- 40,808
It seems like that this car is a competitor for the upcoming 1 series sedan.
Hey. I actually like the look of that. It probably still looks hideous from the front, but it looks surprisingly nice from that angle.
Mercedes-Benz CLA: The 1-Series Competitor We Didn't Know We Needed
- Thread starter YSSMAN
- 104 comments
- 23,247 views
Hey. I actually like the look of that. It probably still looks hideous from the front, but it looks surprisingly nice from that angle.
- 1,137
The engine of the 220/250 CDI (OM 651) is a piece of art. If it weren`t for those issues with the Delphi injectors, it could very well be the best engine ever build for a Mercedes car.
Im not a fan of estates, so I prefer the coupe
Maybe in 2-4 years used ones with 4matic (don`t want FWD) are cheap enough for me to buy one.@Tornado:
Im not a fan of the current 1 series, but I also like that picture of the sedan. I don`t know whether it is official or not, its from a german car magazine. I just hope they change the front!
Edit:
Well, I prefer this over the current one.
Edit2:
I think I solved the naming issue. CL stands for "Coupe leicht". A refers to the A Class platform.
The A class also gets a mini suv brother, the GLA. GL stands for "Gelände Luxus".
Last edited:
- 17,158
- United Kingdom
Not official at all, the next new small four door BMW you are likely to see will be the 2 series gran coupe, and you'll get a much better idea how that will look when the 2-er that's been seen testing starts to loose more of it's camo. The 2-er GC will at least be RWD, where as the 4 door 1-er saloon will most likely be FWD, like the MINI Saloon with which it will share it's platform. I don't think the 1-er saloon was due to hit until the next generation, but recent reports suggest it's being 'rushed through', and I'd guess it will share more from the 1 series Compact Active Tourer concept in terms of style than it will the hatch.
.. all based on rumours and speculation from Bimmerpost.
- 3,542
- Marin County, C
The amount ugly in this page is overwhelming.
- 21,286
- GR-MI-USA
- YSSMAN
- YSSMAN
Oh, okay. Well, not really sure if I really like it or not. It sure is pretty, but useful?
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
Still like it. And the drag coefficient is amazing. I'll be hoping for big things economy-wise from the diesel variants.
- 1,137
Its a FWD based on the A Class. It only features 4 cylinders right now, which are mounted transverse IIRC. I highly doubt that the bigger V6 engines will fit right now, maybe they will introduce them with the next facelift or its successor. Mercedes has now 2 different cars for the same market, I hope this one steals some sales from the Passat/Mondeo/Avensis/Mazda 6.
This car will never get a V8. Nobody with enough money will take a CLA 63 AMG (which would have to be AWD) above the C63 AMG, which is a RWD (4 matic Version also coming) and features a much nicer interior, is safer etc.
Edit: Maybe they will add a hybrid option. The OM651 (220/250 CDI) also has a hybrid variant which is used in the E300 Bluetec. That one uses 5 liter/100km (sorry, dont know mpg number), which is amazing for such a big car.
This car will never get a V8. Nobody with enough money will take a CLA 63 AMG (which would have to be AWD) above the C63 AMG, which is a RWD (4 matic Version also coming) and features a much nicer interior, is safer etc.
Edit: Maybe they will add a hybrid option. The OM651 (220/250 CDI) also has a hybrid variant which is used in the E300 Bluetec. That one uses 5 liter/100km (sorry, dont know mpg number), which is amazing for such a big car.
- 1,137
I hope the next CLA will be based on the C Class, not A Class. I know alot of people who consider to buy one (most of them are 3 series fans/drivers), but don't want a FWD.
- 21,286
- GR-MI-USA
- YSSMAN
- YSSMAN
In the United States, it's going to sit in a very awkward market position. While on the one hand it'll cost give/take about the same as the C-Class, my understanding is that it'll be a little bit smaller and a little less capable of carrying things. We won't be getting the hatchback A-Class, unfortunately. So, on price alone, it's batting above it's class, but it's main competitor would still be the 1-series and 2-series from BMW, which which we (thus far) know nothing of for our market.
The engine options, are supposed to be all turbo four-cylinders. Even the AMG model, which will get the drivetrain from the A45 AMG.
I wouldn't cross-shop this with too much here. The American Passat is quite a bit larger than this, and top-trim levels go for an entirely different level of performance. Same with our Fusion/Mondeo, where the top trim is a 2.0L EcoBoost model. The Mazda 6 could compete on driving fun, but, the price differentials will be pretty high.
