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Top Gear
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Buy Mercedes-Benz CLA Price, PPC or HP
AMG Line Premium is another £2,395 up from the AMG Line at £51,770, but comes with pretty much everything. And they all get the MB-OS and AI helper, plus the same 11kW on-board AC charging ability, 320kW DC rapid charging that 85kWh battery (until the smaller one arrives). In the UK, we get the 250+ from £45,615 for the base Sport, with the AMG Line (different wheels, bodystyling etc) running in at £49,375. So £3,760 more than the Sport. It's worth noting that the Sport is actually priced fairly aggressively in the market for the range/ability; Merc's smallest EV actually making the best case for itself. Colours are pretty standard, two blacks (metallic and non), a grey and white, though the CLA actually looks best in the two brightest; the light sapphire blue and Patagonia red. Later on we'll get the 350+ 4Matic as well as the estate and hybrid versions, and you can option a variety of interior colours and wheels separately – although all wheels are aerodynamically optimised for their design and size. Other stuff worth mentioning? Well, you get a Merc smartphone app, and CLAs come with which aggregates all relevant chargers for most efficient route-mapping, working with the on-board AI to do stuff like precondition the battery for fastest-possible charging. You can even tell it what percentage of the battery you wish to arrive at your destination with, which is handier than you think.
Motor Trend
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Motor Trend
2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA First Drive: First Taste of What's Coming Next at Mercedes
The 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA has a lot of pressure riding on its all-new chassis. It's the first in an onslaught of new products to come from Mercedes: 40 models over the next two and a half years, the biggest series of launches ever for the brand. The CLA also ushers in the next generation of electric vehicles with an 800-volt electrical architecture, and it's the first model from the new Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA), which will also spawn a wagon for Europe and the next-generation Mercedes-Benz GLAand GLB compact SUVs. It introduces the new operating system for its infotainment system, and it is the brand's first software-defined vehicle, capable of reinventing itself with over-the-air updates. The 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA debuts with new features like the MMA platform, an 800-volt electrical architecture, and the infotainment system. It offers two electric models with significant range and advanced tech, aiming to blend luxury with future-ready design. Pricing starts around $44,000. This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next All of this comes packed into an entry-level subcompact sedan designed to make a good first impression and snag customers and convert them to Mercedes buyers for life. No pressure. We traveled to Copenhagen to get behind the wheel of the third-generation CLA with its mighty expectations. The compact MMA was engineered for fully electric vehicles as well as hybrids. The first models to hit the market will be pure EVs; the 48-volt mild hybrids with a new 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine will follow months later. Pair of CLA Electric Sedans to Choose From The electric CLA comes in two versions. The base Mercedes-Benz CLA250+ with EQ Technology has a single 268-hp motor in the rear and two-speed transmission. The all-wheel-drive CLA350 4Matic adds a second 107-hp motor in the front for a total system output of 349 hp. The motors were developed in-house. There is a 58-kWh battery available in some markets, but North America will only get the larger 85-kWh battery. It is a new nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery. Range is 492 miles on the WLTP test cycle, which is more generous than EPA ratings. Expect its rating to exceed 350 miles in the U.S. The car is aerodynamic, with a claimed coefficient of drag of 0.21 and learnings from the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept that drove 621 miles on a single charge through Europe. On the CLA, the front motor decouples from the front axle when not needed for power or regenerative braking, further adding to its efficiency. Charging Discrepancies The CLA can accept charge rates of up to 320 kW, adding up to 186 miles of range in 10 minutes on a fast charger. The problem: The 800-volt CLA is not compatible with 400-volt fast chargers, and although the car comes with a NACS charging port, the Tesla Supercharger network does not have many 800-volt chargers. To use 800-volt fast chargers from networks like Electrify America, owners will need an adapter to connect to the CCS-type chargers. To fix this dilemma in North America, Mercedes will provide a converter to be able to charge at either 400 or 800 volts. The converter will be available for those who order their car in 2026. Early adopters who scoop up a car when it goes on sale this fall will be out of luck. The car's software will at least make sure it does not send a car to a charger it cannot use. Driving the new CLA There is no start button on the electric version. Just sit in the driver's seat and push the brake to start, and release the brake and press park to leave. There is also a power button on the end of the stalk. Choose from five levels of regenerative braking by pushing or pulling the stalk on the steering column. D is normal recuperation; D+ has no recuperation, allowing the car to coast; D- is the strongest, slowing the car quickly and providing one-pedal drive that brings the car to a complete