It’s been a rough few years for Mercedes-Benz in the world of electrification. Sure, the EQS and EQE offer huge range, but the blobby styling on expensive sedans hasn’t been received brilliantly, the EQB has the specs of a first shot at an entry level EV, and enthusiasts have turned up with pitchforks for the new four-cylinder plug-in hybrid AMG C63. So what about the next generation? This is the new Mercedes-Benz CLA, it’ll be available with both electric and hybrid power, and while the powertrain bits seem spectacular, the style and driver-facing tech are polarizing to say the least.
Under the skin, new silicon oxide and graphite anodes in the batteries help the CLA achieve an incredible 492 miles of range on the optimistic WLTP cycle in 268-horsepower CLA 250+ with EQ Technology trim. While you can’t directly translate WLTP ratings to EPA ratings, this should be one of the longest-range EVs on the market, which is especially impressive when you consider that the 85 kWh battery pack is sized roughly equivalent to the one in the Hyundai Ioniq 5. At the same time, an 800-volt nominal architecture lets this baby Benz DC fast charge at up to 320 kW, which puts this thing in the big leagues. Add in a rear drive unit with a two-speed gearbox like you get on a Porsche Taycan, a heat pump, and an available 349-horsepower all-wheel-drive CLA 350 4MATIC trim, and it seems like Mercedes-Benz has thrown everything imaginable at the new CLA.
Eventually, in addition to rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive, the new CLA will be available in both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive hybrid trims that take the concept of a 48-volt system to the extreme. Normally, a 48-volt mild hybrid system mostly acts on vehicle accessories and smooths out automatic stop-start operation, but Mercedes-Benz claims this one can actually power the CLA at low speeds and contribute to flat-out acceleration like a traditional higher-voltage series-parallel hybrid setup.
That all sounds great, but there are a few things you’ll need to get around on the new CLA. From the front, it looks like one of those fish you throw back in the ocean. While a grille with a large emblem has been a CLA hallmark since the model launched, this latest generation’s full-width front light bar forces the main grille down, resulting in a rather aquatic appearance. Also, can we stop doing the excessive logos? I get that Gucci built a name on the look, but a satchel isn’t the same as a car. Not only does the new electric CLA feature dozens of tiny three-pointed stars in its false grille, it also carries the motif through to the headlights and taillights, and the result is just tacky.
It’s a shame because in profile, the surfacing of the new CLA is quite decent. The defined creases over the fenders, strong haunches, simple upswept character line to break up the metal on the doors, and curvy sheetmetal all work well to make the side of the CLA seem thoughtful rather than shocking. Sure, the greenhouse is a bit EQS, but in an age of fake quarter windows, real ones on an entry level model are a nice touch.
Inside the new CLA, the dashboard is dominated by a fresh infotainment system called MB.OS, and it incorporates Google Maps, Microsoft Bing, ChatGPT4o, the Unity Game Engine, and AI from Microsoft and Google. The result is a move to a tile-based app tray just below the top level, but a tech experience that seems hamstrung by many shortcomings of the current hard control setup found in models like the GLC. For one, there’s no volume knob or scroll wheel on display whatsoever, but instead what seem to be capacitive touch pads. Actually, it gets weirder. There don’t appear to be top-level docked tiles for heated seats, but I’m also not seeing heated seat buttons on the doors. Oh, and it seems that Mercedes-Benz is building on the much-maligned Volkswagen ID.4 window switch setup of having two window switches and a separate button to toggle between controlling the front windows and the rear windows. Not ideal.
The other thing that’s weirdly off-putting is the avatar in the infotainment system that claims it can detect your mood and change color based on that. Blue or red for a neutral expression, green if it thinks you’re feeling good, “orange/red” if it thinks you’re feeling angry or sad. How does this system work if you have RBF, and what’s actually done with this data? Flashback 35 years ago, and the cockpit of a Mercedes-Benz didn’t tell you how you feel, it simply made you feel better thanks to exquisite build quality from the glovebox latch to the depth of the veneer. Tell me that doesn’t sound more appealing than a digital mood ring.
