[quote=treehugger]I did it, sold the Prius and bought a GLA 250. I test drove pretty much all the competition! The new lexus SUV was really nice, similarly equipped a bit more money, and a bit larger, personally, I HATE the front grill and could not get over how much it disturbs me. The little lexus CT 200h hybrid is again a nice car, but style wise just not doing it for me (on the flip side one of my friends has decided she loves it and is selling her Prius and getting one), we looked at the audi 3 (not a fan), and the BMW 1 and 3, not really what I am looking for (fyi the new BMW 1 is coming out in a few weeks and sounds interesting with some really good deals on the current 1 series, but I think it looks similar to the audi 3). I even looked at the Mazda lineup they have a 3, 5, and 7, which are actually really nice but the 3 is too small and the 5 loaded ends up being nearly the same price. I really liked the Toyota highlander, but it is way too big for me and the hybrid is expensive.
Overall for looks I preferred the Mercedes GLA 250, just my preference. Gas mileage, performance, and price were also great, so for me the clear winner was the GLA.
I will say that all of the dealerships I went to were HUNGRY!!! The deals were fantastic, I got a fully loaded AWD MB for about $10,000 off MSRP and I really think that the Lexus and BMW dealerships were just as open to deals. Well except for Toyota Highlander, no deal there.[/quote]
Thanks for this post, treehugger. It sounds like you did pretty well, deal-wise! Did you sell your Prius yourself or trade it in? Yes, some of the Lexuses which came out in recent years (sedan, coupe and CUV) are tiny. I have to laugh at the recent and current ES models as its trunk is half the size of its predecessor! And the NT and CT are about the size of a Prius (well, the NT CUV could be a tad larger). I think Lexus is trying to now cater to a younger demographic to expand their devotee base, hence the “F Sport” model which debuted in model year 2013. Yes, I’m SURE that the F Sport grille, in particular, evokes a love it or hate it feeling but nothing in between from people who see it for the first time, lol … The grille on the 2016 model is even more obnoxious, as are the grilles on the ’14 and newer 4-Runners (borrowing the style from the FJ Cruiser). Gosh, I LOVE those new 4-Runners, especially the “Trail” Editions. They supposedly only get 17-18 mpg in the city, though, which was the same MPG that our Hilux SR-5 4×4 got back in the day. I really enjoyed driving that truck and even drove it coast to coast a couple of times (to FL and back). I was also the principal driver pulling a large skiboat to a family-owned lake cabin in flyover country (total of 39 ft long) and it towed extremely well, even with a manual transmission!
I DID read a review for the GLA 250 over the weekend and it stated that most of the models did NOT come with NAV or a screen of any kind and that it was extra. Did you get yours with NAV/Audio, etc?
