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Marton Pettendy24 Oct 2014
NEWS

Small SUV joins AMG fray

Hottest GLA crossover to help AMG reach 10,000 sales in Australia this year
Mercedes-AMG will notch up 10,000 sales in Australia in November and 2500 sales this year, thanks in part to this week's launch of its newest hot four – the GLA 45 AMG.
In fact, AMG has already surpassed the 2000 sales mark this year, doubling its record 2013 sales and cementing its position as Australia's favourite European performance brand ahead of BMW M (about 1000 sales) and Audi Sport, which has sold about 750 S, R and RS models so far this year.
Driven by its new four-cylinder A 45 hatch, CLA 45 sedan and now GLA 45 crossover models, the sales explosion means AMG models now account for about eight per cent of overall Mercedes-Benz sales and, per capita, continues to make AMG more popular in Australia than any other country.
Mercedes already holds about 300 orders for the GLA 45 and, although it will receive only 100 from the factory this year, says it could eventually eclipse the A 45 as Australia's top-selling AMG – a title that has traditionally gone to the C 63.
However, the new C 63 sedan is not due here until mid-2015, leaving only the C 63 coupe on sale. But the new AMG sedan has already attracted 1000 pre-orders, and should turn the tables on the A 45. Of the near-10,000 AMGs sold in Australia, more than a third were C 63s.
Mercedes has received a larger allocation of AMG's first four-cylinder, the A 45, reducing by up to six months waiting times that had extended out to 2016, and also hopes GLA 45 customers who order now will get their cars by May next year.
'Heavy metal' like the CLS and S-Class AMGs are also in strong demand, and the S 63 AMG Coupe (which makes its Australian debut alongside the GLA 45 at this weekend's Motorclassica in Melbourne) has already attracted 50 orders – more than an average year of sales for the CL coupe it replaces.
The 63 AMG will be the first S-Class Coupe to hit Australian showrooms, in February, followed by the S 500 and S 65 AMG two-doors by mid-2015. And the mechanically identical, V12-powered S 65 AMG super-limo will be made available here after all, due to popular demand.
The new C 63 AMG sedan will be followed on sale here mid-year by the all-new AMG GT super-coupe – Mercedes' first direct rival for Porsche's 911. Priced at around $250,000 in more powerful S form, it has already attracted well over 100 orders.
But AMG's biggest sales growth continues to be driven by four-cylinder models, three-quarters of which are bought by first-time Mercedes customers, and there's a fourth turbocharged 2.0-litre all-wheel drive AMG model to come in the yet-to-appear CLA 45 Shooting Brake.
For now, the newest addition is the GLA 45 AMG 4MATIC, priced at $79,430 plus on-road costs – $4530 more than the A 45 AMG hatch ($74,900) but $7470 less than the CLA 45 AMG sedan ($86,900).
Perhaps more importantly, the hottest version of Merc's smallest SUV undercuts its only real competitor, Audi's $81,900 RS Q3, by almost $2500.
Mercedes has sold 695 garden-variety GLA (200 CDI and 250 4MATIC) vehicles since April – about half the number of X1s sold by BMW and a third of Audi's dominant Q3 sales volume.
Based on the same modular front/all-wheel drive MFA platform as the A-, B- and CLA-Class, the top-shelf GLA also employs the same 265kW/450Nm turbocharged direct-injection 2.0-litre petrol engine as the A 45 and CLA 45.
Also like them, it's paired as standard with a seven-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT dual-clutch automatic transmission, 4MATIC all-wheel drive and idle-stop.
Running on recommended 98 RON premium unleaded, fuel consumption is 7.6L/100km, CO2 emissions are 177g/km and the 0-100km/h acceleration time is listed at 4.8 seconds.
Also common with the other 45s is the GLA AMG's standard equipment list, which includes 20-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels with 235/40 R20 tyres, sports suspension, AMG Performance front seats with black/red leather, AMG Night Package, high-performance braking, COMAND APS satellite-navigation, 12-speaker Harmon Kardon Logic 7 surround sound, red seat belts, Distronic Plus and Lane Keeping Assist.
That's in addition to the GLA 250's heated/powered front seats with memory function, intelligent light system and panoramic sunroof.
All GLAs come with navigation, dual-zone climate-control, Active Parking Assist, a reversing camera, Collision Prevention Assist, Blind Spot Assist, Pre-Safe, Attention Assist and Active Bonnet. 
The AMG's ride height is 25mm lower than other GLA models, and just 19mm higher than the A 45 hatchback, which is 150mm shorter and 37kg lighter, with boot space 80 litres less.
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