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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If you ask me the front end is the least bad styling element of this car. Mercedes seems to have forgotten how to do a classy interior. The one with all the 3 point gold stars on the dash looks like it’s trying to be a fucking Louis Vitton handbag – it’s just gauche. The Superscreen equipped one looks like it belongs on the desk of some teenager’s gaming rig.
Looks like it’ll be a while before I find a Merc that I’d actually want to replace my beloved (rusty) W115.
No wonder Germany’s car industry is in trouble, differentiating a luxury car from a regular car was hard enough, but now that they’re all going to be powered by a soulless electric motor, they’re clearly grasping at straws.
The concept version without the afterthought of a light bar looked much better to me. The car is still kinda blobby, but not as bad as the EQ cars.
It’s crazy that they were able to make the light bar & big grille work pretty well on the concept. This looks a (busy) mess.
Two thoughts: red for a neutral expression and orange/red if I’m feeling angry or sad seems dissonant.
If the color displayed thinks I’m angry or sad, then the color will make me more angry or sad. I don’t want to be more angry or sad.
Here’s another thought – just leave this ridiculous function in the dust bin where it belongs.
I couldn’t agree more.
It’s a shame they divorced from Chrysler (said no one ever before)… imagine the powertrain and range in a much cheaper model without the expensive, gimmicky, ergonomically-questionable interior.
You guys should really figure out the ballpark conversion factor to translate the universally acknowledged highly optimistic World Range Number into Freedom Units, i.e. what the car’s range might be rated at over here, otherwise the headline comes across as clickbait. Or at least include that info regarding which rating scale in the headline itself. Frankly the way I look at it is I assume they are talking about kilometers and then the reduction to miles actually kind of works but I can’t see what units you are referencing without clicking into the post.
I realize it says “While you can’t directly translate WLTP ratings to EPA ratings” but why not? Or at least pick one car that has the same battery in the US and Europe and has both numbers published, do the conversion and then apply it to all. It’ll be a lot closer than someone assuming this thing actually gets close to 500 miles of US Range which it surely does not.
Somewhere I read that WTLP is about 20% higher than EPA, so figure closeish to 400 miles or so. Maybe?
I don’t disagree, the headline would be far more accurate for most readers. But maybe not as many people would have been interested in or clicked on an approximately 400 mile range Mercedes than 492 miles splashed across the graphic…It’s a shame this is happening here.
That is is the biggest bluetooth app-icons I have ever seen, and there’s even two it! Imagine try to focus on the traffic, but all you want is to let your rest on those alluring deep-blue icons…
Jesus mary and joseph, it’s like they saw people calling the i7 the ugliest ev ever made and said “hold my beer”
I’d say it’s a huge improvement over the earlier Mercedes EVs. Granted, that’s not so much a low bar as a sticker on the floor they needed to pass over, but this isn’t terrible. The Mercedes star in the DRLs is kind of a neat idea.
It feels a little tacky in conjunction with the star headlights to me. The rest of it I do like better but that front is heinous
The size of the luxury logo is inversely proportional to that actual amount of luxury involved. True luxury is never having to shout, “look at me!!!”
Those light bars on new Mercedes-Benz’ are ripoffs of the taillights of a 1999 Ford ZX2.
But now instead of just pitting them on the back of the EQ lineup and the CLE – The CLA now has them front and back.
Yippee.
The issue with designing a Mercedes that doesn’t look like a Mercedes is that you need a lot of fucking logos to remind everyone around you that your 1990’s Ford Escort is actually a Mercedes.
YES! I knew that the shape of the lightbar reminded me of something. ZX2 vibes for sure.
Yep, those logos are simply saying “please please please believe I’m a Mercedes.”
I was going to say it reminds me of the Deora II whose front end is the back of a Taurus wagon and reuses its tail lights as its headlights, but forgot that the Deora ditches the Taurus’s “heckblende”.
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.
That makes two of us. This is hideous on the outside, and the inside makes me want to get a sledgehammer.
At this point, I would pay MORE to not have a screens, screens, screens, and more screens interior. I can tolerate the modest screen in my ’14 Mercedes wagon, but if it wasn’t there I wouldn’t care. And thankfully it is NOT a touchscreen. Nether of my BMWs has iDrive, and they are the better for that.
