Let’s talk about compact luxury for a moment. Where once upon a time, every sahib worth his salt had to be hauled around in close to five metres of lavishly trimmed metal, these days, it’s perfectly acceptable for him – or today’s version of him, at least – to be at the wheel of a stylish compact luxury car. The flavour of the season is the compact sedan, what with the excellent Audi A3 launched in 2014, and the swoopy Mercedes-Benz CLA launching later this month, and the luxury hatchback invasion of 2013 before that. But let’s not forget what first introduced India to the idea that a relatively small car could still be a thing of opulence, command a price higher than Rs 20 lakh, and wear a fancy badge on its nose. It was, of course, the compact luxury SUV.
Brought to our roads by a shrewd BMW and its X1 in late 2010, the segment grew into a twosome a year later thanks to Audi and the capable Q3. BMW even updated the X1 in 2013 with more equipment, a new gearbox, new steering, more power and better interiors. Mercedes-Benz, however, missed the boat with nothing to offer in this segment at that time, and the cheapest SUV it sold in India was the Rs 45 lakh-plus M-class. Better late than never, of course, Merc has now joined the party with a bang and the seriously attractive GLA-class, and naturally, we’ve lined the other two up alongside it. They’re all priced within a lakh of each other, but bear in mind that a lot of price hikes are just around the corner, so that could change. Simultaneously, since it’s the start of a new year, you could get a discount on a 2014 model if you badger your dealer.
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
What makes this comparison all the more interesting is that these three cars, even though they’re after the same kind of buyer, are actually quite different from one another. You can tell by just by looking at them. There’s no doubt that the GLA is a stunner, what with its myriad lines and curves, beautifully complex headlamps and abundance of chrome; particularly the big, metallic ‘mouth’ in the lower front bumper. But it’s hard to get away from the fact that it looks more like a bulked up A-class than a proper SUV. This is somewhat made up for by the chunky 18-inch wheels, which do add a lot of presence compared to the other two and their 17-inchers. The BMW X1 goes to another extreme, looking in profile like a slightly lifted estate car which, given its origins in the 3-series Touring, is more or less what it is. The Q3 is the one that comes closest to looking like an SUV, with its more upright stance and bluff bonnet. And though the vertical-slat grille on this Dynamic trim looks nice, not everyone agrees on the clear-lens LED tail-lamps. The fact is, these are all meant to be luxurious urban runabouts and it shows in the way they look.
Move to the oily bits, and the differences continue. The GLA is front-wheel drive (AWD will be offered later on), the India-spec X1 is rear-wheel drive only, and this top-of-the-line Q3 uses a front-biased Haldex all-wheel-drive system. Correspondingly, the Audi and Mercedes use transversely placed engines, while the BMW slots its motor lengthways. The GLA and Q3 use seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes, while the BMW uses its version of the tried and tested ZF-sourced eight-speed auto ‘box.
There’s also no getting away from the fact that, with monocoque chassis and an average of about 180mm of ground clearance, none of these cars is a serious off-roader. All four cars use independent suspension all round, but the Q3 is the only one to get adjustable dampers. When it’s time to load up your luggage, you’ll find that both the GLA and the Q3 have rather high loading lips for you to heave your bags over. The X1’s lower access point is more convenient, though its 420-litre capacity is closer to the GLA’s 421 litres than the Audi’s 460. The Merc has the added disadvantage of having its spare wheel take up a whole lot of that boot space; the Audi’s is nestled in a compartment under the boot floor. Because the BMW uses run-flat tyres, it doesn’t come with a spare by default, but dealers will sell you one as an option, in which case, it too will take up boot space.
INTERIORS
As is the case with the outside, the Merc really wows you when you step inside the cabin, and there’s a real sense of luxury you get from everything you see and touch. The leather feels rich and is double stitched, the chunky metal air vents feel cool and hefty to your fingertips and even the plastics, though a little plain to look at, are of top-notch quality. If there are a few letdowns, they are the small, aftermarket-looking COMAND display screen that seems like just an afterthought, and the fact that everything is just a little too similar to the lesser A-class and B-class in here.
The X1 too suffers from a case of family familiarity, with a dash that could’ve been plucked out of any other BMW, but it has to be said that, here too, quality is all but faultless. The last time we drove an X1, the test car was in Sport Line trim, which gave it a rather grim-looking all-black interior with silver accents. The xLine trim we’re testing this time around uses more conventional beige and black upholstery and the silver trim is swapped for nice swathes of unpolished wood that really feel special; it makes a huge difference!
Considering Audi’s reputation for making superb interiors, the Q3 is a bit of a letdown. The grey on beige colour scheme looks dull, and the plastic and metal bits just don’t have the same solid, rich feeling as they do in the Mercedes and BMW. In fact, even the cheaper A3 has a better executed interior than the Q3.