Spend the big bucks, and you can get what Mercedes-Benz calls its MBUX Superscreen setup, which features a largely identical 14-inch infotainment screen just to the right of the main one, set up exclusively for the pleasure of the passenger. It’s definitely flashy, but I can’t help but wonder if a second glovebox would be a better use of that space than something that can stream Disney+, especially in a car roughly the same size as a Volkswagen Jetta.
Still, look beyond some of the potential frustrations, and there are amenities to potentially love. The optional Burmester sound system features Dolby Atmos surround sound, there’s a fixed panoramic sunroof fitted as standard, you get four 100-watt USB-C ports you could genuinely charge MacBooks with, and electric models feature a usable frunk.
On paper, the mechanicals of the new CLA seem genuinely brilliant, but I’m not sure about the car wrapped around it. Some of the ergonomic quirks seem like they have the potential to annoy, and the tech just seems a bit much considering how many people still don’t know how to use automatic climate control. However, you don’t drive a car on paper, and we’re eager to get our hands on this latest chapter in Mercedes-Benz’s electrification journey. Expect the electric Mercedes-Benz CLA to roll into showrooms later this year, with the hybrid to come at a later date.
Top graphic image: Mercedes-Benz
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Am I the only one that thinks Tech =/= Luxury?
Give me rich, real wood veneer, soft leather, and nice, metal, mechanical switches, all built to last a lifetime. I don’t care if it has a single screen.
I’m concerned too, is it melting?
I’m jumping straight to the comments here because this has been a recurring bee in my bonnet. If we’re going to quote the utterly useless WLTP range (or the even worse Chinese equivalent), can we at least get some comparisons to other competitive vehicles for context? We know no one is ever going to get 492 miles out of one of these in “normal” driving, but at least that would give us an idea of whether it’s better or worse than other available vehicles.
The WLTP ratings are so bad they should stop claiming to use miles as the unit. It’s not 492 miles, it’s 492 willtips (or whatever).
How can there not be a simple “75 mph, set the cruise” test of range for every vehicle, but especially EVs?
Maybe that’s not how everyone drives all the time, but it probably is how most people are driving when they’re worried about range.
Because white lies make people billions.
I would love range/MPG ratings to be more objective things like that. Range at a variety of set speeds, range when accelerating from 0 to 30 and back in a given distance, over and over. Same from 30 to 60. Maybe 60 to 75. Range at 80 degress. Range at 0 degrees.
I realize it’s easier for people to understand one big number that you put on the window sticker, but it sucks at communicating useful information.
I need eye bleach after seeing that monstrosity.
These days “luxury” mostly seems to involve finding complex ways of doing simple things.
A simple bit of luxury, West of England Broadcloth.
It’s been that way for a LONG time. As a young child learning that luxury cars are quite unreliable, I pondered, what’s so luxurious about a car that’s unreliable? It took me a while to learn, and I am still learning, that capitalism doesn’t want reliable things, they want expensive things that quickly obsolesce and they’ve (borderline unethically) tricked people into believing that’s luxury.
“Hey, you know how you all hated the Blob styling and excessively digital interiors with no knobs on our EV line up? HAVE MORE OF BOTH”
It’s like the KFC double-down of shitty design choices.
Which is a shame, cause on paper it’s fantastic.
If you put aside the stupid-ass passenger screen and the catfish face, this looks like a great car, and I’d love it. It’d be even better in a wagon (I really think electric wagons make a TON of sense). A smallish electric AWD wagon with > 300 miles range on a 85 kWh battery is a fantastic proposition.
I’m already completely over the lightbar trend. I’m annoyed that damn near every manufacturer has decided that EV = lightbar. Mercedes should be setting trends not following them.
And as you stated, the basis for the car is sound and I think that makes all the other decisions that much more frustrating. weweresoclosetogreatness.jpg and all that.
Aside from the powertrains, I dislike everything about this car.
We have reached peak light bar. Congrats everyone, we did it! We can be done with them now! Please go home. For the love of god go home.
Anyway, while this is definitely a good example of a car the designers wouldn’t stop designing, I don’t necessarily think it’s awful. It’s busy for sure, but it’s still a step in the right direction after the horrendous EQ sedans that came before it. At bare minimum I do think it looks like a Mercedes.
