[Rajvenkat]

Hi

This is Raj . Present car is a 2021 Tata Safari XZA+ , previous cars owned include Range rover Evoque , Bmw 320d ( F30) , Porsche Cayenne diesel , Audi A4 2.0 tdi etc . Want to buy a luxury SUV which is primarily intended for city usage with one highway trip a month which is 600 km on the national highway.

Considering the Mercedes-Benz GLA 220D 4matic and BMW X3 30i Msport . Even though both these do not belong to the same segment , these two are in my final shortlist , considered and removed various other cars from segments below and above as well . The car will be self driven by me with mostly one passenger sitting with me . Want advice regarding which car is most suitable for my usage and in general which is the better car for 90 % city usage and 10 % highway usage .

[GTO]

This is not even a discussion . BMW X3 all the way. It is vastly superior to the GLA in almost every way.

- Bigger, more space, nicer to drive, way better quality. It's from a segment above.

- Buy a better car and keep it for longer - related article (How a more expensive car can work out cheaper (if you hold onto it for longer)).

- You've owned some really nice cars in the past. I doubt you'll be happy with the GLA. Even if you bring it home now, you'll get bored of it soon, keeping your car history in mind.

[NarediAni7518]

The X3 is a much more superior product in all the aspects in comparison to the GLA. It’s much bigger, more powerful, newer product and feels like a proper luxury suv, whereas the GLA is just too tiny for the price at which it comes. Also, the quality of materials used in the X3 is much better in comparison to the GLA. Go ahead with the X3 I would suggest.

[adi.mariner]

If you can afford the X3, then no need to even look at the GLA. Frankly there is no comparison at all considering the space and engine offered with the X3 are vastly superior to the GLA.

[Livnletcarsliv]

How is this even a right comparison/right shortlist - GLA diesel vs X3 petrol other than that both of them are from german luxury brands?

If I have all the money, time, energy, use case for an X3 (considering the cars you previously owned), then why will I bother to even look at GLA?

[Mahin_P21]

It seems like the X3 is clearly a winner as an overall package as it is a segment above the GLA.

But, by looking at your choices of your engine(fuel) types, it is clear that you are not inclined towards petrol or diesel engine types.

Also, your requirements state that you are going to be the one behind the wheel mostly and there may or may not be a partner with you in the passenger seat, which also indicates that there is going to be minimal use of the 2nd row.

Now taking the above use case in mind, there is a wild card entry from Mercedes-Benz that could be considered. It is none other than the Mercedes-Benz AMG GLA 35 4-Matic.

Keeping in mind that both the models that you are considering are AWD, the AMG 35 GLA is too an AWD vehicle. Further more, it is indeed spaciously compact for city rides and high-way rides too but that is a comfy situation for front passengers only I guess.

Had a test drive of the AMG GLA on Sunday and there is no doubt about its power. If you are looking for power and torque than maybe this is the one. Put it in sport+ mode and the car just roars. There is 306hp and 400NM on offer from this beast disguised in an elegant body.

Finally, I don't know about the sound system on the the X3 but the 595 Watt Burmester sound system on the Merc is good, but me and my dad both agreed that
the Harman/Kardon sound system(around 615watts) on the Volvo XC40 was better than the GLA's.

Hope this helps.

[Porcupine]

I'm not sure if you meant GLC instead of GLA? The GLC is a brand new model in the international market which should be launching in India soon.

But between the GLA and X3 the X3 is a no brainer, it's in a higher segment, bigger, better engine by miles and way more fun to drive.

[CEF_Beasts]

Instead of the GLA 220d consider the GLA 35 AMG, if you’re planning between the GLA and X3.

Otherwise the X3 30i is an absolute no-brainer!!

[Rajvenkat]

Thank you for the response . One of the main reasons for this cross segment analysis is that I felt that the mid-size luxury SUV segment is not good value . For 60 L on road I can get a GLA / X1 which is good for driving myself with 2 people on board . For 85 lakhs on road I can get X3 / Q5 which is again suitable for the same self driven but not so good to be chauffeured in ., And the price gap between and X3 segment and X5 segment is not much . While affordability is not an issue , wanted to find out what is the popular choice .

Yes even the GLA 35 AMG is very tempting , but concerned about the Ethanol blending of petrol . Only BMW petrols are compatible with ethanol blends of upto E25 .

I am 6 foot tall , so I like to strech out when chauffeur driven and was used to cars with great front seat travel and leg room like Skoda Laura and Mahindra Xuv500 as well when I'm not driving .

[sgmuser]

Originally Posted by Rajvenkat

Hi

This is Raj . Present car is a 2021 Tata Safari XZA+ , previous cars owned include Range rover Evoque , Bmw 320d ( F30) , Porsche Cayenne diesel , Audi A4 2.0 tdi etc .

Hmmm, I wish these are my options to select between. Very simple. X3.period. They way the X1 performs (which I test drove few days back) and X3 kinda double that plus looks more matured. No way I can compare these except for that absurd GLA pricing and snob value. X3 all the way.

[Tanmay_868]

Originally Posted by Rajvenkat

Hi
The car will be self driven by me with mostly one passenger sitting with me . Want advice regarding which car is most suitable for my usage and in general which is the better car for 90 % city usage and 10 % highway usage .

I hope you checked out the Volvo too.

We have both X1 20d and X3 30i in immediate family. After all these years, both the engine 20d and 30i just amazes us whenever we drive them. Mercedes’ 220d would be a no match.

While searching for replacement of X1, we checked out the Volvo XC40 and XC60 (B5, hybrid one). The quality of the interiors just amazed us. Even XC40 felt better than the X3.And what a amazing Bowers and Wilkins music system they had.

Drive quality wise too (only test drove XC60) it was good and definitely better than the earlier diesel XC60. Gear shifts were fast enough but not as much as the ZF-8 of BMW.