Latest news with #Merc
India Today
6 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Jain & the art of diplomatic immunity
The Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) has just pulled the curtain on a plot so audacious it could make Sukesh Chandrashekhar man who invented multiple micro nations and appointed Shri Harsh Vardhan Jain as the ambassador or consul-general has been arrested from the Westarctica Embassy compound in Ghaziabad's ambassador of Ladonia and the Consul-General of Saborga had diplomatic number plates, passports, but, as it turned out, no diplomatic immunity. When the man identified himself as Harsh Vardhan Jain, it became clear that Gangadhar hi Shaktiman Meet Harsh Vardhan Jain, the man who turned a rented house into a diplomatic Disneyland for fictional nations like Westarctica, Saborga, Poulvia, and Ladonia, countries so obscure even Google Maps would shrug and say, "Bhai, yeh kahan hai?"It was a Tuesday, July 22, when the Noida unit of the UP STF, acting on a tip-off from central agencies, swooped in like a hawk on a particularly delusional pigeon. They found Jain, the mastermind of this micronation madness, strutting about as the "Ambassador" of these make-believe had four luxury cars decked out with fake diplomatic plates, because nothing screams "I'm legit" like a second-hand Merc with a dodgy licence plate. Add to that a haul of 12 "diplomatic passports" for his fantasy nations, forged documents stamped with the seal of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), two fake PAN cards, 34 rubber stamps of various countries and companies, and two counterfeit press also had Rs 44.7 lakh in cash just so minor inconveniences came knocking. A stash of foreign currency that could fund a small coup in Poulvia, if it were a real a Ghaziabad resident with a rap sheet that includes a 2011 case for possessing an illegal satellite phone, had a knack for playing dress-up. He allegedly morphed photos of himself with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former President APJ Abdul Kalam, and other global bigwigs to convince gullible folks he was a diplomatic heavyweight."Look, here I am with Modi ji, shaking hands like we're planning a G20 summit in Mordor Midlands!" you can almost hear him say. He targeted dreamers desperate for jobs abroad and companies chasing overseas deals. Jain promised them visas to the countries he had invented. STF suspects he ran a suspected hawala racket through shell companies to keep the cash let's look at some of his "micronations". Westarctica? Sounds like a rejected Marvel villain hideout. Saborga, Poulvia, Ladonia? They're not even on the dark web's travel itinerary. A micronation, for the uninitiated, is a self-declared "country" that no government or international body recognises. They are like a WhatsApp group declaring itself a sovereign however, sold these as real destinations, complete with "diplomatic" credentials. He even styled himself as Westarctica's "Baron," which is less a title and more a cry for a country where bureaucracy is a blood sport, Jain's hustle is both laughable and oddly admirable. He forged MEA seals, instead of some low-level patwari's. He knew few cops dare to stop and extort from diplomats so he got the vehicular equivalent of sticking a "VIP" sticker on your scooter. Jain's plan worked, at least for a while, because India loves a good someone you're an ambassador with a selfie next to Modi ji, and they'll hand over their life savings faster than you can say "visa approved."So, what's next? An FIR's been lodged at Kavi Nagar police station, and the STF is digging deeper. Jain's embassy of nowhere is crumbling, but the question lingers: how did he pull this off for so long?Maybe it's because, in Delhi, we're so used to embassies and CD numberplates, a fake embassy feels like just another problem is Jain opened one in Kavi Nagar, Ghaziabad. Had this been in South Delhi, he would be having a nice lunch at Habitat with a fellow diplomat. Because diplomats and consuls are all over the markets, only god and Delhi Police know how many are of countries invented by Jain's fellow diplomats.- EndsTrending Reel
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
Ghaziabad's bungalow of lies: Morphed Modi photos, high-end cars; inside fake diplomat Harshvardhan Jain's lavish KB-45 mansion
Operating from his Ghaziabad 'embassy,' Jain allegedly ran a nine-year fraud, accumulating fake documents, diplomatic plates, and foreign currency. Authorities suspect the lavish operation served as a front for a hawala racket. GHAZIABAD: A man who plucked out from obscurity names of micronations like Westarctica and Ladonia and declared himself their ambassador was arrested on Wednesday by the Noida unit of UP's special task force from his 'embassy' in Ghaziabad. Harshvardhan Jain's portfolio of gobbledegook included calling himself a diplomat from Seborga and Paulovia. He apparently found takers for this tripe, enabling the 47-year-old to perpetuate a fraud that went on for nine years. He bestowed on himself the titles of 'Honorary Consul Baron Westarctica', engraved on the number plate of a Merc found parked on the premises, and 'Honorary Consigliere Principato Di Seborga', which adorned the blue diplomatic plate of a Hyundai Sonata. Fake country stamps, passports, four cars with diplomatic registration plates, and foreign currency were recovered from the lavish Kavi Nagar bungalow that Jain rented six months ago for Rs 1.8 lakh per month. Police also found two forged press cards, indicating the 'diplomat' and 'baron' may also have pretended to be a journalist. Jain, according to police, was born into a wealthy family and got an MBA from a London college. The 'embassy' was allegedly the front for a hawala racket he ran. Fake diplomat at work: Flags, high-end cars, morphed pics Special superintendent of police (STF) Sushil Ghule said central agencies were on the lookout for Jain, but it was an anonymous tipoff that took the STF to bungalow number KB-45 in Kavi Nagar at 10pm on Tuesday. Over the next seven hours — the raid continued till 3pm on Wednesday — the team scanned and seized volumes of documents, allegedly linked to an elaborate job scam and the hawala money network. 'Jain had morphed photos to show him in the company of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former President APJ Abdul Kalam. He had padded the house with flags of foreign nations. The cars parked in front embellished the appearance of the house as an important compound.' SP (Noida STF) Raj Kumar Mishra told TOI that during interrogation, Jain claimed that he was appointed an adviser to the 'principality of Seborga', which is a self-proclaimed principality in the Italian riviera, in 2012. He also claimed that in 2016, the Grand Duchy of Westarctica — another micronation in western Antarctica — appointed him honorary ambassador. Jain made similar claims for Ladonia, a micronation in Sweden, and Paulovia, which seems to be a name cooked up by him. Micronations, to be clear, are not sovereign countries and aren't recognised entities. Micronations are distinct from microstates, such as Liechtenstein or Vatican City, whose sovereignty over extremely small territories and populations is internationally recognised. According to investigators, Jain started to operate his 'embassy' from his parents' property — bungalow number KB-35 — in the same colony in 2016. 'For nine years, he operated out of this house before shifting to KB-45, which is owned by a person called Sushil Kumar,' Mishra said, adding cops were yet to ascertain how many people Jain may have cheated during this period and what his exact modus operandi was. 'He used the fake designations to draw people into conversations and gradually offered them jobs in foreign companies. He would later charge them by offering help to open overseas bank accounts or purchase properties. We are investigating his connections with gangsters abroad,' Mishra added. The STF indicated he had contacts abroad, but it's yet to be ascertained how many people, if he indeed did, send abroad. The STF found in his possession 18 fake diplomatic number plates, 12 forged diplomatic passports from these micronations, fake documents carrying the seal of the foreign ministry, two forged PAN cards and 34 rubber stamps of various countries and organisations. 'We also found Rs 44 lakh in cash, assorted foreign currencies, and 12 imported luxury watches,' Ghule said. An FIR has been registered against Jain at Kavi Nagar police station under BNS Sections 318 (4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 336 (3) (forgery for purpose of cheating), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.) and 340 (2) (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record). He was sent to police custody by a local court.