My idea of luxury is a car built like a mid-90s German sedan with a screen that mirrors my phone. No gimmicks, nothing to get outdated or look old, and no need to have a separate connectivity subscription just to get traffic and map updates.
Bingo!
I don’t see any reason to mirror my phone. My phone has a display that is more than good enough for what little I do with it in a car.
An unobtrusive, well placed phone holder is all I want in a car.
I do agree that ’80s to circa 2000 German car interiors were perfection, and it’s been downhill ever since. Straightforward, easy to use, no bullshit.
The user interface on your phone is not designed to be used while your attention is elsewhere and it isn’t safe to do so.
Also map directions are way more legible on a screen 3x the size.
The GoogleMaps interface is not significantly different on a phone vs. through Carplay, and my phone is more than large enough to be easily seen when I even bother to have the screen on in the first place. Most of the time, I find the spoken directions enough.
I don’t know how to explain this to you, but not everyone shares your preference.
Nor does everyone share yours. Funny how that works.
sure, just buy a turdbillion (tourbillon)
What do watches possibly have to do with this? A screen adds absolutely nothing to the drive of a car. I don’t need to be “infotained”, I prefer to do that on my couch, not behind the wheels of my cars at 70mph.
I’m happy to take all the real time navigation and traffic info I can actually see without futzing with a tiny phone screen.
My phone screen isn’t tiny. It’s more than big enough to efficiently navigate with. And small enough to not be *distracting*.
Good for you. Those blessed with something other than your Superman vision need a bigger screen though.
My goodness, whatever did people do before GPS and screens in cars? Did they drive around perpetually lost? The poor dears.
My mid-50s vision isn’t all that good, but it’s more than good enough to navigate with a 7in screen. So is my mother’s for that matter, and she is scheduled for cataract surgery next week, If your vision is worse than hers you really should see a doctor.<shrug>
Have you already forgotten about paper maps? Well if you have I’ll tell you they don’t hold a candle to real time GPS, especially in places where the road layouts and signage is very different from what one is used to. And that doesn’t even start on any language issues. Did *they* drive around perpetually lost? Yes, all the time. GPS on a large, easy to read screen is a Godsend. Maps were annoying AF on the road and I’m glad they are gone for real time navigation.
You really have a 7″ screen on your phone? Wow. That’s the same size as SatNav in my car. Must be fun having to lug that thing around. I thought you had a normal sized phone with a 5″ or so screen.
GPS is a convenience, not a necessity. I drove all over the country for work for a decade plus with nothing but paper maps and directions, and I could do it again tomorrow. <shrug> Whatever would you do if you were away from home and your phone dies, is lost, or is stolen? Or the sat nav in your car takes a dump if you have it built in. And built-in sat nav generally sucks anyway.
My phone has a large easy-to-read 6.7″ screen (fwiw, iPhone 13 Pro Max). Even my aged mother manages with a 6″ (iPhone 14 Pro) just fine (and before that one she had a tiny little iPhone 6SE and that worked fine too). Anything larger is less a convenience than a distraction. This IS a normal size phone at this point. Fits in my pocket just fine.
And for the record, I actually hate my phone – Apple devices and I do not get along particularly well (and I think they are wildly overpriced) but I am stuck with it to interface with a medical device that doesn’t really support Android. Google Maps worked just fine on the succession of much cheaper and smaller Motorolas that I had before this too.
Whatever would you do if you were away from home and your phone dies, is lost, or is stolen?
Which is why I have a phone with a swappable battery, an extra battery or three, several USB ports connected to the car’s battery, a USB equipped battery car starter/charger and a solar USB charger in my car.
If my phone is lost or stolen I am typically traveling with someone who has their own phone(s). If not I bring a spare phone.
I also preload maps onto my devices so navigation still works if I am out of cell coverage.
Or the sat nav in your car takes a dump if you have it built in. And built-in sat nav generally sucks anyway.
I wouldn’t know, my car didn’t come with OEM SatNav. I put in a cheap aftermarket unit which works well enough for my needs
I don’t have a difficult time reading my phone when not driving but its not what I want to do when I am driving. It’s a lot safer to have a big screen that I can read at a glance rather than having to scroll in to read the street names.