stop. D Auto lets the car's intelligence determine the proper amount for smooth, steady driving. In the CLA250+, the single-motor version, the steering is surprisingly light but also direct and responsive. The car feels nimble from the first turn of the wheel. Ride quality is extremely refined. You'll only feel the road when going over a particularly nasty pothole. We're also surprised by how quiet it is. There is a touch of wind noise and very little road noise. (The larger tires on the AMG Line emit a bit more.) There is a series of artificial sounds you can choose from that whirr when you accelerate or interact with the car in any way. The sounds have names like 'serene breeze,' 'fractal fusion,' 'granular fuzz,' 'roaring pulse,' and 'vivid flux.' You can opt for none of the above for a quieter experience. Acceleration is smooth and steady but not neck-snapping in the 250+. Hop into the 350 4Matic with dual motors, and it is a very different story. It pins you back in your seat when you stomp on the go pedal and the torque kicks in. Drive modes are easily accessible via a button on the center console. There isn't much of a difference between Comfort and Sport in terms of the suspension's action. Two days driving in Copenhagen through city streets and rural landscapes is about as pleasant as you can get. This may be an entry-level sedan, but it drives like pure Mercedes. It truly is a delight. Making Electric Mercedes Pretty Again After Mercedes experimented with the new look of its EQS and EQE electric vehicles with a blunted front end and bloblike forms, it's realizing maybe the futuristic look isn't what customers are looking for. The CLA is the product of new thinking: Vehicles should look the same regardless of drivetrain, and they should stay true to Mercedes elegance, which means a longer hood and body lines. The 2026 CLA is the first to sport an illuminated Mercedes star on the grille surrounded by a galaxy of 142 illuminated stars. The new running lights continue with the star motif, which is mimicked in the taillights. The car is about an inch longer and the wheelbase has been stretched about 2 inches. It is also slightly higher and wider than the outgoing CLA. The AMG Line trim has a high spoiler on the back and is available with 19-inch wheels. You can opt for an interior with neon accents on the black seats. The 250+ we drove had a two-tone black and white interior with red stitching, chrome accent pieces, a vinyl headliner, and a dash that is soft to the touch. The cars have wireless phone charging, cupholders, and USB outlets below the center console. The rear seat is a bit tight but sufficient, and rear passengers have USB outlets. Their windows only go down halfway, so look to the air vents for cooling. The trunk is surprisingly large, with room for a pair of suitcases; a carry-on will fit up front in the frunk. All About the Screen The CLA comes with Mercedes' bigger and brighter Superscreen that spans the width of the car. It consists of a 10.3-inch driver display, 14.0-inch infotainment screen, and optional second 14.0-inch screen for the passenger. There is a large bezel around the screens, which might bother some who want every inch of screen to be usable space. In cars without the active screen in front of the passenger, there is only a static 'screen' covered in Mercedes stars. On those with the active display, it's unusual that the driver is able to see images on the passenger screen while driving; it has no privacy glass. But if the monitors detect the driver is eyeing it, after 1.3 seconds the feed will be cut off and the screen goes black with a message saying it has been dimmed to prevent driver distraction. After the passenger complains and the driver reverts eyes to the road ahead, the screen comes back on, and the passenger can continue to watch whatever they were enjoying. The passenger can use Bluetooth speakers for the audio or choose 'cabin sound' where it comes through the car speakers. Mercedes uses the CLA to introduce the fourth-generation MBUX infotainment system, which runs on the new Mercedes-Benz operating system that integrates AI from Google as well as Microsoft. The driver display shows the surroundings: people, cyclists, and vehicles moving in real time around the vehicle. Helpful Screen Within a Screen For navigation, the center screen shows a busy, detailed, colorful map. There is a cool view that merges the navigation data with what the car's sensors see to show where the car is in real time. Directional arrows appear when it is time to turn or exit a roundabout. Developed with Unity, which does gaming, the graphics are realistic and responsive. This is in addition to directions in the driver display, the head-up display, and the overall navigation map. Infotainment controls are intuitive with a dedicated home button on the screen and a bottom row of controls for heating and cooling, seat adjustment, and charging information. The dedicated charging screen showed we had 373 miles of range to start our journey. The Dolby Atmos sound system is superb. There are massaging seats for driver and front passenger, and there is a camera to take pictures or video of the car's occupants. If you want to keep any of it, you need your own stick to download and save it. All versions of the CLA will come from the same assembly line in Rastatt, Germany, so Mercedes can accommodate whatever mix of powertrains customers demand. The EVs launch in Europe this summer and reach the U.S. in the fall. Pricing has not been announced. The hybrid follows at the end of 2025 in Europe and in 2026 for North America. The hybrid is expected to be the volume model in the U.S. Still to come: an electric-only AMG version of the new CLA. If the CLA is the future of Mercedes, it's looking bright.