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Metro FM's DJ Jawz talks Strictly Vinyl Throwback party
DJ Jawz is building up to the Strictly Vinyl Throwback party. Itumeleng Sebola, better known as DJ Jawz, will showcase his DJing skills at the Strictly Vinyl Throwback party at Artistry in Sandton on July 27, also featuring Naked DJ, DJ Terance and others. Speaking to TshisaLIVE, DJ Jawz said vinyl isn't just about the sound — it's about the experience. He described vinyl as bold, with a fuller, richer sound that takes listeners on a ride. 'Vinyl feels like driving your classic Merc on a Sunday; it's smooth, nostalgic and has that raw energy. Digital is like your newer car, packed with features, but it doesn't quite have the same punch.' While both formats have their place, when it comes to creating a throwback vibe, vinyl's warmth and depth win every time, he said. DJ Jawz is known for his diverse selection of tracks and his set at the Strictly Vinyl Throwback party promises a blend of everything from soul and funk to 1990s house. 'I'm kicking things off with RnB, soul, funk and disco to get people in the groove. Then, I'll switch it up to 1990s house to keep the energy high and fresh.' Expect a mix of timeless classics and dance floor favourites that'll keep the party jumping all night. While the throwback classics are essential, DJ Jawz promises surprises for the crowd. 'I love throwing in something unexpected during my sets. It's all about keeping the crowd engaged and making sure they leave the party talking about the surprise moments that came out of nowhere.' If you're expecting the usual, get ready for some fresh, unexpected twists that will make the night more memorable.
Rakyat Post
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Rakyat Post
The RM120K Reality Check: When Your Insurance Job Dreams Meet Mercedes Maintenance Bills
Subscribe to our FREE Meet our protagonist: a fresh university graduate who dove into the insurance industry last December. Three months in – technically just one month full-time after doing part-time initially – his team leader dropped some 'wisdom' on him: You need a car that commands respect when meeting clients. Translation: Your trusty Myvi isn't going to cut it anymore. So, what does someone earning RM4,000 to RM5,000 monthly do? Naturally, he sets his sights on a 2017 Mercedes C200 priced at RM120,000. Because nothing says 'I've made it' like German engineering on a Malaysian salary, right? The Tea Session That Tried to Save Him His friend – the one sharing this story – tried to be the voice of reason during what should have been a casual tea session: Friend: 'Dude, your Myvi is fine. Why change?' Insurance Guy: 'I meet clients all the time. Need to give them confidence.' Friend: 'Is your insurance income even stable yet? You're moving pretty fast.' Insurance Guy: 'Average RM4-5K monthly, not bad.' Friend: 'Your car payments and petrol alone will be RM2K monthly. That's before maintenance.' Insurance Guy: 'I live at home, it's fine. The car is a money-making tool.' The friend, having owned a Mercedes before, tried one last warning: 'Mercedes maintenance is genuinely expensive. My previous Merc averaged RM1-2K per service. I sold it before the warranty expired and switched to Mazda.' Spoiler alert: The warning fell on deaf ears. April Arrives, Reality Bites Fast forward to April. Our insurance agent finally gets his Mercedes. His leader, perhaps sensing the writing on the wall, jumps ship to property sales in May. June rolls around, and the C200 is due for its major service. The bill: RM4,398. Suddenly, that 'money-making tool' needed its own financial rescue mission. The new Mercedes owner found himself asking friends for service money because – plot twist – he hadn't budgeted for maintenance costs. His reasoning? 'Such an expensive car should definitely go to the original service centre.' Fair enough, but expensive principles require expensive budgets. The Comment Section Delivers Some Hard Truths The story struck a nerve online, with commenters serving up their own brand of tough love: 'Many people are like this – they want to look good upfront but don't think about the costs behind. Some even plan to borrow money from friends. Treating friends like ATMs.' 'Earning RM4-5K and daring to buy a Maserati – that's real talent.' 'Adults need to take responsibility for their actions. At least he came to you for service money, taking responsibility for his car.' 'If you can't break through yourself, you'll end up breaking yourself.' The Sales Game: Where Image Costs More Than Income This isn't just about one guy and his Mercedes dreams. It's about the pressure cooker environment of sales jobs where image often trumps financial sense. The pressure to project success through luxury purchases is common in many professional environments. But here's the thing about 'fake it till you make it' – sometimes you end up faking yourself into debt. The friend sharing this story wasn't trying to shame anyone. His final thoughts were surprisingly measured: 'I'm not suggesting this approach. Mercedes maintenance is genuinely expensive, but you need to weigh it yourself. If you buy it, just call me.' Every ambitious professional faces this crossroads: invest in your image or invest in your stability. The Mercedes owner chose the image, and while the jury's still out on whether it'll pay off in the long term, that RM4,398 service bill was definitely a wake-up call. Sometimes, the most expensive education comes with leather seats and a three-pointed star on the hood. READ MORE : READ MORE : READ MORE : READ MORE : Share your thoughts with us via TRP's . Get more stories like this to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.