The Audi, however, claws back the advantage with space and comfort. Entering and exiting the car is easier, with seats that are placed higher up, allowing you to just slide in or out. The GLA and particularly the X1’s seats are placed lower, so despite how high the cars ride off the ground, you have to lower yourself into them. The Mercedes also has rather small rear doors, meaning you have to manoeuvre yourself around the rear wheel arch to get in. Once you do, you’ll find that though legroom and headroom are more than sufficient, the seat squab is small, the backrest is too vertical and the small windows make you feel hemmed in.
The X1 does a little better in this regard, though its low-set seat is a little flat and not very supportive, and it has the largest transmission tunnel of the trio, which really eats into legroom. The Q3 has a very comfortable and supportive rear seat that’s placed at just the right height too, and because it’s a taller car, headroom is a bit better. Yes, the Audi misses out on a rear armrest, but it’s the only one to get rear AC vents, which is a trade-off we’d gladly make. Both the GLA and the X1 offer low driving positions like you’d find in a sedan, while the Q3 has you sat at a more SUV-like perch with a great view out. And while all three crossovers’ seats are pretty comfortable, the ones in the Mercedes and BMW feel a little more firmly cushioned than the Audi’s.
All things considered, though, each of these cars is best for four passengers only, and you could get more space for similar money in a more mainstream SUV, like a Hyundai Santa Fe; but that’s not the point of such a car, right?
EQUIPMENT
These top-spec cars each cost more than Rs 35 lakh, and for this kind of money, they had better be well equipped. Common to all of them are electrically adjustable front seats, leather upholstery, rain-sensing wipers, rear parking sensors, a panoramic sunroof and a screen-based infotainment system. There are, however, a few things that each car misses out on that the others have, and some features unique to each too. The Q3, for example, misses out on a memory function for the seats, satellite navigation and engine stop-start, but it is the only one that gets rear AC vents, front parking sensors and adaptive dampers.
The X1 has the full-fat BMW iDrive system, with a high-resolution screen and loads of functionality built into it, unlike the other two cars, which have scaled-down, low-res versions compared to bigger cars in the range. The BMW’s trip computer, on the other hand, is a small, monochrome display, unlike the GLA’s and Q3’s, which use colour screens and hold many more functions. It’s also the only one to get push-button start.
The Mercedes, unusually, gets only a manual air-con system, where the other two get two-zone automatic climate control. It does score a few other points though, being the only one with a rear-view camera and paddles to operate its auto gearbox.
ENGINE, GEARBOX & PERFORMANCE
All three use diesel engines we’ve sampled in other cars before. The Mercedes, however, is a bit different. It is in essence the same 2,143cc motor that goes into everything from the A-class to the E-class to the ML, but in this mid-level ‘200 CDI’ state of tune, it produces 134bhp and 30.6kgm of torque. This is interesting because Mercedes does offer a ‘220 CDI’ version of this engine that produces 174bhp and 35.6kgm of torque, which would have let the GLA compare more favourably to the other two on paper. This Q3’s 1,968cc motor, for instance, makes 174bhp and 38.74kgm, while the X1’s 1,995cc engine produces 181bhp and 38.74kgm.
Wish we could say the disadvantage was only on paper, but the GLA 200 CDI is over a second slower than either of the others to 100kph from a standstill, doing the sprint in 9.51sec, and it’s a similar story when it comes to kickdown acceleration. It’s likely down to the hefty 1,585kg kerb weight (the same as the AWD Q3), and Merc’s seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which though quick in its shifts, can be slow to react when you demand too much of it.
No, the GLA 200 CDI’s engine and gearbox work best when you aren’t chasing after acceleration records, and we doubt most of its owners would be. Drive it at part throttle and the gearbox will shift up early, even in Sport mode, and this lets you properly use its bottom end and relatively punchy mid-range, without extending into the top end – which is where it feels rather strained. It’s also not a very refined motor, and driving it in a relaxed fashion means you experience less of the loud bellow that comes at higher revs. It also has an ‘Eco’ mode that dulls throttle responses; if you’re driving yourself, stick to Sport or Manual.
The X1 too gets an ‘Eco Pro’ mode that has a similar effect, but it’s not as bad as the GLA because BMW’s 2.0-litre diesel engine is altogether more responsive. As you can imagine, then, in the regular drive or Sport modes, it simply leaps off the line with the slightest prod. While this is great when you’ve got a winding road and a mischievous desire to attack it, for most situations, this motor is actually a bit too highly strung and takes a little getting used to. Once you do, though, you will start to appreciate how freely it revs, and how eager it is to overtake – it’s a whole second quicker from 20-80kph than even the Q3 in kickdown. You’ll also love the gearbox, which works smoothly and seamlessly through its eight ratios, though given this car’s sporty personality, we’d have liked to have had paddles to flick up and down the gears with.
