Mercedes-Benz CLA: The 1-Series Competitor We Didn't Know We Needed

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JohnBM01
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?
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A160 :) And yes, it was. The CLA isn't the first FWD Mercedes, that honor fell to the original A-Class. Since then there have been two more generations of A-Class, and two generations of B-Class, all FWD.

The CLA is their first FWD sedan though - all the others have been hatchbacks.
 
I honestly like the looks of it and don't mind about it being a FWD too. As long as they get the pricing correctly, then I'm not surprised if it's going to sell well. However, despite me liking the car I still prefer getting a C-Class or a 3-Series.
 
The CLA45 AMG was given a glimpse at the PS4 reveal of Drive Club.

70614mer.jpg

Autocar
Mercedes has given its new Mercedes CLA45 AMG an early reveal in digital form, ahead of the hot new saloon’s official debut at the New York motor show next month.

This sole image of the CLA45 AMG was revealed by Mercedes to promote its involvement in the new Driveclub racing game franchise on the upcoming PlayStation 4 games console.

Mercedes has officially confirmed the CLA45 AMG will use the same running gear as the A45 AMG hatchback, which was recently shown ahead of its Geneva motor show reveal later this month.

Power will come from a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 355bhp and 332lb ft. All four wheels will be driven through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
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alonsof1fan91
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 :)
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Agree with you here that mercedes service is way above VW's...
 
I saw one on the street. Looks good. Pics make it look all out of shape. I wasnt a fan of those headlights in pics. In person, MB get my thumbs up for an awesome looking profile. That rear end with the ducktail lip is sweet. The CLA I saw, was medium grey, had the 5-spoke AMG wheels and was low with only 2 people in it.
It'going to be maybe this and the 2 series on the list for the next ride.
 
If anything, the CLA looks worse in real life than it does anywhere else. It is as thin as my Corolla, is two times as long, has a higher roof than it and the tires look skinny as heck on it. So you end up with a very long, thin car with a bubble on top of it. It looks great on TV, but in my opinion it looks nothing short of horrendous in real life.
 
The CLA just looks so weird looking at it from the front. It has a nice a- uhm i mean rear :) I prefer the looks of the A3 sedan but IIRC the CLA is bigger right? ( CLA is as long as the old C Class)

Still a overpriced car.... 28k€ in my country for the base version of this car, which is just an A Class.
 
Bram Turismo
If anything, the CLA looks worse in real life than it does anywhere else. It is as thin as my Corolla, is two times as long, has a higher roof than it and the tires look skinny as heck on it. So you end up with a very long, thin car with a bubble on top of it. It looks great on TV, but in my opinion it looks nothing short of horrendous in real life.
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I personally disagree. It certainly isn't perfect, but does have some great angles and works well in the right spec - ideally, AMG-badged ones with large wheels to offset some of the expanses of metal.

It's very colour-sensitive too. Silver or dark shades are ideal. Didn't work quite as well in red, like the last one I drove. That also had smaller wheels, which aren't great for the looks but do improve the ride quality.

For a while I preferred the CLA to the A-Class, but I'm swinging back the other way now. Seen a few of them about in that metallic blue shade, which really suits it.



​
 
Shooting brakes only look good when they are boxy IMO and only should only be 2 door. A curvy 4 door shooting brake just looks like a cheap estate car.

lynx-eventer.jpg


So much want :drool:
 
05XR8
It's closer to what I remember shooting brakes look like.
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But shooting brakes don't "look like" anything in particular. They are two-door wagons. Maybe the reason you think the Aston is what a shooting brake should look like is because it is an actual shooting brake while the Benz and Hyundai are not.
 
@Tornado was dubious of my Hyundai/CLA comparison. My reference was to his post with no quote. I know what a shooting brake is(since seeing my first one in Road & Track Exotic Cars back in the mid-80's) as you've read my post. All's good. 👍
 
I figured out what it is with this car. It looks some someone pooed out a hearse, but the herase got pinched off at the end.
 
Just when you think the germans can't find another niche...

I'm looking forward to the inevitable crossover pseudo-offroady version of this.
 

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