The Advertiser
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Advertiser
2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA review: Quick drive
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Pros Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Cons Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Pros Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Cons With its new third-generation CLA, Mercedes-Benz is pushing the electric vehicle (EV) boat way out from the shore (at least in terms of range and charging) and yet also hedging its bets ever so slightly with the promise of a hybrid version of the all-new small sedan to placate the plug-phobes. The design is proving a touch divisive (at least judging by social media responses). The overall shape is familiar enough, but the detailing at the front is vastly different, with a huge star-studded grille and new lights both front and rear, and not everyone seems to love it. It's certainly less conventionally handsome than the current CLA. But it's refreshing to see an automaker using a new EV platform (called MMA, and sharing hardly anything with the old NGCC front-wheel-drive CLA platform) and some critical new technology (most of all the adaptable software that controls pretty much all aspects of the car) in a compact sedan. Why not an SUV, given that replacements for the current Mercedes EQB and EQA are on the way too? Well, it probably has something to do with efficiency. The CLA isn't really a coupe, despite Mercedes-Benz's naming strategy and its frameless door glass. It's a compact, sleek four-door sedan and that gives Merc's aerodynamicists the chance to flex their wind-tunnel muscles, trimming the CLA's wind resistance figure to an impressive 0.21Cd. That allows Mercedes to then make the most of its new 85kWh lithium-ion battery, which uses silicon-oxide anodes for a 20 per cent boost in energy density – and some significant trimming of the car's overall carbon footprint, says Mercedes-Benz. All of that, combined with some knowledge gleaned from the ultra-long range Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept car, results in a new electric sedan from the three-pointed star brand that can travel for close to 800km on one charge. Can it though? We went to Copenhagen to find out… We simply don't know yet. The outgoing and entirely combustion-powered CLA (well, aside from the plug-in hybrid version) has a starting price in Australia of just over $75,000, so it's likely that with all the expensive new tech, the new electric CLA will have a higher price tag than that. Of course, mild-hybrid combustion powered versions will be cheaper than the EV, and the recently revealed Shooting Brake wagon version of the new CLA could return to Australia for the first time since the first generation. We won't know for certain until closer to the new CLA's arrival date in the second half of 2026. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool In a tech-sense, the new CLA is really impressive inside. There's a cliff-faced digital dashboard, which – if you get the optional passenger-side display – has essentially wall-to-wall screens and is clearly an evolution of the 'stretched iPad' dashboard layout of the current CLA. Sadly, Mercedes-Benz – as with most automakers – has decided to throw most of the physical buttons and controls into a skip bin, but on the upside the new software does seem to be on the ball, with fast responses to on-screen presses and swipes, and nice big icons for each menu item that mean you can generally catch them on the first stab when driving. The optional three-spoke AMG steering wheel still uses hateful touch-sensitive controls, but an update with some proper buttons is on the way for that particular part, we're told. allows you to do all sorts of things, such as downloading streaming services including Disney+ and YouTube to watch movies, along with games such as Angry Birds and Fortnite, and you can even connect your own PlayStation or Xbox controller to while away any time spent charging. The digital voice assistant (and you can choose between Google Assistant, Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz's own 'Hey, Mercedes' setup) seems a bit less stupid than many others. Meanwhile, the navigation – based on Google Maps, but with Mercedes-Benz's own overlays on top – is very impressive. Mercedes claims that doesn't just allow it to update the software over the air, it will in theory allow it to tweak and improve all of the CLA's systems, from battery management to electronic driver aids, as the car ages. On a physical level, the front of the cabin is nice, with high-backed bucket seats which are wonderfully comfortable, and lots of storage space in the doors and the centre console. The driving position feels a bit perched-up though, because of course the battery under the floor means that it can't drop down all that much, but you do get used to it. In the back, legroom is surprisingly good, but headroom is tight for anyone over 1.8 metres tall, plus the angle of the seat, and the high-set rear floor, means that your knees are way up in the air, and the backs of your legs left unsupported. The CLA might not really be a coupe, but it's a bit coupe-like in the back. There's better news in the boot, where there's 405 litres of relatively shallow luggage space, and another 101L in the very handy 'frunk' storage area in the nose. If you need more than that, wait for the new CLA Shooting Brake. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The electric CLAs come with a choice of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive powertrains. Here, we're concentrating on the rear-drive CLA 250+, because that's the one with the headline-grabbing range figure. With 200kW of power and 335Nm of torque, the 250+ motor is right in the middle of the electric motor world, neither exceptionally powerful nor notably weak. Mercedes-Benz has equipped the CLA with a two-speed transmission, instead of the more common single-speed reduction gear, which is meant to give the car better low-down sprinting capability and still allow it to cruise effortlessly at higher speeds. That does partially work – and the transmission lives up to Mercedes-Benz's promise of it being impossible to tell when the shifts occur – but an initial shove off the line gives way to fairly relaxed acceleration in the CLA 250+. It's brisk, but you'd never call it very fast with a 6.7-second claimed 0-100km/h time. Obviously, the two-motor, all-wheel drive CLA 350+ 4Matic is a touch more emphatic, hitting 100km/h from rest in a claimed 4.9 seconds, and feeling much punchier overall. Given that it loses out on only 20km of official range compared to the rear-drive 250+, the 350+ might just be the CLA of choice. However, it is the 250+ that's the range champion here, and Mercedes-Benz quotes an official figure of 792km on the WLTP test. That's truly exceptional and way ahead of anything Tesla or BYD can claim. Does it stack up in the real world, though? Well, yes, but with a couple of caveats. The biggest is that we were driving the CLA on roads around Copenhagen in Denmark, where the speed limits are low and heavily enforced. The lack of any big mountain ranges over which to climb also plays into the CLA battery's hands when it comes to efficiency. But assuming you're not driving the backside off the car all the time, then yes that range is genuinely realistic. Certainly, based on our experience, you should be able to get at least 600-650km out of one charge, and 700km would be far from difficult. That's genuinely exceptional real-world range (and the 350+ isn't all that far behind). Mercedes-Benz says the CLA 250+ consumes between 12.2 and 14.1kWh/100km and that's more or less what we managed, recording 14.4kWh/100km on our test drive. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Given that the CLA is at least sold and marketed as a coupe and equally given that it will also compete with BMW's incoming 'Neue Klasse' electric 3 Series soon, it has a surprisingly soft setup. It's almost pillow-like at the top of the suspension travel, and while the weight (just over two tonnes for the 250+) means that it will drop a wheel quite hard into potholes, the CLA's ride quality is really good, especially when it comes to ironing out city roads and their speed bumps. Combine that with particularly good refinement and noise insulation when cruising, and you have a car that's capable of making great use of its lengthy one-charge range. Stretch all the way to the far end of that 792km leash, and you should be able to step out pretty unruffled, thanks in part to the impressive front seats. What the CLA isn't is much fun to drive. Even in a 350+ version, in AMG-Line trim, and with Sport mode selected, the steering remains pretty mute, although the weighting of the power assistance feels good. Danish roads are both slow and have long, slightly dull corners most of the time, so a full dynamic assessment of the CLA might have to wait until we get it on more familiar roads and put it to more of a challenge, but on this drive both versions felt tidy, well-sorted, but ultimately a bit inert. On the few corners through which we could build up a bit of excitement, the limitation seems to be the weight of the battery pushing the CLA into understeer, which is exacerbated by that soft suspension allowing a bit more roll than you'd expect. We'll have to give the CLA a certain amount of the benefit of the doubt for now, on the dynamic front, but from what we've seen here the CLA feels a bit too remote to be much fun, but it's certainly comfortable and a terrific long-haul cruiser. