From the first leaked images of the ‘A-Class four-door coupe’ I was hooked. Not just on the aesthetics but more importantly on the philosophies espoused by the CLA-Class. It’s a classical-modern retake on the all-conquering Mercedes-Benz C-Class four-door sedan that runs on new architecture to keep it affordable to those it hopes to tempt for the first time. Most other manufacturers would’ve had a late crisis of confidence and surrendered the CLA-Class with half-arsed styling or some other fault to keep the C-Class king, but the world’s oldest motor vehicle manufacturer has the experience, resources and bravado to not follow a flawed strategy.
As mentioned, because the CLA is the first member of Mercedes-Benz’s extended family of compact models with front-wheel drive, so naturally the transversely-mounted four-cylinder engines and drivetrains are shared with the A-Class and B-Class hatchbacks. In South Africa we won’t get the CLA 250 but the CLA will be offering consumers a variety of turbocharged engines: the 180 and 200 BlueEfficiency models and finally a 220 CDI diesel. That means this low, sleek head-turner from Mercedes-Benz is only front-wheel drive. No doubt a sacrilegious thought to most big-Benz fanatics, but Stuttgart has pre-empted the fallout by giving the CLA 45 AMG a dose of 4MATIC all-wheel drive don’t forget, just as it did in the A 45 AMG, so you won’t be wanting for traction, I assure you.
One of the unique attributes on all CLA-Class models is how efficiently it defeats the wind. The CLA 180 BlueEfficiency is the world’s aerodynamic world champion with a drag Cd of just 0.22. The next best car in the world is the Mercedes-Benz with 0.24 Cd and Mercedes-Benz say a 0.04 saving is worth 0.4 L/100 km in the real world, or the equivalent to shaving 35 kg off the car’s weight. This sort of attention to detail combines with an active radiator shutter that’s available across the entire range to provide high efficiency when the CLA is being driven economically, as well as an active eco stop/start function. The four-cylinder petrol engines in the CLA 180 and CLA 200 are both 1.6-litre turbos, making 90 kW and 200 Nm of torque and 115 kW and 250 Nm of torque respectively. The 220 CDI will return a claimed 4.5l/100km on the combined cycle. We think the petrol engines are a little under-powered for the sort of svelte looks the CLA offers, so we recommend the diesel and we bemoan the lack of a CLA 250 Sport.
I was lucky enough to spend the majority of the launch drive in the CLA 45 AMG, followed by the dynamic driving on Robertson airfield and then shorter stints in the 200 petrol and 220 CDI. Just a few km up Franschhoek Pass I realise this 265 kW and 450 Nm CLA 45 AMG is my kind of AMG. Its hysterically quick, high-tech, stylish and efficient but it still feels like an AMG; and Mercedes-Benz claim 6.9 L/100 km on the combined cycle, but more than that it doesn’t feel benign or too closely connected to the A-Class, which is a massive credit to the mental Merc. In case you’ve forgotten, 0 – 100 km/h comes up in 4.6 seconds and the top speed is 250km/h. The ride quality is firm and jarring at slow speeds, what did you expect? Better still there is no adaptable suspension to make it softer, so it’s uncomplicated in that way.
You tip the CLA 45 AMG into a corner and the front grabs hard onto the road and the steering provides inch-perfect feeling. It doesn’t roll at all. I mean nothing…, no roll…, at all. So you’re left with all your concentration focused on how much and when you want to nudge the throttle open. You start off over-slowing the car into bends, as if pre-empting inevitable AWD understeer like you would in an Audi with quattro, but the understeer never comes. The front tyres (Dunlop Sport Maxx all around) seem impervious to misbehaving. More than that, they’re communicating with you all the way through the corner. So you start attacking corners and man-alive does the CLA 45 AMG change direction stunningly. You over-speed on the way in and jump on the throttle way earlier than textbook-driving allows, and ‘wwrrhump’ you’ve cleared the corner. I started to tempt understeer/oversteer with deliberate, pronounced mid-corner left-offs from the brakes and the CLA 45 AMG still held its preordained line.
The 4Matic system in the CLA 45 AMG was designed from the get-go to work on front-wheel drive architecture with transversely mounted engines. It features fully variable torque distribution with a maximum 50/50 split between front and rear. The variable torque system works in tandem with the SLS-derived 7G-DCT dual-clutch transmission for maximum efficiency. Of course it’s all governed by a sophisticated raft of electronics that uses sensors to gather data from the ABS and ESP. Mercedes-Benz say it completely eliminates understeer and oversteer in any driving conditions. I can attest to that. On the AMG, adaptation of the 4Matic system works in accordance with a three-stage ESP ‘Sport’ mode and Curve Control Assist that uses the ABS to brake individual wheels.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however, if you can’t afford the CLA 45 AMG or the diesel because a raft of AMG, Sport and Night packages can be optioned to the car to make it look far-sportier than my actually be the case. These packages go a long way to giving the CLA the individuality a buyer will almost certainly be looking for, but be prepared to add around R70 000 – R90 000 in options to the sticker price.
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Pricing (starting from)
CLA 180: R348 700
CLA 200: R372 700
CLA 220 CDI: R397 600
CLA 45 AMG: R674 400
All prices include VAT and CO2 tax a standard 6 yr/100 000 km Mobilo Drive plan.
