Family Road Trip
Images Axel and Joanna Catton
Map and montages Stephen McKeown
We’ve got the keys to an SUV that measures less than 15 feet long, tips the scales at less than 3,500 pounds and has a turbocharged 2-liter inline 4-cylinder engine under the hood. How’s that for a car to blast along the German autobahn?
European highways in a GLA
I had my doubts when that was what Daimler in Stuttgart offered us for our 10-day drive through five countries in Europe. The front-drive GLA250 is sporty and utilitarian, making it an SUV by definition; an all-purpose off-roader it is not. What we wondered was how suited it was to a highway trip.
We also wondered about choosing a GLA over a European market A-Class or an entry-level C-Class. At least it was the more powerful 208-horsepower GLA250 rather than the diesel-engined version that most Europeans buy.
And a good choice it turned out to be. My pre-eminent reservations against a compact hatchback calling itself an SUV were very quickly allayed. Massive 18-inch wheels inside bulging wheel arches with accentuated black lips pump up the car’s butch exterior. Even though we visited Germany in early April, we still found that heavy-tread winter tires on our car would be a very good thing.
No panels are shared with the A-Class, so the GLA has a look of its own, perhaps making it look larger than it actually is. Dubbed as a five-seater, the car offers comfortable space for four and its greater height provides occupants with more leg and headroom in the back than the smaller A-Class.
A sprint to Holland
We took possession of our GLA at Cologne Bonn Airport at the beginning of a busy week in which we would travel back and forth among five European countries: Germany, Holland, France, Monaco and Denmark.
First up was an early-evening sprint to Holland: Although I live in Great Britain, I had sent my classic car to Deventer in the Netherlands to complete its epic three-year restoration and wanted to take a quick peek while I was in the neighborhood. Holland has gained a reputation for its automotive-restoration industry, especially in high-end Italian cars. Hence, it was a no-brainer to send my 1972 Iso Lele to Lapré Classic & Sportscars, 45 minutes past the German-Dutch border.
The autobahn northwest of Cologne is supposedly speed-limit free all the way to the Dutch border. I use the word “supposedly” because this part of Western Germany is notoriously plagued with dense traffic, making the absence of a speed limit moot. But it did give us some time to get a feel for the car. From the get-go I found the GLA surprisingly agile and fast for a 2-liter 4-cylinder. The 6-speed manual (sorry, unavailable in the United States) was a delight to shift while the torquey turbo soon tempted me to skip a few cogs while shifting up.
Upon our arrival, a quick inspection and some witty banter was all that was needed to ensure the Iso was in good hands. The blast back was easier than the journey there as traffic had died down significantly: We were back in Cologne for a drink at the bar that same evening.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to test the 208-horsepower engine’s top-speed claim of 147 mph. The speed-limiting mechanism was activated on our car because it was still fitted with the mandatory winter tires. Once 130 mph was reached, we noticed a soft but distinct reduction in acceleration; that there was any hesitation at that point is a testament to the little 4’s pulling power. The dashboard display indicated what was going on.
Classic car show in a new car
The next day, we had to park the GLA at the airport in Cologne again – silly, I know – and take a flight to Nice, France, to drive the new S-Class Cabriolet and SLC Roadster (see The Star, July-August 2016). After finishing up the vehicle launch in France, we headed straight back to Germany to attend Techno-Classica Essen – the original reason for our trip.
As the largest indoor classic-car show in the world (yes, even bigger than Manchester), Techno-Classica boasted 2,500 cars on display in 12 halls and welcomed more than 200,000 visitors during its five-day run – a world record. From its humble beginnings in the late 1980s, the show has developed into a must-see event for any classic-car owner in Europe and a worthwhile target for any Mercedes enthusiast in North America. From Frankfurt Airport, Essen is only two-and-a-half hours by car and less than two hours by train. Hotels in the area fill up early; if you’re interested in the 2017 show, I recommend booking now.
My main focus was Hall 1 – the “Mercedes hall” – as I call it. During the past years, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have discovered the classic-car industry’s marketing and brand building power, flocking to Essen with massive displays of their old – and sometimes new – cars. Mercedes-Benz was a pioneer of the movement; the 2016 display was its most impressive yet.