Top Gear
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Mercedes-Benz CLA Review 2025
The electric Mercedes-Benz CLA, offering next-generation of everything, from batteries to MB-OS supercomputer specs and artificial intelligence lurking behind the dash. Actually it's lurking in the Mercedes-Benz 'intelligent cloud', but you get the idea. It's apparently the cleverest car Mercedes has ever made, but more practically it's an electric Mercedes that offers monster range and conveniently rapid charging from a new NMC battery, and doesn't look like a bar of lightly-used soap. Advertisement - Page continues below We're talking 484 miles of WLTP range from 85kWh of usable cells, excellent efficiency across the board, a two-speed gearbox (more on that later) and the ability to ferret out the closest hipster coffee shop that serves matcha-latte but also allows dogs. This we will explain when we get to the Interior section. It just looks… like a slightly swoopier CLA. Which is kind of the point. This is Mercedes delivering change while not spooking the conservative horses. A mid-sized, four-door saloon with decent proportions and a slight obsession with… er… stars. Yep, this is the most starry Merc ever. Look closely and they're absolutely everywhere; the optional multibeam LED headlights have star-shaped running lights (standard ones have a chrome bit in a star shape), and the taillights are also starry, while the electric car's nose features 142 individually animated stars for that Dubai-nighttime feel. The combustion-engined hybrid has a more trad grille, but it still has a star. The interior has lots of stars – there'll be a star-studded electrochromic glass roof in the forthcoming CLA Shooting Brake – and there's the general feeling that maybe Merc got a bit carried away. Advertisement - Page continues below But still, it's handsome enough in a slightly anonymous way. Offence would be hard to come by, but desire might also be a bit of an overstatement. We'll be getting the hybrid CLA (and the estate/Shooting Brake version) a bit later, but for now, we get the pure electric one in two different formats: the 250+ with rear-wheel drive and the 350+ 4Matic with all-wheel drive. Although the higher-powered one arrives slightly later. The 250 comes with a single 268bhp rear-mounted motor and the biggest efficiency scores, the 350 adds a front motor to give around 350bhp. Both use the same 85kWh (usable) NMC battery, and the 250 manages those impressive figures: if you option the right wheels and drive like a laboratory technician, some 484 miles of WLTP range is available. A smaller 58kWh LFP battery will be offered later for those with more urban-centric needs. That's getting close to ICE range – how's it doing that? With the application of marginal gains. The battery is 20 per cent more energy dense than a battery with purely graphite nodes – this one has silicon-oxide/graphite – so you've got more energy to use. The rear-motor has a two-speed 'box, but unlike something like a Porsche Taycan or Audi e-tron GT, it's not necessarily for off-the-line speed – more an overdrive to keep the motors spinning at their most efficient rpm when on a motorway. The multi-source heat pump is air-to-air and uses about a third of the energy of a traditional auxiliary heater, and the underfloor is completely flat, too. Even the rear suspension has aero-shrouding to manage airflow. It's also very parsimonious when it comes to energy recuperation from the braking system. It's an integrated efficiency buffet that all contributes to a car that uses every last erg of energy to max effect. Pretty much what you would hope all electric cars do, but don't. What's the experience like? Solid. The CLA is an easy car to get good range from. Add to that 320kW of charging ability and you're looking at 201 miles of range in ten minutes, 10-80 per cent charge in 22. That's very good. The downside of the gestalt is a car that's a bit vanilla to drive. It's fast enough, rides well, does everything you expect it to, but lacks much character, even for an EV. In fact, the experience is definitely canted towards the on-board electronics, featuring as it does artificial intelligence from Google and Microsoft in the new MB-OS, something that operates in a way that allows for complex interrogation of the Virtual Assistant. Which apparently can sense moods and actually has a short-term memory. Sounds a bit like it might end up taking over the world and eliminating its inefficient human masters, but in practice it works well. Any stiff competition? Small segment this, because SUVs and crossovers have been hogging the limelight on Planet Electric. The CLA's closest rivals are the Tesla Model 3 and BMW i4, which are similar sizes but bookend the Merc on price: the former is cheaper, the latter dearer. Neither gets close on range. Then you've got the Polestar 2 and Hyundai Ioniq 6 to think about. The VW ID.7 is bigger, and priced accordingly. The CLA 250+ is £45,615 but you can push that over £50k if you ascend the trim ladder. Pricing for the 350+ remains TBC, and the same goes for the Shooting Brake and hybrids that will follow. A hugely sensible and technologically interesting car from Mercedes-Benz, but one that lacks the sparkle to make it a no-brainer. The driving is perfectly acceptable, but 'fine' is a lacklustre epithet. The AI and tech works very well, and it's a handsome enough saloon, but the thing that stands out is the sheer convenience. Moderate performance but big range and fast-charging will make all the difference when it comes to living with this thing, and it'll be an absolute beast at numbing those boring journeys. The estate also looks nicer, but gets all the same kit, so that will be worth waiting for. Page 2 Page 3