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Full specifications for local versions of the new CLA will become available closer to launch, which is still at least a year away. 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA equipment highlights: To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The new Mercedes CLA has not yet been independently assessed by Euro NCAP nor ANCAP, but we'd be pretty surprised if it turned out to be anything less than very safe indeed. Dr Christian Goggler, who supervised the car's safety design, told us that "safety is baked into the DNA of Mercedes" before going on to describe the new car's gruelling safety testing regime, which included an astonishing 150 full physical crash tests, and many tens of thousands of computer simulation loops. Beyond that, Mercedes still sends out investigators to inspect the scenes of real-life accidents involving its cars and does so in Europe, the US and India, garnering a huge archive of real-world safety data from which to draw. As well as the expected electronic safety systems – adaptive cruise, lane-keeping steering with a new automated lane change, blind-spot monitoring, etc – the CLA also gets a new central front airbag to prevent head-to-head impact injuries between the two front-seat occupants, and a dedicated crush structure designed to protect the battery in the event of a crash. There's also a QR code just inside the charging flap, which gives emergency services instant access to the car's safety sheet, including how to isolate the battery in the event of an emergency. Standard safety equipment includes: To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Mercedes has a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty in Australia and the CLA's battery will likely be warrantied for eight years or 160,000km. Main dealer servicing will, of course, be fairly pricey as you'd expect with a premium brand. Mercedes-Benz offers three-, four-, or five-year inclusive servicing plans, which cost between $2000 and $3600 for compact electric models, although it hasn't announced anything specific for the CLA yet. As far as charging goes, as long as you're doing most of your charging at home, and you have a decent electricity supply cost of around 16c per kWh, then you could do a full charge of the CLA's 85kWh battery for just over $13. That's quite reasonable, but if the CLA's massive one-charge range is realistic – and we think it is – then you'll hardly need to charge up again for ages. In fact, given that the average Australian covers 33km per day in their car, and even taking a fairly realistic 700km real-world range, you wouldn't need to charge up again for three full weeks. That, helpfully, insulates you from public charging, which is just as well as there are still problems with that. In order to give the CLA a massive 320kW DC fast-charging speed – able to give it back 310km of range in just 10 minutes if you can find a sufficiently powerful charger – Mercedes-Benz has given the car an 800-volt charging system. Which is fine – Audi, Porsche, Kia and Hyundai all use one of those too for fast-charging. However, in the case of the CLA, its charger is only compatible with 800-volt charging points, which tend to be the newer and more powerful ones. It's not compatible – unlike those other brands – with older 400-volt chargers, which rather limits your options when you're out and about. A fix for this is coming, so hopefully that arrives before the first cars land in Australia, or you're going to struggle at times to find a charging point that will physically work with the car. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We must confess to being a touch disappointed with the CLA's dynamics, at least from this limited assessment. For a supposedly sporty four-door coupe, it's a bit ordinary to drive. That said, the CLA's winning hand is most definitely its exceptionally long range, which translates from officialtest to real-world with surprising fidelity. The looks are a touch divisive, but the cabin's a good place to be, and the CLA is very refined indeed. Interested in buying a Mercedes-Benz CLA? Let CarExpert find you the best deal hereMORE: Explore the Mercedes-Benz CLA showroom Content originally sourced from: Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Pros Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Cons Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Pros Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Cons With its new third-generation CLA, Mercedes-Benz is pushing the electric vehicle (EV) boat way out from the shore (at least in terms of range and charging) and yet also hedging its bets ever so slightly with the promise of a hybrid version of the all-new small sedan to placate the plug-phobes. The design is proving a touch divisive (at least judging by social media responses). The overall shape is familiar enough, but the detailing at the front is vastly different, with a huge star-studded grille and new lights both front and rear, and not everyone seems to love it. It's certainly less conventionally handsome than the current CLA. But it's refreshing to see an automaker using a new EV platform (called MMA, and sharing hardly anything with the old NGCC front-wheel-drive CLA platform) and some critical new technology (most of all the adaptable software that controls pretty much all aspects of the car) in a compact sedan. Why not an SUV, given that replacements for the current Mercedes EQB and EQA are on the way too? Well, it probably has something to do with efficiency. The CLA isn't really a coupe, despite Mercedes-Benz's naming strategy and its frameless door glass. It's a compact, sleek four-door sedan and that gives Merc's aerodynamicists the chance to flex their wind-tunnel muscles, trimming the CLA's wind resistance figure to an impressive 0.21Cd. That allows Mercedes to then make the most of its new 85kWh lithium-ion battery, which uses silicon-oxide anodes for a 20 per cent boost in energy density – and some significant trimming of the car's overall carbon footprint, says Mercedes-Benz. All of that, combined with some knowledge gleaned from the ultra-long range Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept car, results in a new electric sedan from the three-pointed star brand that can travel for close to 800km on one charge. Can it though? We went to Copenhagen to find out… We simply don't know yet. The outgoing and entirely combustion-powered CLA (well, aside from the plug-in hybrid version) has a starting price in Australia of just over $75,000, so it's likely that with all the expensive new tech, the new electric CLA will have a higher price tag than that. Of course, mild-hybrid combustion powered versions will be cheaper than the EV, and the recently revealed Shooting Brake wagon version of the new CLA could return to Australia for the first time since the first generation. We won't know for certain until closer to the new CLA's arrival date in the second half of 2026. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool In a tech-sense, the new CLA is really impressive inside. There's a cliff-faced digital dashboard, which – if you get the optional passenger-side display – has essentially wall-to-wall screens and is clearly an evolution of the 'stretched iPad' dashboard layout of the current CLA. Sadly, Mercedes-Benz – as with most automakers – has decided to throw most of the physical buttons and controls into a skip bin, but on the upside the new software does seem to be on the ball, with fast responses to on-screen presses and swipes, and nice big icons for each menu item that mean you can generally catch them on the first stab when driving. The optional three-spoke AMG steering wheel still uses hateful touch-sensitive controls, but an update with some proper buttons is on the way for that particular part, we're told. allows you to do all sorts of things, such as downloading streaming services including Disney+ and YouTube to watch movies, along with games such as Angry Birds and Fortnite, and you can even connect your own PlayStation or Xbox controller to while away any time spent charging. The digital voice assistant (and you can choose between Google Assistant, Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz's own 'Hey, Mercedes' setup) seems a bit less stupid than many others. Meanwhile, the navigation – based on Google Maps, but with Mercedes-Benz's own overlays on top – is very impressive. Mercedes claims that doesn't just allow it to update the software over the air, it will in theory allow it to tweak and improve all of the CLA's systems, from battery management to electronic driver aids, as the car ages. On a physical level, the front of the cabin is nice, with high-backed bucket seats which are wonderfully comfortable, and lots of storage space in the doors and the centre console. The driving position feels a bit perched-up though, because of course the battery under the floor means that it can't drop down all that much, but you do get used to it. In the back, legroom is surprisingly good, but headroom is tight for anyone over 1.8 metres tall, plus the angle of the seat, and the high-set rear floor, means that your knees are way up in the air, and the backs of your legs left unsupported. The CLA might not really be a coupe, but it's a bit coupe-like in the back. There's better news in the boot, where there's 405 litres of relatively shallow luggage space, and another 101L in the very handy 'frunk' storage area in the nose. If you need more than that, wait for the new CLA Shooting Brake. