What we liked:
>> Cornering ability beyond expectation
>> Smooth but sporty petrol engines
>> Looks will win friends...
OVERVIEW
Starting with the platform built for the new A-Class hatch, they grafted a boot on and proceeded to create swoopy 'Ponton' styling that features prominent sculpture lines along the flanks. Then the engineers were called in to work out the steering, suspension and brakes for optimal driving enjoyment.
The principal of taking one design and weaving some flair into it to produce an altogether new model – without the ground-up cost normally associated with a new car – is one Mercedes has successfully tried in the past. Take the E-Class-based CLS, which is also a low-roof sedan like the CLA, but significantly larger.
One point of difference between CLS and CLA, beyond size, is the market positioning and aims of the two cars. While the CLS is a lucrative but exclusive alternative to the E-Class, the CLA is set to be an equal partner in Daimler AG's small car fortunes.
The manufacturer has no plans to sell the A-Class in North America – a market where sedans are reportedly more popular than hatchbacks. So in the US the CLA will work the same shift as the A-Class elsewhere.
PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
What is certain is the local range will consist of CLA 200, CLA 250 and CLA 45 AMG. However, Australia won't be taking the CLA 180 models that open up the range in other markets, and 4MATIC (all-wheel drive) variants have been all but ruled out here. They would add cost and unnecessary complexity in a market like Australia.
It's believed prices for the CLA 200 will start around the $50,000 mark, leaving some breathing space between it and the A-Class hatchback range. While a ceiling figure of $60,000 has been mentioned (just above the Luxury Car Tax threshold), don't count on the pricing pyramid topping out there.
All the CLA variants achieve sub-7.0L/100km fuel consumption figures in the NEDC combined-cycle test, and Australian-spec vehicles are likely to be very close to those figures (5.2 for CLA 200, 6.1 for the CLA 250). That allows them a green car dispensation from the tax, so CLA 250 buyers can option the car up to $75,000 in total without incurring the 33 per cent impost.
Standard equipment across the range (based on a European brochure) should include a multi-function three-spoke steering wheel, electric parking brake, sports seats, Artico (fake leather) upholstery and a 14.7cm colour display for the CD audio system, which features USB input and Bluetooth connectivity.
Manual air conditioning is standard in Europe, with climate control an option, but the latter is likely to be standard Down Under.
MECHANICAL
>> Petrol engines the go
Like the A-Class hatch, with which it shares front-wheel drive underpinnings and platform, the CLA rides on a MacPherson strut set-up at the front and a four-link independent system at the rear. Steering is an electromechanical rack-and-pinion type, with braking handled by four-wheel discs, ventilated at the front.
Wheels and tyres measure 6.5Jx16 and 205/55 R16 for the CLA 220 CDI and CLA 200, and 7.5Jx17 and 225/45 R17 for the CLA 250.
Externally, the CLA is 4630mm long, 1777mm wide, 1432mm high and measures 2699mm in the wheelbase. Weights vary from 1395kg for the CLA 200 to 1525kg for the CLA 220 CDI.
Assuming the CLA 200 CDI arrives in Australia, it will be powered by a 2.1-litre four-cylinder diesel, developing 125kW/350Nm and featuring variable-geometry turbocharging. Combined-cycle fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are no more than 4.5L/100km and 117g/km respectively, according to NEDC tests. Expect Australian figures to be slightly higher.
The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT) coupled to the diesel features just one overdrive gear – 7th with a ratio of 0.84:1. All other ratios are underdriven.
An oversquare design with a bore of 83mm and a stroke of 73.7mm, the turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol four powering the CLA 200 produces peak output of 115kW/25Nm. The NEDC combined-cycle figures for this engine are 5.7L/100km and 131g/km. In Europe the standard transmission for the CLA 200 is a six-speed manual, but the seven-speed DCT is the more likely default for Australia.
The CLA 250 has an undersquare (83.0x92.0mm) four-cylinder under the bonnet, displacing 2.0 litres and producing 155kW/350Nm. As for the CLA 200, the induction system comprises turbocharger and direct injection. Fuel consumption and CO2 emission figures for this variant are 6.2L/100km and 144g/km respectively.
PACKAGING
>> 'Occasional' seating for kids
Inside, style has won out over ergonomic function – although it’s a close-run race. Fittings and trim are up to scratch and the ambience is helped by heating and ventilation vents resembling the aft end of jet engine nacelles. The commendable seats held occupants fast during cornering, yet were also comfortable for long-distance touring.
However, as clever and well considered as the driving position is, I found the shroud for the instrument binnacle frequently cast a shadow from the sun across part of the speedo, which is presented in a combination of dark grey calibrations on a silver face. It's difficult enough to read where the needle is pointing without it being further obscured by shadow.
One element of the CLA's design crying out for a re-think is the rear-seat accommodation. The A-Class wheelbase is simply too short for a sedan rivalling the C-Class in length, and it translates to a paucity of legroom and kiddies-only headroom in the rear.
There's enough kneeroom for adults of average height in the rear, but they'll be reduced to tears on a longer trip. And while the low-roof design works well enough in a larger car (the CLS), even kids are likely to clock their noggin entering or leaving the rear of the CLA.
Benz PR people insist it's the price you pay for the looks and few owners will need to transport kids that often anyway.
The large and accommodating boot looks smaller as a consequence of the curvy styling of the lid and rear quarter panels. While the lack of a spare for the vehicles driven in France freed up underfloor storage under the boot.
