically slows the vehicle if a driver doesn’t notice a slow-moving or stationary object up ahead. There is also corner assistance, emergency brake assistance, which applies maximum brake pressure in emergency, and pedestrian and cyclist warning.
Other safety considerations
There are 7 airbags located in the GLA’s passenger compartment. What’s more the GLA has a rigid body-shell, so it’s likely to stand up well to a severe impact. At night, the sophisticated LED lighting system has automatic dimming, so it enables the learner driver to see clearly without dazzling on-coming traffic.
Such a good car can lull you into driving too fast for conditions
All things considered, a new driver is going to be pretty safe behind the wheel of a GLA. There is more than enough power but it’s easily controllable. What’s more the car’s cross over-cum-family profile will not encourage ill-advised speed-freaking in the way, say, an A45 AMG would!
The negative side of learning to drive on such an accomplished vehicle, with so many convenience features, is that the driver may not appreciate how things can still go wrong, despite all these systems. In a more basic car there would be plenty of warning that, for instance, the tyres are running out of grip.
In smaller cars, or even older larger cars, there is also more of an awareness of speed, and in a GLA, it would be all too easy to drive faster than conditions warrant.
Verdict
But if safety is your prime concern, then the GLA will be great for novice drivers. It’s not big enough to be intimidating, and has enough power to get you out of trouble but not too much to lead you into the deep end. If you can afford a GLA in the first place, and are in a position to make good on typical learner-driver bumps and scrapes (and Merc light clusters and the like aren’t cheap!!) then rest easy: your beloved learner will be in good hands behind the wheel of a GLA.
Incidentally, there are more-affordable pre-owned GLAs on the market, these being of the still very accomplished previous-gen version. AutoTrader currently lists over 170 New and used Mercedes-Benz GLA examples for sale.
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