The Q3’s engine is the most refined of the lot, and like the BMW’s, it can build up revs very quickly. The dual-clutch gearbox is quick and responsive too, if perhaps not as silken smooth as the BMW’s torque converter. It doesn’t have an Eco mode like the others, but you can flick the gearlever into ‘S’ for better responses. All in all, the Audi’s powertrain is the best all-rounder – feeling effortless when you’re crawling slowly and still quite a lot of fun when you really want to hustle it along.
RIDE & HANDLING
Let’s start with the ‘sporty’ X1, whose peppy engine is nicely complemented by true-blue-and-white BMW driving dynamics. The centre of gravity feels low, the electric steering is superbly tuned for a great mix of ease and enjoyment, and if you’ve got the right road for it, this can be a really enjoyable tool. If you like driving your car hard, you will appreciate the rear-wheel-drive configuration too, and the balance with which this car goes round a corner is something the other two just can’t match. The trouble is, once the fun stops, the X1 is less than perfect. The ride is a bit inconsistent; good when you’re storming down a flat, tarmac highway, but introduce expansion joints to the mix and it will get caught out. It’s a little softly set up at the rear, and it uses run-flat tyres, so while it’s not too bad at low speeds through potholes, pick up the pace a bit and even slight undulations will cause it to bob up and down a bit.
The top-spec Audi Q3 now comes with Drive Select, which is meant to firm up the suspension when you switch it to Dynamic mode, but frankly, we could barely tell the difference, apart from a little less lean at the front when we really forced it around a corner. But that’s okay, because the Q3 has a well judged ride and handling balance in the normal setting. It’s good at flattening most bumps both at low and high speeds, and stability out on the highway is great too.
If there is an annoyance, it’s that the suspension is quite audible inside the cabin, more noticeable because the engine is rather silent. The steering is nice and light when you’re going slowly, but it could do with some more weight at higher speeds. Despite the AWD, it still steers very much like a front-wheel-driven car, but though it’s not the handling dynamo the X1 is, it will be more than good enough for most owners.
The GLA’s ride feels the stiffest in comparison with minimal wheel travel. The advantage, of course, is that it feels stable at speed and there’s not much body roll when cornering. The 235-section tyres offer up a lot of grip too. The corollary is that the low-speed ride is very crashy, and the car slams hard through bumps and potholes. The steering too is a little on the heavy side compared to the others, and while this gives you a lot of confidence when you’re going fast, it’s not as effortless as we would have liked when you’re parallel parking. Also, there is a fair bit of torque steer under hard acceleration and there is a tendency for the steering to ‘tramline’ over ridges. All in all, the dynamics of the GLA, like most Mercs on this front-wheel-drive platform, does have its flaws, which compromises the ride and handling.
FUEL EFFICIENCY
There’s not much separating these three when it comes to fuel efficiency, which is impressive for the Q3, since it doesn’t have an Eco driving mode or engine stop-start like the other two do. In the city, it delivered 10.5kpl – the same as the X1 and only marginally behind the GLA’s 11kpl. On the highway, the GLA retains its slight advantage, with 14.5kpl to the Q3’s 14kpl and the X1’s 13.8kpl. However, the GLA 50-litre tank is a fair bit smaller than the X1 (61 litres) or Q3’s (64 litres), which means you can’t go as far on a tank in the Merc as the others.
VERDICT
It’s hard to stress just how much of an improvement the X1 is after its 2013 facelift. The ride is improved, it’s much better equipped, the cabin feels properly premium in this xLine trim and there’s a lot more equipment. The responsive engine combined with the superb handling clearly make this the choice if you enjoy driving and have enough opportunities to really let this car loose on a good road. The thing is, it feels like too much of a focussed instrument for enthusiasts, one whose underlying shortcomings will be felt in the mundane, everyday use it will undoubtedly be subjected to.
The GLA isn’t all that much of a driver’s car, but for most, the gorgeous styling is enough to seal the deal. There’s no doubt you’ll feel like a million bucks getting into it outside a fancy restaurant, and when you do, you’ll be treated to a superbly trimmed cabin as well, where it really feels like you’ve got your money’s worth. It has its flaws – the ride is just a little too stiff, the rear seat comfort isn’t great, and the engine and gearbox combo falls short of the others. But image is important to buyers in this segment, and the GLA delivers on that front like neither of the others can.
But when it comes to an SUV, substance is just as important as style, and this is where the Q3 delivers even more. While the strengths of the other two are very specific, the Q3 is the better all-rounder in a variety of environments. But more than anything else, it’s the Q3 that gives you that proper SUV feel and that’s what matters most. Where the others seem like raised versions of hatchbacks and estates, the Audi looks and feels the most SUV of the lot. It’s also the only one, for now at least, that offers all-wheel drive, and it scores better on space, comfort and practicality – all typically SUV traits. And if the current car is good enough now, we only have high expectations for the facelifted version that’s coming later this year.
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