Despite being among the first major manufacturers to release a premium electric vehicle (remember the EQC of 2019?), Mercedes-Benz has had a middling response to its more recent electrified models.
The EQS Saloon is sleek but expensive compared to rivals, the EQB SUV just looks a bit odd and is not as fun as it should be to drive, while the quad-motor G-Class is, well, a niche within a niche.
It is fair to say that Merc needs its battery-powered big hitter: something that will convince the masses to ditch their internal combustion engine cars and place faith in the German marque’s engineering. Renault’s R5 E-Tech or Kia’s EV6 moment, if you will.
The new CLA could well be that car, as the company’s C-Class has always been one of its best-sellers and, as a result, Mercedes-Benz has thrown its innovative might at the machine. A newly developed drive system with innovative two-speed transmission, a low drag co-efficient, an 800V architecture and fancy new batteries with silicon-oxide anodes for greater gravimetric energy density are just a few technical highlights.
Although flashy on the inside (this is the first car to introduce Merc’s Super Screen technology), the new CLA is otherwise rather sensible. Safe, quiet, comfortable and mightily efficient aren’t exactly buzzwords that get petrol heads hot under the collar, but here, they are reasons to get excited.
Big efficiency energy
The Mercedes-Benz CLA with EQ Technology, to give the car its full and very cumbersome name, takes plenty of inspiration from the Vision EQXX rolling laboratory — or the car that managed 620-miles on a single charge, in other words.
It’s easy to dismiss this as PR fluff, but a deep dive under the skin of the vehicle reveals that there’s a lot of truth to it. The drag co-efficient of 0.21 is very low thanks to its shape and numerous under-floor covers, while it is the first Mercedes to use an “air-to-air” heat pump, which takes waste heat from the electric drivetrain, the battery, as well as the ambient air to warm the cabin.
There’s intelligent regenerative braking, which attempts to slow the car in most circumstances via recuperation, and an all-new two-speed transmission.
Unlike in performance cars, where the electric powertrain is geared to put maximum power down from standstill, Mercedes-Benz flips this on the head and offers a second 5:1 ratio designed for power delivery at high speeds and maximum efficiency at a motorway cruise.
Despite this, the twin-motor CLA 350 4Matic can still manage to dispatch of the 0-62mph sprint in a respectable 4.9 seconds and return almost 480-miles on a single charge.
Many of the elements mentioned above aren’t exactly new or ground-breaking, but everything Mercedes has learnt on its quest to extract every last mile from a battery pack has been introduced here, with the results being huge mileage between charge stops.
When it’s time to pull over and refuel the battery, both cars can add around 195 to 200-miles of range in just ten minutes from DC fast-charging outlets.
Smooth operator
There is a tangible difference between the ultra-efficient CLA 250+ with EQ Technology (the single drive unit variant) and the more performance-orientated CLA 350 4Matic, with the latter picking up pace at a more impressive rate and generally feeling like the more premium driving experience.
But then base models start at £45,615 in the UK, which is around $61,000/AU$94,000 roughly converted. This sees it rival things like the Tesla Model 3 (with a greater range on paper), as well as BMW’s i4.
However, the super-efficient drive will likely see it go further on a single charge than either of these vehicles, as well as charge faster, just ten minutes for around 200-miles of range from the fastest outlets.
In both the CLA 250+ and 350, the ride is smooth and ridiculously quiet, with a premium feel inside the cabin no matter the spec. Aside from that, the drive is rather unremarkable, but that’s really the point — this is a car you can happily live with every day.
Mercedes-Benz has attempted to remind people that it is still the premium player by slathering its latest model in three-pointed stars… they are absolutely everywhere. I didn’t have time to count them all, but that tally is well into the hundreds.
It’s not the slickest approach but hey, perhaps I’m not the target audience anymore. Similarly, those cars that aren’t specified with the Superscreen array, which includes a touchscreen for the front passenger, are short-changed with a bit of star-covered plastic that sits in its place.
Minor grumblings, as the cabin is otherwise well-appointed, with plenty of room in the front and back for taller passengers and a sizable trunk for transporting kit. The enormous panoramic glass roof also floods the cabin with natural light and in the upcoming CLA Shooting Brake version, you can even have yet more illuminated stars embellish this surface.
It feels like a more luxurious, easily personalized offering than, say, a current Tesla, yet with an equally impressive digital array.
This stuff is important to those customers looking to buy into more elevated, premium EV experience.
Screen test
We were lucky enough to get an early look at Mercedes’ impressive new digital array earlier this year, but the multitude of screens work just as well in situ, particularly the slick new MBUX system that underpins it all.
The graphics are sharp and response times incredibly quick, with what Mercedes refers to as its ‘Zero Layer’ on the central display showing the most important information. Alternatively, users can swipe through and arrange the numerous apps like they would on a smartphone or tablet.
On the road, I was able to test the new AI-powered MBUX Virtual Assistant a little better, asking it using conversational prompts to direct me to nearby cafes with a view of the river, or a florist that’s open.
It harnesses ChatGPT4o and searches with Microsoft Bing, also relying on Google Gemini to help with navigational queries. The results are impressive, and it gets better the more you use it, making it much easier to navigate to less specific spots with ease.
The German marque also made a big deal of its intelligent route planning at launch, which will plan the fastest and most convenient routes, factoring in stops to charge and reducing the time hanging around waiting by only selecting the fastest (and operational) chargers.
This is further aided by Surround Navigation, which takes a live feed from the various cameras and sensors around the car to build a real-time 3D representation of the surroundings. It takes a little getting used to, but the nav system does a great job of city infrastructure in a digital format to make it easier to navigate using landmarks.
Again, this is nothing new of ground-breaking, but the entire package works extremely well together, with enough technological wizardry to impress those onboard. Opt for the Superscreen with premium sound system and the viewing experience from the passenger screen can rival most home cinemas.
Of course, specifying all of the niceties quickly sees the asking price rocket, but it still feels like an excellent value package given the electric performance, range and the technology on offer.
Personally, I felt the more expensive 350 4Matic model felt like the more accomplished car, more enjoyable to drive and boasting the sort of performance that many customers now expect from an electric vehicle — but the 250+ represents the best value for money compared other the direct competition.
Mercedes-Benz has thrown a huge amount at the CLA, but that doesn’t always equate to a succesful recipe. But here, it all works, it feels cohesive and it blends into the background after a number of miles, leaving a capable, comfortable, quiet and very easy-to-live-with EV. It feels more accomplished than many of its clostest rivals, including those from Kia, Hyundai and BMW.
With its AMG arm exciting at the other end of the spectrum with the AMG GT XX concept, it feels like the German marque has entered the next, potentially more succesful chapter of its EV story.
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