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The electric CLAs come with a choice of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive powertrains. Here, we're concentrating on the rear-drive CLA 250+, because that's the one with the headline-grabbing range figure. With 200kW of power and 335Nm of torque, the 250+ motor is right in the middle of the electric motor world, neither exceptionally powerful nor notably weak. Mercedes-Benz has equipped the CLA with a two-speed transmission, instead of the more common single-speed reduction gear, which is meant to give the car better low-down sprinting capability and still allow it to cruise effortlessly at higher speeds. That does partially work – and the transmission lives up to Mercedes-Benz's promise of it being impossible to tell when the shifts occur – but an initial shove off the line gives way to fairly relaxed acceleration in the CLA 250+. It's brisk, but you'd never call it very fast with a 6.7-second claimed 0-100km/h time. Obviously, the two-motor, all-wheel drive CLA 350+ 4Matic is a touch more emphatic, hitting 100km/h from rest in a claimed 4.9 seconds, and feeling much punchier overall. Given that it loses out on only 20km of official range compared to the rear-drive 250+, the 350+ might just be the CLA of choice. However, it is the 250+ that's the range champion here, and Mercedes-Benz quotes an official figure of 792km on the WLTP test. That's truly exceptional and way ahead of anything Tesla or BYD can claim. Does it stack up in the real world, though? Well, yes, but with a couple of caveats. The biggest is that we were driving the CLA on roads around Copenhagen in Denmark, where the speed limits are low and heavily enforced. The lack of any big mountain ranges over which to climb also plays into the CLA battery's hands when it comes to efficiency. But assuming you're not driving the backside off the car all the time, then yes that range is genuinely realistic. Certainly, based on our experience, you should be able to get at least 600-650km out of one charge, and 700km would be far from difficult. That's genuinely exceptional real-world range (and the 350+ isn't all that far behind). Mercedes-Benz says the CLA 250+ consumes between 12.2 and 14.1kWh/100km and that's more or less what we managed, recording 14.4kWh/100km on our test drive. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Given that the CLA is at least sold and marketed as a coupe and equally given that it will also compete with BMW's incoming 'Neue Klasse' electric 3 Series soon, it has a surprisingly soft setup. It's almost pillow-like at the top of the suspension travel, and while the weight (just over two tonnes for the 250+) means that it will drop a wheel quite hard into potholes, the CLA's ride quality is really good, especially when it comes to ironing out city roads and their speed bumps. Combine that with particularly good refinement and noise insulation when cruising, and you have a car that's capable of making great use of its lengthy one-charge range. Stretch all the way to the far end of that 792km leash, and you should be able to step out pretty unruffled, thanks in part to the impressive front seats. What the CLA isn't is much fun to drive. Even in a 350+ version, in AMG-Line trim, and with Sport mode selected, the steering remains pretty mute, although the weighting of the power assistance feels good. Danish roads are both slow and have long, slightly dull corners most of the time, so a full dynamic assessment of the CLA might have to wait until we get it on more familiar roads and put it to more of a challenge, but on this drive both versions felt tidy, well-sorted, but ultimately a bit inert. On the few corners through which we could build up a bit of excitement, the limitation seems to be the weight of the battery pushing the CLA into understeer, which is exacerbated by that soft suspension allowing a bit more roll than you'd expect. We'll have to give the CLA a certain amount of the benefit of the doubt for now, on the dynamic front, but from what we've seen here the CLA feels a bit too remote to be much fun, but it's certainly comfortable and a terrific long-haul cruiser. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Full specifications for local versions of the new CLA will become available closer to launch, which is still at least a year away. 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA equipment highlights: To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The new Mercedes CLA has not yet been independently assessed by Euro NCAP nor ANCAP, but we'd be pretty surprised if it turned out to be anything less than very safe indeed. Dr Christian Goggler, who supervised the car's safety design, told us that "safety is baked into the DNA of Mercedes" before going on to describe the new car's gruelling safety testing regime, which included an astonishing 150 full physical crash tests, and many tens of thousands of computer simulation loops. Beyond that, Mercedes still sends out investigators to inspect the scenes of real-life accidents involving its cars and does so in Europe, the US and India, garnering a huge archive of real-world safety data from which to draw. As well as the expected electronic safety systems – adaptive cruise, lane-keeping steering with a new automated lane change, blind-spot monitoring, etc – the CLA also gets a new central front airbag to prevent head-to-head impact injuries between the two front-seat occupants, and a dedicated crush structure designed to protect the battery in the event of a crash. There's also a QR code just inside the charging flap, which gives emergency services instant access to the car's safety sheet, including how to isolate the battery in the event of an emergency. Standard safety equipment includes: To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Mercedes has a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty in Australia and the CLA's battery will likely be warrantied for eight years or 160,000km. Main dealer servicing will, of course, be fairly pricey as you'd expect with a premium brand. Mercedes-Benz offers three-, four-, or five-year inclusive servicing plans, which cost between $2000 and $3600 for compact electric models, although it hasn't announced anything specific for the CLA yet. As far as charging goes, as long as you're doing most of your charging at home, and you have a decent electricity supply cost of around 16c per kWh, then you could do a full charge of the CLA's 85kWh battery for just over $13. That's quite reasonable, but if the CLA's massive one-charge range is realistic – and we think it is – then you'll hardly need to charge up again for ages. In fact, given that the average Australian covers 33km per day in their car, and even taking a fairly realistic 700km real-world range, you wouldn't need to charge up again for three full weeks. That, helpfully, insulates you from public charging, which is just as well as there are still problems with that. In order to give the CLA a massive 320kW DC fast-charging speed – able to give it back 310km of range in just 10 minutes if you can find a sufficiently powerful charger – Mercedes-Benz has given the car an 800-volt charging system. Which is fine – Audi, Porsche, Kia and Hyundai all use one of those too for fast-charging. However, in the case of the CLA, its charger is only compatible with 800-volt charging points, which tend to be the newer and more powerful ones. It's not compatible – unlike those other brands – with older 400-volt chargers, which rather limits your options when you're out and about. A fix for this is coming, so hopefully that arrives before the first cars land in Australia, or you're going to struggle at times to find a charging point that will physically work with the car. