Coincidentally, my friend Mr. Zhang recently became a "distinguished car owner" and bought a Mercedes-Benz GLA. As a car editor, I naturally won't miss this opportunity to visit the owner. Mr. Zhang, born in 1980s, is short and fashionably dressed. He runs an ordinary gym after his private company resigned. Although the age has entered the "middle-aged echelon", it is my first impression that there is no "greasy" in the conversation. After chatting, I learned that Teacher Zhang? After the turning points of life, such as "naked resignation" and "Entrepreneurship", it seems that some clues can be seen between the eyebrows.
Like the turning point in life, Mr. Zhang's car has also undergone a transformation, from the previous 16 Honda Civic to the current Mercedes-Benz entry-level SUV——GLA. Don't ask much about the corner of life, but what made Mr. Zhang replace the original Honda Civic with a Mercedes-Benz GLA with a completely different positioning?
As the conversation said, the brand aura of Mercedes-Benz does bring some necessary added value, which is the "facade" that Mr. Zhang needs.
The GLA purchased by Mr. Hou is a high match of 20 19 200 fashion model 1.6T, and a sports kit is added to the exterior shape.
The materials and workmanship of the interior have also maintained the high-quality standard of Mercedes-Benz, such as the large-area leather coverage of the center console, the suture treatment at the joint, and the damping feedback of the control knob.
Configuration, active braking, fatigue driving reminder, constant speed cruise, engine start and stop, automatic parking, uphill assistance, segmented sunroof, etc.
Although the wheelbase of 2699mm is ok, the utilization rate of the interior space is far from Mr. Hou's previous Civic. Also subject to the shape and body size, CLA's trunk is really small, which can only meet the loading needs of short trips.
In addition, Mr. Zhang also told Lao Bai about some unreasonable configurations. For example, the side warning light arranged behind the central control panel must be adjusted to the visible angle by the driver, otherwise it will be blocked. In addition, the storage slots in the front seats are too few and not large, and even the air conditioning panel behind them will be blocked after placing some common items.
The passenger seat has no electric adjustment function. Although the seat similar to the racing car shape is very beautiful, sitting in a place without headrest for a long time makes the head ache easily, so it is necessary to "install" a cushion to make up for it. In addition, for an SUV with a high ground clearance, it is really unreasonable that there is no reversing image on the high-profile model.
The power with small displacement 1.6T can suppress the noise well during normal driving, but the sound transmitted by the engine to the cockpit is quite obvious when the engine accelerates sharply when overtaking. Not being quiet enough is also the reason for "not running fast enough"
White concluded:
As mentioned at the beginning, an entry-level product of a luxury brand? "Car logo" can really give consumers added value such as "dignity" and "face". In some tangible places, such as quality control, it has also passed the passing line of luxury brands. However, due to positioning reasons, some functional configurations are relatively simple, which makes the brand tonality of Mercedes-Benz not well reflected in entry-level models such as GLA. Of course, due to the demand of social attributes, the brand power of Mercedes-Benz can really make up for the shortcomings, which may be the reason why most people pursue luxury entry-level models.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.