One other observation concerns the polarising style of the CLA, which can look striking from some angles, but ill-proportioned from others. Many will like it and find it fresh and interesting, but others might feel the large-car details imposed on a small car lack elegance.
Safety features that Mercedes-Benz are describing as standard for European markets – and therefore likely to be standard for Australia also – include Attention Assist and Collision Prevention Assist Plus (combining Distronic Plus with adaptive Brake Assist).
The CLA by itself can slam on the anchors at speeds down to 7km/h (previously only as low as 30km/h) and can autonomously brake at speeds ranging from 30km/h to 200km/h.
Other advanced safety features available in Europe, but as extra-cost options, include Blind Spot Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, and Adaptive High Beam Assist. With the exception of the High Beam Assist, we expect those are likely to be standard for the CLA in Australia.
COMPETITORS
>> Benz fills ‘compact four-door coupe’ niche
Mercedes-Benz may be blazing a new trail with the CLA, but Audi isn't far behind with its A3 sedan, which is due to be unveiled to the world's media shortly.
BMW's closest rival to the CLA is the 1 Series, although entry-level 3 Series models, such as the 316i might very well be cross-shopped against the Mercedes.
While 1 Series in coupe form is only just comparable with the CLA, the 3 Series has the boot, the four doors and practicality the CLA is missing, to be plenty competitive. It’s hardly a surprise that BMW has just introduced a lower-cost 316i to the range, priced below $51,000 – a price point close to the anticipated entry level for the CLA.
And the turbocharged 1.6-litre engine of the 316i is another tell-tale that BMW is not going to surrender ground to the CLA with any sort of good grace.
There’s a CLA 45 AMG on the way also – and that car has been driven by motoring.com.au, but it's in a whole different league from the front-driven vehicles.
The day before driving the petrol-engined CLAs I also sampled the CLA 220 CDI reviewed earlier by our Euro correspondent Michael Taylor. Driving the diesel on the same mix of French autoroutes and winding country roads would provide a benchmark of sorts, against which to measure the petrol variants.
Underpinned by 'comfort' suspension the CLA 200 rode better over potholes than the 'sport' suspension-equipped CLA 250. Most Aussie buyers would be happy with either; only on poorly-maintained country roads will the difference be apparent.
Over smaller bumps there was little between the two suspension settings, and the comfort suspension pack gives away nothing in the handling and roadholding stakes.
Exploring the dynamic limits of the CLA 200 was fun, but the torque was never going to be a stretch for the car's roadholding. The CLA 250 did provoke the stability control system on the exit from hairpins along the drive route, but the safety nanny played nice, acting in concert with the car's drivetrain to provide what the driver wanted rather than what the engineers felt was needed.
In other words, stability and traction were regulated in a partnership with the CLA's ideal-world front-drive handling and steering.
Both cars were lively to drive; steering response from the standard Direct-Steer system was faster than other front-driven Benzes in our experience. Assistance was also lighter in the CLA 200 than in the case of the 250.
Committed to a corner, the CLA delivered steady handling, good grip and plenty of feedback. It was consistently communicative, allowing the driver to place the car on the road with precision.
Both the petrol engines were quiet and refined, even when giving them a damned good thrashing. The diesel was more vocal than the petrol engines when it was working, but all three were very subdued at open-road speeds.
Tyres for both cars and the diesel CLA 220 CDI soaked up the worst of France's country roads, but the question begging is how the CLA will cope in Australia. Despite the car's outstanding aerodynamic efficiency, wind was the primary source of noise at higher speeds.
Not surprisingly, the two engines differed in character. Where the 200's snarly engine meted out its power and torque in an easily exploitable way right across the rev range, the performance potential was naturally diminished. The CLA 250 was faster, accompanied by a crisp, rorty sort of bass engine note. If you're old enough to recall what a first-gen (R170) SLK sounds like, there's an updated echo of that in the CLA 250.
The sequential-shift paddles suit the petrol variants better than the CLA 220 CDI driven the day before. Almost like an old-fashioned pre-selector box, the dual-clutch transmission will drop back two gears once the car has slowed sufficiently.
In Economy mode the transmission kicks down conventionally and changes up when the engine reaches its redline, even if the driver is using the shift paddles. That also applies in Sport mode, but not manual mode.
Used manually, the dual-clutch transmission shifts with a suddenness bordering on aggressive, unlike a more conventional, ZF-style automatic box. But the Benz unit was never anything less than smooth in standard auto mode.
Fuel figures of 11.1L/100km for the CLA 250 and 7.9L/100km for the CLA 200 don't paint the full picture of either car's potential. Despite hurtling along at the freeway limit of 130km/h, the 200's average fuel consumption was steadily declining, with the engine ticking over at just 2500rpm.
Fuel use was also kept low as a consequence of the car's exceptional drag coefficient of 0.23Cd. Whether the CLA will prove as frugal in Australia, with our lower speeds and stultifying traffic flow remains to be seen, but fingers crossed...
Yet another factor contributing to the CLA's frugal fuel use was the auto-stop system. The petrol-engined cars were more composed than the diesel upon engine restarting, but Benz has done well to have the diesel fire up quite quickly and with less noise and vibration than we've encountered in other four-cylinder diesels from rival prestige brands.
But considering the slightly frivolous nature of the CLA, the diesel option is rendered practically immaterial in this car anyway. It's the petrol engines that deliver the fun – and all the while posting fuel consumption figures that are comparable with those of diesels.
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