The range figures are impressive as well. For a company that’s horrifically behind the 8 ball on EVs I’d say this represents a step in the right direction…until you see the interior. It is a crime worthy of The Hague.
What the hell is with ze Germans and cramming tech into every nook and cranny and then stacking more on top of it? One of the biggest critiques with current Mercedes is that everything is locked behind a massive, unattractive, non-intuitive tablet. One of the biggest complaints about the EQs is how damn hard they are to use and interact with.
I get that there are economies of scal/development costs here and that companies like VW and Mercedes that have gone all in on this dystopian tech hell can’t just go back on it as a result. But like…holy shit. It can’t be that expensive to just give people physical climate controls, a volume knob, and steering wheel buttons rather than capacitive shit that doesn’t work. For the 1,000,000,000th time…stop trying to be Tesla. People looking at your cars want a Mercedes…and this isn’t a Mercedes.
It’s like they’re re-learning the lessons other automakers have already done. Honda went back to a physical volume knob. The Mach-E also has some physical controls. It’s like they just copied whatever dumb shit Tesla was doing, and since the design process probably started years ago, they might now be realizing that wasn’t the best choice.
How have automakers not caught on to the fury this causes? I know it saves them like 30 cents per car, but crap like this legitimately turns off buyers, and even one lost sale from something like this probably cancels out most of the savings. Why are automakers so insistent on NOT giving people what they want?! Sorry, I’ll stop ranting now.
BMW and MB both know that as mainstream brands offer all the “luxury” items anyone cares about, they need to do something to maintain their differentiation. The Gucci handbag is exactly what they went with. Gucci didn’t start by plastering their logo on everything. They only started doing that as they started selling mass-produced junk at insane margins.
The customers these brands want are the ones who want to be seen spending money. They are the ones willing to forgo frugality and buy for fashion. Big logos and tacky designs are a big part of that. It is conspicuous consumption for the sake of conspicuous consumption.
I totally get people’s buying checkpoints change (or Leasing… let’s be honest here since we’re talking about German luxury cars, leasing is more likely)…
It still does seem really weird how much Luxury car exterior and interior design has changed to the flashy and Tacky, especially in what seems like the last 10(ish) years or so.
German luxury cars used to be all about refinement, comfort and understated.
And of course once upon a time +35 years ago I’d include quality construction and reliable as well.
Lexus bodied them out of this niche so thoroughly that they had to pivot to whatever this is.
My somewhat experienced opinion on the design/brand shift is based on the fact that makers like Honda and Toyota now offer every luxury and performance characteristic 99% of buyers would ever notice. The incremental features that BMW now offers are minimal for most of what they sell.
The big piece is that the most profitable consumer group is the one most interested in spending money in the most visible way possible. Companies have largely transitioned away from business models that are focused on their products to a model that is based on attracting the most profitable groups of consumers. The product is just a pathway.
This car is losing a lot of class by trying to pull the LV-pattern look. Light bars are a tired trend, and this is an especially poor implementation when they could have put it in the grille. I think that the screens are because they can’t afford real Merc quality at this price point, but that’s bad as well. Great specs tho.
Every non-BMW German car release in the last two years has been a decent-looking thing with good specs, but an interior that looks like it was designed by an AI trained on iPad kid Youtube videos and the Star Wars prequels.
“How does this system work if you have RBF” well if you have Reel Big Fish then you will be happy because nobody can be sad listening to third wave Ska.
I think it’s been that way for a few years. With the CLA, MB seems to be chasing the people who fancy themselves “influencers” but who can only afford (maybe) to lease an entry-level car.
I’d argue most Mercedes cars look tacky now. The S Class and G are the only good exteriors and every single interior is chintz to the max.
The round, glowing red vents seem appropriate because the interior is giving off an inner circle of tech hell vibe. Congratulation to Mercedes for coming up with something worse than Dante could envision.
I had a SEAT rental in Italy, pretty low-end spec car, and it had very similar vents. I don’t consider that a positive for the Merc.