- 8,217
- Drayton Bassett, North Warwickshire
- Duffers999
- Clark Duffy
About 95% of the population couldn't care less about RWD here in the UK. 4WD on normal cars (non SUVs) is getting more popular.
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
^ That. If people are honestly put off by it being FWD, they're probably idiots. Unless you like to pretend you're a drifter or regularly take your car on a circuit, RWD in something like this is pretty much irrelevant other than for e-penis points.
I've driven the A-Class. It's a genuinely nice car (ride is a little hard, but other than that it's fine) and not once did I care it was FWD. If you're not driving like a knob you don't notice, and if you are driving like a knob, you're less likely to stack it into a lamp post...
I've driven the A-Class. It's a genuinely nice car (ride is a little hard, but other than that it's fine) and not once did I care it was FWD. If you're not driving like a knob you don't notice, and if you are driving like a knob, you're less likely to stack it into a lamp post...
- 8,217
- Drayton Bassett, North Warwickshire
- Duffers999
- Clark Duffy
Sorry to anybody that does, but I couldn't own any Mercedes made after about 1975 (give or take one or two exemptions), I couldn't love with the image. This is another one I couldn't own, looks very nice but it's just too brash and 'blingy' for me.
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
I'd have one. Kinda prefer it to the 1-Series, inside and out. Actually, I'd have it for the geeky engineering reasons, like the fact it has the lowest drag coefficient of any production car ever sold.
I quite like Mercedes in general. It's only fairly recently they've started getting a bit blingy. A 190e is constantly on my 80s sub-£1k list.
I quite like Mercedes in general. It's only fairly recently they've started getting a bit blingy. A 190e is constantly on my 80s sub-£1k list.
- 1,137
Don't let you fool by the fact, that this one comes from the a class platform.The CLA has a shorter wheelbase then a C Class, but the car itself is slightly longer. I guess it will have enough storage room for a sedan. On a german car forum I saw a guy testing the rear seats, it has atleast as much room in the back as a e90 3 series. Also, a shooting brake version is coming too.
I don't know the US price, but in germany the entry model is going to cost 29k. So it cost about 2-3k more then a Passat entry model. I guess the Passat will be bigger and offer more room for drivers and passangers, but the CLA has very good engine options (Sadly only the CLA 250 comes to the US market), its a Mercedes (for some people the badge is important), Mercedes service is head and shoulders above Volkswagens, it offers customers more varierty in customization and don't forget safety (Mercedes passive safety is very proven).
I see this car as a rival for cheaper mid size vehicles, not for the "premium" ones from Volvo/Audi/BMW. Well, it tries to be the premium car of that mid size vehicle market
Atleast in Germany. I hope you guys in the US get a fair price. For me 29k for a entry model is too much. With good rims and equipment it will cost about 38k euro, way too much IMO. In my local dealership I could get a 1 year old E350CDI for 33k and a 1 year old C180 Coupe for 24k...
RWD is important. You won't get the +250hp engines with FWD . Thats the reason why the AMG version comes with 4 matic. AWD means alot more fuel consumption and higher running costs. Mercedes RWDs offer a good level of comfort, neither its bigger platforms (C/E/S class), nor the A class platform is designed primary as AWD. I have driven enough 4 matic C/E classes to assure you that the RWD cars are much nicer to drive.
Also, I live in bavaria, so many people drive BMW here. "Freude am fahren" seems to be very important. Like I said, I was talking about 3 series drivers
- 6,804
- The Netherlands
I like the overall look but those rear lights aren't to my taste, I think it would've looked a lot better if that shutline from the trunk would've been continued downwards, making the lights smaller (and needing a different design, I'd have done slim vertical ones perhaps) and that trunk bigger obviously.
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
Not particularly, apart from in the aforementioned scenarios.
That's as may be, but have you driven the new A-Class? I have - I've also driven the current 1-Series (specifically, the M135i). The 1-Series is marginally nicer to drive by dint of it simply having a nicer, more supple chassis, but by and large you'd not know which wheels were driven on either if you didn't already know.
A front-drive new A-Class feels little different from a rear-drive C-Class to drive, and unless you're driving a particularly powerful C-Class and being a berk with the throttle, it'll mostly understeer anyway. In fact, probably more than the A-Class, because it's RWD and set up a little softer and a little safer so people don't continually spin off the road like they used to in the olden days.
Incidentally, I doubt the A-Class/CLA will be particularly fuel-inefficient anyway. Both of them are two of the most aerodynamic cars on sale, and in regular driving I can't see the AMG being particularly worse than an A250 or A200. It's the same engine, after all, just in a different state of tune. Merc's 7-speed DCT is fairly efficient too.
