Photo: Mercedes-Benz I never think of Mercedes-Benz as being “out of its league” in any category. If anything, that term means to me that the company’s technological leadership has created an entirely new class of cars to which other manufacturers could aspire. A prime example is the new S550, which takes luxury automobiles to new heights and may be the closest thing to a driverless vehicle available in any showroom. It leaves other large luxosedans, such as the Lexus LS, in the dust and is considered by many to be a bargain at over $100K with options. It has truly set a new standard at the higher end of the market.
Unfortunately, there’s the other end of the spectrum, where Mercedes is certainly out of its league in trying to field near-luxury sedans known as the CLA250 and CLA45. We had a chance to drive these cars not long ago and they simply felt cheap. If you could close your eyes behind the wheel, you’d never guess that you were in a car made by one of the world’s premier makers. The ride was harsh, the engines felt buzzy and sound insulation was sparse. The stick-on dash screen is an abomination worthy of Pep Boys at a time when the competitive new Audi A3 (which actually drives and feels like an Audi) provides one that slides down automatically. Make a fist and knock around the plastic dash areas of a CLA and you’ll hear the hollow sounds of an econobox. Perhaps it was no surprise that, during testing, the base model was put out of commission by a pothole.
Yes, the CLA sedans look good, but that’s about where it ends. With a decent set of options, they sticker in the mid-$30K range and you can get a lot of good cars for that money. If you must have the Mercedes badge on a limited new-car budget, go buy one at the parts department and then stick it on the hood of your Chevrolet Malibu, Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Mazda6 or Subaru Legacy, all of which seem to be better cars for the price . . . or less.
BY THE NUMBERS (CLA250)
Price: $29,900
Horsepower: 208
0-60: 6.9 secs (Mercedes)
Curb weight: 3,262 lbs
TO LEARN MORE
Mercedes
Car and Driver
Motor Trend
Unfortunately, there’s the other end of the spectrum, where Mercedes is certainly out of its league in trying to field near-luxury sedans known as the CLA250 and CLA45. We had a chance to drive these cars not long ago and they simply felt cheap. If you could close your eyes behind the wheel, you’d never guess that you were in a car made by one of the world’s premier makers. The ride was harsh, the engines felt buzzy and sound insulation was sparse. The stick-on dash screen is an abomination worthy of Pep Boys at a time when the competitive new Audi A3 (which actually drives and feels like an Audi) provides one that slides down automatically. Make a fist and knock around the plastic dash areas of a CLA and you’ll hear the hollow sounds of an econobox. Perhaps it was no surprise that, during testing, the base model was put out of commission by a pothole.
Yes, the CLA sedans look good, but that’s about where it ends. With a decent set of options, they sticker in the mid-$30K range and you can get a lot of good cars for that money. If you must have the Mercedes badge on a limited new-car budget, go buy one at the parts department and then stick it on the hood of your Chevrolet Malibu, Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Mazda6 or Subaru Legacy, all of which seem to be better cars for the price . . . or less.
BY THE NUMBERS (CLA250)
Price: $29,900
Horsepower: 208
0-60: 6.9 secs (Mercedes)
Curb weight: 3,262 lbs
TO LEARN MORE
Mercedes
Car and Driver
Motor Trend
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