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
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Mercedes Quietly Admits Its EV Strategy Was Wrong As It Tries To Save The V8
-
Mercedes-Benz’s Tesla Supercharger Adapter Is Somehow $40 Cheaper Than GM’s
-
You Can Buy A Mercedes-Benz S-Class That Looks Almost Like A New One For The Price Of A Hyundai Venue
-
Someone Please Explain Why The Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed Makes Sense
-
There’s A New Electric Popemobile But Don’t Be Fooled, It’s Not The First EV Papal Wagon
Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!
There’s a market for the overly-branded trashy approach of too-many-logos, and some people sill buy a car with an ugly face, but this suffers from both…
Well hell, that’s a bigger red flag than a roommate saying they’ll pay their share of the rent once they get back from the dog track. To anybody who knows more than two plus two equals four and that men in suits lie every third sentence that right there is enough to just not buy the car.
And that is exactly why they’ll never disclose it until you dig through the menus and look at the licenses they’re legally required to include.
The concept looked so good! Why did they make that ugly light bar more prominent with the improper curve and ruin it?
I love how the CEO of MB came out last week and said, “Screens are not luxury,” and the first new car unveiled afterwards has a dash made exclusively of screen.
“How does this system work if you have RBF”
Your honor it really wasn’t my fault! As soon as I got on the freeway my car’s interior turned orange red and it suddenly shot up to 30+ over the speed limit, tailgating and flashing the people ahead of me and weaving across all four lanes all by itself!!
“From the front, it looks like one of those fish you throw back in the ocean.”
Apt analogy. As ugly as it might be somewhere out there is a bottom feeder happy to pick up the rejects.
It does look a little bit like a catfish.
The MB star everywhere (light-up, even) is so trashy. Whatever happened to the staid opulence of MB?
I assume the Chinese market is what happened.
Thanks for pouring a bit of much-needed cold water on the new CLA Thomas… it’s a refreshing change from some other write-ups I’ve seen lately.
“…it incorporates Google Maps, Microsoft Bing, ChatGPT4o, the Unity Game Engine, and AI from Microsoft and Google.” ANY car about which that can be said would NEVER be bought by me. But I’m weird: no smartphone, no social media, etc…
I don’t dislike the CLA, even the early ones, and I’m not anti-Mercedes despite the fact that the only new car I ever had was a Benz and it went back to the dealer seven times the first year. This one is interesting, but woe unto whomever owns one when it’s 15+ years old.
Excuse my ignorance but all these look like sedans. I thought sedans were no longer manufactured? I mean they look like old Chevys with pep boys glue on attachments but yes sedans.
US makers ditched sedans almost entirely (Ford did entirely, Chrysler only has a minivan, Dodge only has a coupe and SUVs, Chevy only has the Malibu, Rivian has no sedans, etc). Subaru has no sedans in the US.
Some Euro and Asian makers still offer sedans, in part because the sedan isn’t quite as dead in their home markets as in the US (VW, MB, Hyundai, etc).
The luxury car makers are shitting their pants looking for a way to make their cars seem worth the extra money, when electric cars all basically feel the same. The differences between them are basically the differences between an iPhone 16e and an iPhone 16 Pro.
Yeah I’m sitting on a something 8
I didn’t notice all the handbag ornamentation until it was pointed out. Small images. That is tacky as hell…
First glance made me think an odd but interesting Chrysler front end blended with a Mercedes. It’s really giving me anxiety very thinking it might be a future Mercedes design language.
so far nobody has dethroned the lucid air as the efficiency king of EVs but it’s only a matter of time before somebody does. I doubt the cla will beat it but hoping that it does!
According to some other articles I’ve read, the mileage per kwh actually does edge out lucid. Which is very impressive, and could be better if they didn’t lard this thing down with a glass roof, silly light up logos, and idiocy like chat gpt…
Oooh! There’s a BEV Corolla now cool!
BMW and Mercedes duking it out to see who can make an interior that best mimics a Las Vegas casino. At least the blobby exterior on this is relatively inoffensive compared to BMWs recent efforts.
It’s a European take on what Fat Americans like. I’d be offended but in the 70s didn’t we say the Ford Grenada ( or something) was indisguishable from a European luxury Mercedes? I think this makes us even.
Which tells me the target market is poseurs looking to impress hookers.
The sins in the interior are far, far worse than anything on the outside
How did stupid headlights become an EV thing?
I know this is completely inappropriate, but I’m definitely using this as a pick-up line in a bar!
Thanks.
Good luck.