A 7″ screen doesn’t even count as “big” today. Why would you even be reading street names on the screen? You put in the address you want to go to, and it tells you how to get there. I don’t even have the screen on most of the time when navigating, the spoken directions are generally sufficient.
You seem overly dependent on technology – are you a millennial? Those of us who grew up without all this crap seem to deal better with not having it (I was well into my 30s before GPS was a thing) – I can’t imagine being so dependent on my phone that I would go to such lengths. And yes, I get the irony of my Luddite tendencies given what I do for a living. Or possibly it’s because of what I do for a living.
“You seem overly dependent on technology – are you a millennial? Those of us who grew up without all this crap seem to deal better with not having it”
Nope. GenX just like you. I also have luddite tendencies, just different ones from yours. I put in plenty of time with paper maps, now I’m done with those.
Question: So how is using spoken navigation make you any less dependent on technology than reading the screen?
Answer: It dosen’t.
As I said, it’s a convenience, not a necessity. And not having the screen on is rather less distracting from the task at hand, which is *driving*. The directions are the important part, not the display.
You do you.
It’s a reference to the Bugatti of that name, not the watch feature. It has a removable center screen — an update to the Veyron and Chiron which did not have infotainment at all.
I can’t be bothered paying any attention to billionaire codpiece nonsense.
Not a fan. To my eye tourbillon look like a fistulated cow.
my friend constantly mentions wrt mercedes that true luxury is not having to think or be confused at how to turn on the damn ac
Real gauges, too, please.
No, I think many Autopian readers will share your sentiment! Tech can be part of the luxury experience, sure, but slathering the whole dash in OLED display doesn’t make it feel luxurious at all. It makes it feel like you’re sitting in a giant iPhone.
And in a few years, it makes it feel like you’re sitting in a giant OLD iPhone.
By and large the ultralux brands agree with you – look inside a Rolls or Bentley and you’ll still see switches for things.
Right, as another commenter said, their “PC gaming rig” themed interiors is not doing anything for me but looking like a gimmick. We’ve seen them head in this direction for a decade now. First it was just a “feature” that you could set interior lightning to be purple if you wanted to. Now it is a full on plastic screenfest.
This interior would be fine in a Hyundai Elantra. I expect something classier from Mercedes, even an entry level one.
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.
Car & Driver does 75 mph range tests
In general the German brands over perform and match or exceed their EPA range on the highway.
WLTP tests are more representative of driving habits in Europe and China: Lots of city driving, less steady-speed driving, shorter distances and aside from Germany, lower speeds
The EPA test is more reflective of American driving habits, where it’s geared more towards steady-state driving and less city driving
I use 80% as a rule of thumb to convert WLTP to EPA so that would be 394 EPA
(The EQE 350+ is rated at 370 miles WLTP and 298 EPA.)
Model 3 WLTP is around 400mi (varies by configuration and wheelset)
This bugs me too. So many automotive writers seem to have coalesced around the exact phrase “comparatively optimistic WLTP cycle” that I feel like you might as well just say the mercedes gets “492 COWLTPs” and be done with it.
Pretty good compared to the Model 3’s 400 Cowlips..
This bugs me too, but remember Autopian readership is global, so for readers in countries where the WLTP cycle is the norm, they’ll already know direct comparisons.
It would be nice to see a couple comparisons for those who don’t use WLTP though, which I know is hopelessly optimistic.
The publisher is in the US so they should use the US units. Or at least be consistent in EVERY headline. If nothing else though, at the minimum at least reference in the headline which standard it references.
They do it with cars, such as “this car gets 52MPG”, they don’t just say “this car gets 52” when meaning mpg or “this car gets 6” when they mean 6l/100km.
It’s not hard to include a conversion factor in both cases if the readership is truly global.
It is when the test methodology is very different between EPA and WLTP. It’s not just a “liters to gallons” conversion, it’s the difference between “we drove around a parking lot” vs “we did 50 laps of Leguna Seca”.
People have made up conversion factors using cars that have been tested both on WLTP and EPA methods, but it’s just interpolating that factor across a dataset, and not a direct unit conversion.