Also, I live in bavaria, so many people drive BMW here. "Freude am fahren" seems to be very important. Like I said, I was talking about 3 series drivers
And like the C-Class, most 3-Series (Clark's old-skool 325i, and others of that vintage aside!) don't really drive much like a "typical" RWD car anyway. Particularly on the fat tyres most stuff comes with. You need to be really travelling at some rate on a twisty road before you can start to appreciate the balance of the car.
- 8,217
- Drayton Bassett, North Warwickshire
- Duffers999
- Clark Duffy
Exactly, even with 'sporty' stuff, like my mate's E46 Compact 325ti he says in the dry unless you were to use the handbrake or 'Scandinavian flick' it into the corner the front will always let go first.
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Hi, you have to excuse me, Im not a native speaker so I don`t know the exact words. With "nicer" I didn`t mean faster/easier to drive/sportier. I meant its more comfortable.
I have driven both C (W204)/E (W211/212) classes with the normal rwd drivetrain (I have driven cars with AMG package, Avantgarde/Elegance/Classic line) and the optional 4 matic version which is offered for some engine options.
The RWD cars felt generally comfortable and Im not the only one who says this. For example, pick any car mag you want and search for tests like A8 Quattro vs 7 series x-drive vs S-Class 4matic. In most cases, the journalist will describe the A8 as the car with the smoothest ride. Neither the S-class, nor the 7 series is mainly developed as a AWD car. X-drive and 4-matic is optional. The RWD cars do much better in that.
Yes, AWD has many advantages, but also some downsides. I guess families prefer AWD`s over FWD/RWDs. I don`t need a AWD, it would just mean a higher fuel consumption. I have driven the A Class too, but only for 2 hours. For a FF it really feels good IMO, but I still prefer the the C-Class.
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
Ah, that makes more sense - having driven A/B/C and E classes I can confirm that they generally get better-riding the bigger they get. That said, you'll find that with most stuff.
I fear this has gone slightly off the original point, which is that front-wheel drive isn't really a problem with the CLA. The RWD/FWD thing isn't much to do with the ride quality you describe, it's simply a difference in how they're set up to appeal to different customers.
- 27,213
- United Kingdom
Had a look at one in the metal today at Merc UK HQ.
Have to say, looked awesome. Was in matte silver paint. Mine would still be whatever the top-end diesel was, with the DCT 'box and Engineered by AMG trim (if they're doing that on the CLA, as they do on the A-Class). If it's anything like the A-Class the ride will be pretty bad, but not bad enough that I'd be complaining.
Have to say, looked awesome. Was in matte silver paint. Mine would still be whatever the top-end diesel was, with the DCT 'box and Engineered by AMG trim (if they're doing that on the CLA, as they do on the A-Class). If it's anything like the A-Class the ride will be pretty bad, but not bad enough that I'd be complaining.
- 5,303
- Riverside, Ca
- GTP_Leonidae_MFT
Why did they borrow taillights from Huyndai?
- 7,284
- Inverness, Scotland
- GTP_PaulMac/paulmac2k9
I love the look of it 
, allways prefered Mercs to BMWs, this one seems to be no exception. If I had the money I would buy one..
As for it being Fwd, for me that just makes it better
.
, allways prefered Mercs to BMWs, this one seems to be no exception. If I had the money I would buy one.. As for it being Fwd, for me that just makes it better
.
- 26,882
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
Front-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz. People would think the world's going to Hell or living a nightmare to have "FWD" and "Mercedes-Benz" in the same sentence and describing the same car. Then again, I've always thought the A110 of the late 1990s was a FWD car. Is that true, or have I been playing too much Gran Turismo?
Something I have been thinking about lately for some cars is imagning them as coupes or sedans. And so for this car, I think this car would probably look better as a two-door coupe than some "four-door coupe" or whatever. Maybe a two-door version will be in the pipeline for this car. This car is otherwise a sharp and lovely one. I was even drawn to it seeing the Super Bowl ad for the CLA.
The question to be answered for me is if this car will sell well or if it will be a failure based on this car having FWD (and some other points).
Something I have been thinking about lately for some cars is imagning them as coupes or sedans. And so for this car, I think this car would probably look better as a two-door coupe than some "four-door coupe" or whatever. Maybe a two-door version will be in the pipeline for this car. This car is otherwise a sharp and lovely one. I was even drawn to it seeing the Super Bowl ad for the CLA.
The question to be answered for me is if this car will sell well or if it will be a failure based on this car having FWD (and some other points).
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