In keeping with the cabriolet theme for 2016, the company brought a host of fabulous classic machinery from its museum collection to Essen: Next to the newest open-top cars, M-B fielded a Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster (W29, 1934-1936); a 500K Cabriolet B (W29, 1934-1936); a 170S Cabriolet B (W136, 1949-1951); the 300SL racecar (W194, 1952); a 300S Roadster (W188, 1956-1958); a 300SL Roadster (W198, 1957-1963); a 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet (W111, 1969-1971); and a rare prototype – a 190E 2.6 Cabriolet from 1990 – that never made it into production.
But that’s not all. Scattered around Hall 1 were displays from small companies, many dealing exclusively with classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Restorers, leather specialists, wood experts, engine refurbishers and – of course – parts and automobilia dealers. If you’re into classic Mercedes-Benzes, make sure this event is on your bucket list. Next year’s event is scheduled April 5-9.
Two testers on the road north
After two full days, we were ready to continue our trip north. We had 320 miles to go and wanted to cover them in a hurry. Our plans were thwarted when a massive accident and five-car pileup about a mile ahead of us on the autobahn stopped traffic for the better part of two hours. After finally escaping from the hold-up, we were able to give the GLA250 free run for most of the remaining trip. It was surprising to feel the power surge – even at high speeds – from the little turbo.
Reaching Denmark, we had to adjust to a blanket speed limit of 50 mph on country roads and 75 on the almost-deserted highways. Our first destination, a favorite of mine from childhood, was the island of Rømø. It’s the largest island in Southern Denmark and the only one that allows cars on to the beach. I was curious to see how the little front-drive manual SUV would cope with the sandy dunes that I remembered getting stuck in so many times before. Turns out the 18-inch tires with winter tread helped immensely; the GLA250 managed to free itself from any challenge that we encountered. I was impressed, to say the least. Maybe front-drive for such a small SUV is indeed the way to go.
On the drive to and from my hometown, I also enjoyed the help of a fellow reviewer, my daughter Joanna. She brought a homework assignment: to write about her mom and dad’s work. So as my testing assistant, I asked her about her findings. Illustrating her observation skills, she wrote:
“As an 11-year-old girl in the back seat there are a lot of perks. For starters the navigation system is in a good place for a manual car because in other cars when dad has his hand on the gear stick it can sometimes be in the way but when the screen is higher up and centered, like here, I can see it perfectly. In a new car like this one, the leather is very nice and smooth. The windows are also not blacked out, which I like because when I look out the window I enjoy that it isn’t darkening the view. From the outside, the car looks nice and modern. One flaw is that it is a bit noisy when everyone stops talking, but all in all it gives you a lovely trip.”
I really couldn’t have wrapped it up any better myself.
SPECIFICATIONS
2016 Mercedes-Benz GLA250
TYPE: Premium compact 5-passenger SUV
Four doors with liftback
ENGINE: 1,991cc turbo inline 4-cylinder
DRIVETRAIN: 7-gear dual-clutch
with FWD (4Matic 4WD available)
LENGTH: 173.9 in GROUND CLEARANCE: 8 in
HORSEPOWER: 208 TORQUE: 258 lb-ft
FUEL ECONOMY: 24 city, 32 hwy, 27 comb.0
ZERO-60: 7.3 sec TOP SPEED: 130 mph
Joanna Catton’s handwritten notations highlight major stops along the route of the family’s busy 10-day car trip onboard a GLA250 through Northern Europe in April .
FROM TOP: Axel Catton behind the wheel of the GLA. Family outing in the SUV: (from left) Catton’s brother and sister-in-law Piet and Susanne, next to Catton’s wife, Elaine. 1972 Iso Lele. GLA key; Catton’s passport.
FROM TOP: A few of many outstanding Mercedes-Benz automobiles at Techno-Classica included a beautiful 170S wagon, and (from left) a 500K Special Roadster, 300S Cabriolet and 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet, as well as a stunning tan-over-black SS 27/140/200 and a 300SL racer.
FROM TOP: The Catton family stopped in Ballum, Denmark, for pictures in front of the village church, which dates back to 1150. Rear view of the GLA. Joanna Catton checks out the available legroom in the back seat of the GLA for her review. Cars are allowed on the beach on R¯m¯, the largest island in Southern Denmark.