Sorry, I’m still not getting it. If one set “drives around a parking lot” and the other “does 50 laps around Laguna Seca” then those are standards and can be interpolated against each other. It’s not like they drive around a different parking lot or there are different Laguna Secas to use your analogies, don’t both standards have a set methodology with only that methodology itself being different compared to each other but the same for every instance the result is measured on the same standard?
Interpolating so if 500miles WLTP results in a little under 400miles EPA would make it so that 250WLTP means a bit under 200EPA, no?
All testing involves different conditions, for example city or highway driving, AC or no AC, some combination of both, etc. Some vehicles might do better on one combination than the other. That means a simple conversion factor from one test to the other isn’t that accurate.
It’s also possible that some manufacturers game their numbers (Dieselgate), based on their knowledge of the tests, or since a lot of them self-certify.
Real world testing is just as hard. My range varies by 20mi (give or take) on the same route to and from work, depending on the weather (is it cold? windy? raining? all three?), the traffic conditions, and my mood (how many cars are being stupid today?).
So yeah, as with life in general, it’s not as simple as you think.
Given a large enough dataset, you can probably get close, yes. However, given that a quick google search has several different conversion factors ranging from a 16% delta to 22% between WLTP and EPA, I’m not sure we’re there yet.
Ideally, the world would just standardize on a single standard test method, but that’s never going to happen. Reminds me of this classic XKCD cartoon: xkcd: Standards
Call it an approximately 19% difference then and the headline would be FAR more appropriate and less misleading, maybe even add an “approximate” disclaimer. There should be enough of a data set out there to figure it out. Most mainstream EVs are sold globally now with the same batteries available so it should be pretty easy to agree on something. All the Teslas, Ioniq 5 and 6, BMWs etc. Jeez, since it’s a Mercedes in the story figure out what their other EVs have been on both standards and then interpolate from there.
I don’t object to them reporting the WLTP numbers. That’s what they’re being given by the manufacturers (and I’m sure that’s not an accident, the lower EPA numbers will quietly appear at some point in the future). However, because they don’t correlate to anything like real world mileage it’s difficult to gauge whether they’re good or not.
I mean, they even name-checked the Ioniq 5 as a comp for the battery size, but didn’t mention how it compares in terms of range. Could I look it up? Sure. But I think it would be beneficial to all of their readers if they just included it in the article. Especially since in this case they’d already done 95% of the legwork.
WLTP miles are like monopoly money. You can have a million monopoly dollars, but if your opponent has two million monopoly dollars you’re still losing. 🙂
Car makers love reporting the WLTP numbers because they make EVs look better than they really are.
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.
Reliability doesn’t matter as much when you have a bunch of cars. <shrug> Not that my (now rather old) BMWs and Mercedes and even my Land Rover are not more than acceptably reliable. But it certainly matters a LOT more when you only have one car, and you might get fired for being “late” to work. I haven’t punched a time clock in 40 years.
“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.
There are CLA wagons overseas. So, keep your fingers crossed they make one of this generation. And, the way things are going, they could even send one to the US.
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.
Personally I find the fury a bit odd and I’m curious if the fury is real or just something that gets talked about on car forums like the end of manual transmissions.
My personal take – my cars have A/C so I don’t roll down the windows except to roll down the driver side window to badge into the parking garage at work. I have no reason to roll down the rear windows from the front seat.
I’m with you on this one. Hell, I have had a couple cars that had power front windows and MANUAL rear ones! It’s DUMB, especially on an expensive car, but it doesn’t offend me. The screen nonsense offends me, the exterior nonsense offends me even more.
“I have no reason to roll down the rear windows from the front seat.”
I know a dog with digestive issues that can help bring some clarity on that.
True luxury is having as many power window buttons as you have power windows. GTFO with this touchscreen crap.
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.
You look at modern lexus exterior styling and think that’s elegant??????
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.
The CLA in particular has always been like that, more about showing off that you’re driving a MB rather than impressive in its own right (AMG versions notwithstanding).
Shame, the powertrain does sound promising on paper.
Yep, notice that the logo size to vehicle size ratio is at its biggest on the cheapest models.
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.
Are light bars a tired trend in Asia? I ask because 45% of Mercedes sales are in Asia.
My understanding is that in Asia the more lights and screens the better.
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.