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We must confess to being a touch disappointed with the CLA's dynamics, at least from this limited assessment. For a supposedly sporty four-door coupe, it's a bit ordinary to drive. That said, the CLA's winning hand is most definitely its exceptionally long range, which translates from officialtest to real-world with surprising fidelity. The looks are a touch divisive, but the cabin's a good place to be, and the CLA is very refined indeed. Interested in buying a Mercedes-Benz CLA? Let CarExpert find you the best deal hereMORE: Explore the Mercedes-Benz CLA showroom Content originally sourced from: Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Pros Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Cons Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Pros Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Cons With its new third-generation CLA, Mercedes-Benz is pushing the electric vehicle (EV) boat way out from the shore (at least in terms of range and charging) and yet also hedging its bets ever so slightly with the promise of a hybrid version of the all-new small sedan to placate the plug-phobes. The design is proving a touch divisive (at least judging by social media responses). The overall shape is familiar enough, but the detailing at the front is vastly different, with a huge star-studded grille and new lights both front and rear, and not everyone seems to love it. It's certainly less conventionally handsome than the current CLA. But it's refreshing to see an automaker using a new EV platform (called MMA, and sharing hardly anything with the old NGCC front-wheel-drive CLA platform) and some critical new technology (most of all the adaptable software that controls pretty much all aspects of the car) in a compact sedan. Why not an SUV, given that replacements for the current Mercedes EQB and EQA are on the way too? Well, it probably has something to do with efficiency. The CLA isn't really a coupe, despite Mercedes-Benz's naming strategy and its frameless door glass. It's a compact, sleek four-door sedan and that gives Merc's aerodynamicists the chance to flex their wind-tunnel muscles, trimming the CLA's wind resistance figure to an impressive 0.21Cd. That allows Mercedes to then make the most of its new 85kWh lithium-ion battery, which uses silicon-oxide anodes for a 20 per cent boost in energy density – and some significant trimming of the car's overall carbon footprint, says Mercedes-Benz. All of that, combined with some knowledge gleaned from the ultra-long range Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept car, results in a new electric sedan from the three-pointed star brand that can travel for close to 800km on one charge. Can it though? We went to Copenhagen to find out… We simply don't know yet. The outgoing and entirely combustion-powered CLA (well, aside from the plug-in hybrid version) has a starting price in Australia of just over $75,000, so it's likely that with all the expensive new tech, the new electric CLA will have a higher price tag than that. Of course, mild-hybrid combustion powered versions will be cheaper than the EV, and the recently revealed Shooting Brake wagon version of the new CLA could return to Australia for the first time since the first generation. We won't know for certain until closer to the new CLA's arrival date in the second half of 2026. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool In a tech-sense, the new CLA is really impressive inside. There's a cliff-faced digital dashboard, which – if you get the optional passenger-side display – has essentially wall-to-wall screens and is clearly an evolution of the 'stretched iPad' dashboard layout of the current CLA. Sadly, Mercedes-Benz – as with most automakers – has decided to throw most of the physical buttons and controls into a skip bin, but on the upside the new software does seem to be on the ball, with fast responses to on-screen presses and swipes, and nice big icons for each menu item that mean you can generally catch them on the first stab when driving. The optional three-spoke AMG steering wheel still uses hateful touch-sensitive controls, but an update with some proper buttons is on the way for that particular part, we're told. allows you to do all sorts of things, such as downloading streaming services including Disney+ and YouTube to watch movies, along with games such as Angry Birds and Fortnite, and you can even connect your own PlayStation or Xbox controller to while away any time spent charging. The digital voice assistant (and you can choose between Google Assistant, Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz's own 'Hey, Mercedes' setup) seems a bit less stupid than many others. Meanwhile, the navigation – based on Google Maps, but with Mercedes-Benz's own overlays on top – is very impressive. Mercedes claims that doesn't just allow it to update the software over the air, it will in theory allow it to tweak and improve all of the CLA's systems, from battery management to electronic driver aids, as the car ages. On a physical level, the front of the cabin is nice, with high-backed bucket seats which are wonderfully comfortable, and lots of storage space in the doors and the centre console. The driving position feels a bit perched-up though, because of course the battery under the floor means that it can't drop down all that much, but you do get used to it. In the back, legroom is surprisingly good, but headroom is tight for anyone over 1.8 metres tall, plus the angle of the seat, and the high-set rear floor, means that your knees are way up in the air, and the backs of your legs left unsupported. The CLA might not really be a coupe, but it's a bit coupe-like in the back. There's better news in the boot, where there's 405 litres of relatively shallow luggage space, and another 101L in the very handy 'frunk' storage area in the nose. If you need more than that, wait for the new CLA Shooting Brake. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The electric CLAs come with a choice of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive powertrains. Here, we're concentrating on the rear-drive CLA 250+, because that's the one with the headline-grabbing range figure. With 200kW of power and 335Nm of torque, the 250+ motor is right in the middle of the electric motor world, neither exceptionally powerful nor notably weak. Mercedes-Benz has equipped the CLA with a two-speed transmission, instead of the more common single-speed reduction gear, which is meant to give the car better low-down sprinting capability and still allow it to cruise effortlessly at higher speeds. That does partially work – and the transmission lives up to Mercedes-Benz's promise of it being impossible to tell when the shifts occur – but an initial shove off the line gives way to fairly relaxed acceleration in the CLA 250+. It's brisk, but you'd never call it very fast with a 6.7-second claimed 0-100km/h time. Obviously, the two-motor, all-wheel drive CLA 350+ 4Matic is a touch more emphatic, hitting 100km/h from rest in a claimed 4.9 seconds, and feeling much punchier overall. Given that it loses out on only 20km of official range compared to the rear-drive 250+, the 350+ might just be the CLA of choice. However, it is the 250+ that's the range champion here, and Mercedes-Benz quotes an official figure of 792km on the WLTP test. That's truly exceptional and way ahead of anything Tesla or BYD can claim. Does it stack up in the real world, though? Well, yes, but with a couple of caveats. The biggest is that we were driving the CLA on roads around Copenhagen in Denmark, where the speed limits are low and heavily enforced. The lack of any big mountain ranges over which to climb also plays into the CLA battery's hands when it comes to efficiency. But assuming you're not driving the backside off the car all the time, then yes that range is genuinely realistic. Certainly, based on our experience, you should be able to get at least 600-650km out of one charge, and 700km would be far from difficult. That's genuinely exceptional real-world range (and the 350+ isn't all that far behind). Mercedes-Benz says the CLA 250+ consumes between 12.2 and 14.1kWh/100km and that's more or less what we managed, recording 14.4kWh/100km on our test drive. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Given that the CLA is at least sold and marketed as a coupe and equally given that it will also compete with BMW's incoming 'Neue Klasse' electric 3 Series soon, it has a surprisingly soft setup. It's almost pillow-like at the top of the suspension travel, and while the weight (just over two tonnes for the 250+) means that it will drop a wheel quite hard into potholes, the CLA's ride quality is really good, especially when it comes to ironing out city roads and their speed bumps. Combine that with particularly good refinement and noise insulation when cruising, and you have a car that's capable of making great use of its lengthy one-charge range. Stretch all the way to the far end of that 792km leash, and you should be able to step out pretty unruffled, thanks in part to the impressive front seats. What the CLA isn't is much fun to drive. Even in a 350+ version, in AMG-Line trim, and with Sport mode selected, the steering remains pretty mute, although the weighting of the power assistance feels good. Danish roads are both slow and have long, slightly dull corners most of the time, so a full dynamic assessment of the CLA might have to wait until we get it on more familiar roads and put it to more of a challenge, but on this drive both versions felt tidy, well-sorted, but ultimately a bit inert. On the few corners through which we could build up a bit of excitement, the limitation seems to be the weight of the battery pushing the CLA into understeer, which is exacerbated by that soft suspension allowing a bit more roll than you'd expect. We'll have to give the CLA a certain amount of the benefit of the doubt for now, on the dynamic front, but from what we've seen here the CLA feels a bit too remote to be much fun, but it's certainly comfortable and a terrific long-haul cruiser. