Stunning new Mercedes 4-door coupe – yours for £25k
Great looks, a frugal diesel that still hits 62mph in just over 8 seconds, and bags of Mercedes' latest driver assist features. And all for around £25k. Could be worse.
MERCEDES has chosen the Detroit Motor Show to show off the stunningly styled CLA.
The Mercedes CLA is a baby brother for the dramatically different CLS, and it’s sure to attract plenty of interest from UK business motorists.
On top of the mini-CLS looks, the business friendly 2.2 litre CDI does 67mpg.
The CLS, which pioneered the four-door coupe concept, has plenty of fans but its £47,600 starting price, even in tax-friendly 250 CDI diesel form, puts it out of reach for most company car drivers. Enter the CLA.
First Volkswagen came up with a decent half-price substitute with the Passat-based CC, which provides a more than passable imitation of those CLS looks. Now, with the CLA, Mercedes hits back with a car that’s likely to sit in the same broad price range as the CC but also has that prestigious three-pointed star on its bonnet.
If the CLA looks like a mini-CLS, it has more in common under the skin with Mercedes’ smaller front-wheel drive models, the impressive latest-generation versions of A-Class and the B-Class, although it gets to keep one chassis refinement to itself – flexible decoupling of the rear axle carrier, which is designed to improve ride comfort.
Three engines will be offered, two petrol and one diesel. The less powerful petrol, badged CLA 180, has a 1.6-litre 122 PS engine that gives it a top speed of 130 mph and the ability to sprint to 62 mph in 9.3 seconds while delivering as much as 52.3 mpg and 126 g/km. The more powerful CLA 250 does 62 mph in 6.7 seconds and tops out at 149 mph thanks to its 211 PS 2-litre engine. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are a respectable 46.3 mpg and 144g/km depending on spec.
On the diesel side, the 2.2-litre CLA 220 CDI offers 170 PS and emits only 109 g/km. Top speed is 143 mph and 0-62 mph comes up in 8.2 seconds. Official fuel consumption is up to 67.3 mpg.
The CLA 250 and CLA 220 CDI have a seven-speed dual clutch automatic, while the CLA 180 gets a six-speed manual. All CLAs will meet the forthcoming tough Euro 6 emissions standards.
The CLA will also pack plenty of new technology with the Attention Assist drowsiness warning system and Collision Prevention Assist braking as standard. Options include Distronic Plus adaptive cruise control, the Adaptive Highbeam Assist intelligent dipping system and the Lane Tracking package with Blind Spot and Lane Keeping Assist.
That sleek new body doesn’t just look good, by the way, it’s also very aerodynamically efficient, with a very low Cd figure of 0.21, which will make it one of the slipperiest cars you can buy. UK pricing is likely to start from about £25,000 and business car drivers will be hoping for the same competitive leasing rates currently available on the C-Class. Specs will be announced in February. The first customers will get their cars in May.
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