The New Sporty 2016 Mercedes GLA 250 SUV Might Change Your Mind About SUVs

The 2016 Mercedes GLA 250 SUV is the perfect Sacramento Realtor vehicle.

We played hooky yesterday, which is unusual for this Sacramento Realtor. The last time I can recall playing hooky was in 6th grade, when I stayed home from school to play Bop the Beetle. I was such a dork. Today I am always working, but yesterday my team member and good friend Barbara Dow and I snagged time for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in Arden Fair which, believe it or not, I have never dined at, and then on to the Mercedes dealership to test drive a Mercedes GLA, one of those fancy schmancy SUVs.

I spotted a Mercedes GLA in a magazine. It’s a sporty look and a much smaller vehicle than you’re probably used to seeing on the road. Even smaller than a GLK. I like small cars. I’ve never particularly cared for SUVs unless I’m being transported from the airport to my hotel in Hawaii. Never thought I would consider buying an SUV. But I’ve been reading about the new fangled electronic gismos on 2016 vehicles that supposedly simplify your life while providing increased safety. Like a series of beeps if you’re about to rear-end another vehicle and brake assist, just in case you have no eyeballs in your head or you’re staring at your phone and not the road.

Barbara Dow at the Cheesecake Factory

The sales guy asked if we were planning to buy a car and continued with a series of questions all designed to guide us toward buying a car, but we just went with the flow. I didn’t know if I would buy a GLA or not, but I did want to test drive one. The car on the lot was an atrocious blue. The seats in the back lie flat and the trunk automatically opens with a touch of the key fob. It automatically closes too, just in case you wander off with an armload of groceries and forgot you left it open. A car for people who multitask. Perfect for a Sacramento Realtor.

Elizabeth Weintraub at the Mercedes showroom.

It’s got a fast response time and snazzy pickup too, although the short test drive from the Mercedes dealership on Howe to Business 80 and back up Cal Expo didn’t really provide an opportunity to slam on the gas pedal due to snarled traffic and all those pesky people in the way, but I could feel the power regardless. In addition, the front seat moves 14 different ways, which means a woman of my height can see over the steering wheel.

The sales guy became increasingly eager to talk about existing inventory, but it was crystal clear that the only true way to buy this 2016 Mercedes GLK was to order it from the factory, with all of the options one’s heart desires.  Remarkably, I have never ordered a car from the factory, but it was a ton of fun to discuss choices, color options, and features, and Barbara was a great help. Did you realize the Mercedes GLA entertainment option gives you an 80 GB hard drive to download your music to? I ordered the power sunroof, too, so it will be more like a convertible.

Don’t let the sticker price fool ya, you can easily add another $20K to the bottom line through options. The vehicle will arrive in January, probably about the time we get home from our winter vacation over Christmas in Cuba.

So now I have to decide whether I want to part with my Porsche Boxster. It’s a riot to drive. Although, I’m not really a two-car person and my husband doesn’t much care for the car. Not his style.