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Full specifications for local versions of the new CLA will become available closer to launch, which is still at least a year away. 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA equipment highlights: To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The new Mercedes CLA has not yet been independently assessed by Euro NCAP nor ANCAP, but we'd be pretty surprised if it turned out to be anything less than very safe indeed. Dr Christian Goggler, who supervised the car's safety design, told us that "safety is baked into the DNA of Mercedes" before going on to describe the new car's gruelling safety testing regime, which included an astonishing 150 full physical crash tests, and many tens of thousands of computer simulation loops. Beyond that, Mercedes still sends out investigators to inspect the scenes of real-life accidents involving its cars and does so in Europe, the US and India, garnering a huge archive of real-world safety data from which to draw. As well as the expected electronic safety systems – adaptive cruise, lane-keeping steering with a new automated lane change, blind-spot monitoring, etc – the CLA also gets a new central front airbag to prevent head-to-head impact injuries between the two front-seat occupants, and a dedicated crush structure designed to protect the battery in the event of a crash. There's also a QR code just inside the charging flap, which gives emergency services instant access to the car's safety sheet, including how to isolate the battery in the event of an emergency. Standard safety equipment includes: To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Mercedes has a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty in Australia and the CLA's battery will likely be warrantied for eight years or 160,000km. Main dealer servicing will, of course, be fairly pricey as you'd expect with a premium brand. Mercedes-Benz offers three-, four-, or five-year inclusive servicing plans, which cost between $2000 and $3600 for compact electric models, although it hasn't announced anything specific for the CLA yet. As far as charging goes, as long as you're doing most of your charging at home, and you have a decent electricity supply cost of around 16c per kWh, then you could do a full charge of the CLA's 85kWh battery for just over $13. That's quite reasonable, but if the CLA's massive one-charge range is realistic – and we think it is – then you'll hardly need to charge up again for ages. In fact, given that the average Australian covers 33km per day in their car, and even taking a fairly realistic 700km real-world range, you wouldn't need to charge up again for three full weeks. That, helpfully, insulates you from public charging, which is just as well as there are still problems with that. In order to give the CLA a massive 320kW DC fast-charging speed – able to give it back 310km of range in just 10 minutes if you can find a sufficiently powerful charger – Mercedes-Benz has given the car an 800-volt charging system. Which is fine – Audi, Porsche, Kia and Hyundai all use one of those too for fast-charging. However, in the case of the CLA, its charger is only compatible with 800-volt charging points, which tend to be the newer and more powerful ones. It's not compatible – unlike those other brands – with older 400-volt chargers, which rather limits your options when you're out and about. A fix for this is coming, so hopefully that arrives before the first cars land in Australia, or you're going to struggle at times to find a charging point that will physically work with the car. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We must confess to being a touch disappointed with the CLA's dynamics, at least from this limited assessment. For a supposedly sporty four-door coupe, it's a bit ordinary to drive. That said, the CLA's winning hand is most definitely its exceptionally long range, which translates from officialtest to real-world with surprising fidelity. The looks are a touch divisive, but the cabin's a good place to be, and the CLA is very refined indeed. Interested in buying a Mercedes-Benz CLA? Let CarExpert find you the best deal hereMORE: Explore the Mercedes-Benz CLA showroom Content originally sourced from: Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Pros Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Cons Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Pros Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Cons With its new third-generation CLA, Mercedes-Benz is pushing the electric vehicle (EV) boat way out from the shore (at least in terms of range and charging) and yet also hedging its bets ever so slightly with the promise of a hybrid version of the all-new small sedan to placate the plug-phobes. The design is proving a touch divisive (at least judging by social media responses). The overall shape is familiar enough, but the detailing at the front is vastly different, with a huge star-studded grille and new lights both front and rear, and not everyone seems to love it. It's certainly less conventionally handsome than the current CLA. But it's refreshing to see an automaker using a new EV platform (called MMA, and sharing hardly anything with the old NGCC front-wheel-drive CLA platform) and some critical new technology (most of all the adaptable software that controls pretty much all aspects of the car) in a compact sedan. Why not an SUV, given that replacements for the current Mercedes EQB and EQA are on the way too? Well, it probably has something to do with efficiency. The CLA isn't really a coupe, despite Mercedes-Benz's naming strategy and its frameless door glass. It's a compact, sleek four-door sedan and that gives Merc's aerodynamicists the chance to flex their wind-tunnel muscles, trimming the CLA's wind resistance figure to an impressive 0.21Cd. That allows Mercedes to then make the most of its new 85kWh lithium-ion battery, which uses silicon-oxide anodes for a 20 per cent boost in energy density – and some significant trimming of the car's overall carbon footprint, says Mercedes-Benz. All of that, combined with some knowledge gleaned from the ultra-long range Mercedes-Benz EQXX concept car, results in a new electric sedan from the three-pointed star brand that can travel for close to 800km on one charge. Can it though? We went to Copenhagen to find out… We simply don't know yet. The outgoing and entirely combustion-powered CLA (well, aside from the plug-in hybrid version) has a starting price in Australia of just over $75,000, so it's likely that with all the expensive new tech, the new electric CLA will have a higher price tag than that. Of course, mild-hybrid combustion powered versions will be cheaper than the EV, and the recently revealed Shooting Brake wagon version of the new CLA could return to Australia for the first time since the first generation. We won't know for certain until closer to the new CLA's arrival date in the second half of 2026. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool In a tech-sense, the new CLA is really impressive inside. There's a cliff-faced digital dashboard, which – if you get the optional passenger-side display – has essentially wall-to-wall screens and is clearly an evolution of the 'stretched iPad' dashboard layout of the current CLA. Sadly, Mercedes-Benz – as with most automakers – has decided to throw most of the physical buttons and controls into a skip bin, but on the upside the new software does seem to be on the ball, with fast responses to on-screen presses and swipes, and nice big icons for each menu item that mean you can generally catch them on the first stab when driving. The optional three-spoke AMG steering wheel still uses hateful touch-sensitive controls, but an update with some proper buttons is on the way for that particular part, we're told. allows you to do all sorts of things, such as downloading streaming services including Disney+ and YouTube to watch movies, along with games such as Angry Birds and Fortnite, and you can even connect your own PlayStation or Xbox controller to while away any time spent charging. The digital voice assistant (and you can choose between Google Assistant, Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz's own 'Hey, Mercedes' setup) seems a bit less stupid than many others. Meanwhile, the navigation – based on Google Maps, but with Mercedes-Benz's own overlays on top – is very impressive. Mercedes claims that doesn't just allow it to update the software over the air, it will in theory allow it to tweak and improve all of the CLA's systems, from battery management to electronic driver aids, as the car ages. On a physical level, the front of the cabin is nice, with high-backed bucket seats which are wonderfully comfortable, and lots of storage space in the doors and the centre console. The driving position feels a bit perched-up though, because of course the battery under the floor means that it can't drop down all that much, but you do get used to it. In the back, legroom is surprisingly good, but headroom is tight for anyone over 1.8 metres tall, plus the angle of the seat, and the high-set rear floor, means that your knees are way up in the air, and the backs of your legs left unsupported. The CLA might not really be a coupe, but it's a bit coupe-like in the back. There's better news in the boot, where there's 405 litres of relatively shallow luggage space, and another 101L in the very handy 'frunk' storage area in the nose. If you need more than that, wait for the new CLA Shooting Brake. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The electric CLAs come with a choice of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive powertrains. Here, we're concentrating on the rear-drive CLA 250+, because that's the one with the headline-grabbing range figure. With 200kW of power and 335Nm of torque, the 250+ motor is right in the middle of the electric motor world, neither exceptionally powerful nor notably weak. Mercedes-Benz has equipped the CLA with a two-speed transmission, instead of the more common single-speed reduction gear, which is meant to give the car better low-down sprinting capability and still allow it to cruise effortlessly at higher speeds. That does partially work – and the transmission lives up to Mercedes-Benz's promise of it being impossible to tell when the shifts occur – but an initial shove off the line gives way to fairly relaxed acceleration in the CLA 250+. It's brisk, but you'd never call it very fast with a 6.7-second claimed 0-100km/h time. Obviously, the two-motor, all-wheel drive CLA 350+ 4Matic is a touch more emphatic, hitting 100km/h from rest in a claimed 4.9 seconds, and feeling much punchier overall. Given that it loses out on only 20km of official range compared to the rear-drive 250+, the 350+ might just be the CLA of choice. However, it is the 250+ that's the range champion here, and Mercedes-Benz quotes an official figure of 792km on the WLTP test. That's truly exceptional and way ahead of anything Tesla or BYD can claim. Does it stack up in the real world, though? Well, yes, but with a couple of caveats. The biggest is that we were driving the CLA on roads around Copenhagen in Denmark, where the speed limits are low and heavily enforced. The lack of any big mountain ranges over which to climb also plays into the CLA battery's hands when it comes to efficiency. But assuming you're not driving the backside off the car all the time, then yes that range is genuinely realistic. Certainly, based on our experience, you should be able to get at least 600-650km out of one charge, and 700km would be far from difficult. That's genuinely exceptional real-world range (and the 350+ isn't all that far behind). Mercedes-Benz says the CLA 250+ consumes between 12.2 and 14.1kWh/100km and that's more or less what we managed, recording 14.4kWh/100km on our test drive. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Given that the CLA is at least sold and marketed as a coupe and equally given that it will also compete with BMW's incoming 'Neue Klasse' electric 3 Series soon, it has a surprisingly soft setup. It's almost pillow-like at the top of the suspension travel, and while the weight (just over two tonnes for the 250+) means that it will drop a wheel quite hard into potholes, the CLA's ride quality is really good, especially when it comes to ironing out city roads and their speed bumps. Combine that with particularly good refinement and noise insulation when cruising, and you have a car that's capable of making great use of its lengthy one-charge range. Stretch all the way to the far end of that 792km leash, and you should be able to step out pretty unruffled, thanks in part to the impressive front seats. What the CLA isn't is much fun to drive. Even in a 350+ version, in AMG-Line trim, and with Sport mode selected, the steering remains pretty mute, although the weighting of the power assistance feels good. Danish roads are both slow and have long, slightly dull corners most of the time, so a full dynamic assessment of the CLA might have to wait until we get it on more familiar roads and put it to more of a challenge, but on this drive both versions felt tidy, well-sorted, but ultimately a bit inert. On the few corners through which we could build up a bit of excitement, the limitation seems to be the weight of the battery pushing the CLA into understeer, which is exacerbated by that soft suspension allowing a bit more roll than you'd expect. We'll have to give the CLA a certain amount of the benefit of the doubt for now, on the dynamic front, but from what we've seen here the CLA feels a bit too remote to be much fun, but it's certainly comfortable and a terrific long-haul cruiser. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Full specifications for local versions of the new CLA will become available closer to launch, which is still at least a year away. 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA equipment highlights: To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool The new Mercedes CLA has not yet been independently assessed by Euro NCAP nor ANCAP, but we'd be pretty surprised if it turned out to be anything less than very safe indeed. Dr Christian Goggler, who supervised the car's safety design, told us that "safety is baked into the DNA of Mercedes" before going on to describe the new car's gruelling safety testing regime, which included an astonishing 150 full physical crash tests, and many tens of thousands of computer simulation loops. Beyond that, Mercedes still sends out investigators to inspect the scenes of real-life accidents involving its cars and does so in Europe, the US and India, garnering a huge archive of real-world safety data from which to draw. As well as the expected electronic safety systems – adaptive cruise, lane-keeping steering with a new automated lane change, blind-spot monitoring, etc – the CLA also gets a new central front airbag to prevent head-to-head impact injuries between the two front-seat occupants, and a dedicated crush structure designed to protect the battery in the event of a crash. There's also a QR code just inside the charging flap, which gives emergency services instant access to the car's safety sheet, including how to isolate the battery in the event of an emergency. Standard safety equipment includes: To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool Mercedes has a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty in Australia and the CLA's battery will likely be warrantied for eight years or 160,000km. Main dealer servicing will, of course, be fairly pricey as you'd expect with a premium brand. Mercedes-Benz offers three-, four-, or five-year inclusive servicing plans, which cost between $2000 and $3600 for compact electric models, although it hasn't announced anything specific for the CLA yet. As far as charging goes, as long as you're doing most of your charging at home, and you have a decent electricity supply cost of around 16c per kWh, then you could do a full charge of the CLA's 85kWh battery for just over $13. That's quite reasonable, but if the CLA's massive one-charge range is realistic – and we think it is – then you'll hardly need to charge up again for ages. In fact, given that the average Australian covers 33km per day in their car, and even taking a fairly realistic 700km real-world range, you wouldn't need to charge up again for three full weeks. That, helpfully, insulates you from public charging, which is just as well as there are still problems with that. In order to give the CLA a massive 320kW DC fast-charging speed – able to give it back 310km of range in just 10 minutes if you can find a sufficiently powerful charger – Mercedes-Benz has given the car an 800-volt charging system. Which is fine – Audi, Porsche, Kia and Hyundai all use one of those too for fast-charging. However, in the case of the CLA, its charger is only compatible with 800-volt charging points, which tend to be the newer and more powerful ones. It's not compatible – unlike those other brands – with older 400-volt chargers, which rather limits your options when you're out and about. A fix for this is coming, so hopefully that arrives before the first cars land in Australia, or you're going to struggle at times to find a charging point that will physically work with the car. To see how the Mercedes-Benz CLA stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool We must confess to being a touch disappointed with the CLA's dynamics, at least from this limited assessment. For a supposedly sporty four-door coupe, it's a bit ordinary to drive. That said, the CLA's winning hand is most definitely its exceptionally long range, which translates from officialtest to real-world with surprising fidelity. The looks are a touch divisive, but the cabin's a good place to be, and the CLA is very refined indeed. Interested in buying a Mercedes-Benz CLA? Let CarExpert find you the best deal hereMORE: Explore the Mercedes-Benz CLA showroom Content originally sourced from:
