Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class

The old man’s car brand has had an image makeover and how! From making the most understated luxury cars, the transition to being the most flamboyant (among its peers) has been swift. For India, it started with the relatively sober B-Class in 2012 and much to the excitement of our bling loving folks, the A-Class, GLA and even the new C-Class from then have made it clear that Mercedes-Benz cars will no longer be inconspicuous.

The best however is still awaiting; the CLA sedan is the halo car of Mercedes’ new philosophy. Affordable engineering with distinctive looks, packaged in a luxury sedan should ideally make it the most sought after car in the segment.

A quick drive in Goa gave us a fair idea of the CLA-Class and the chances of it living up to the expectations.

The CLA sedan, simply put, is stunning. All the eyes on the streets follow it like a heat seeking missile latching onto an afterburner from a fighter jet. There may be parallels drawn with the A-Class; but in a country where size is important, a sedan, especially with these coupe lines, definitely gets much more attention.

The front is similar to the A-Class in shape, proportion and certain features like the headlamps, but isn’t such a bad thing since even the A-Class is a mighty good looking car as well. The best way to look at this car though is from the side, the sloping coupe-styled roof and aggressive body lines create a sports car like aura. The frameless doors are also a big help every time they are opened in a public place.

I said this even when we drove the CLA 45 AMG – while the rear section has been criticized by many, I think it is one of the prettier designs. This in fact has even more bearing at night, when the all-LED tail lamps are light up. The headlamps with bi-xenon projectors and LED day-time running lamps look nice as well, but don’t produce similar effect since they are now common to almost all the Mercedes cars. The CLA also gets the diamond grille, but instead of silver elements this one has gloss black finish.

Looks are subjective and it is not necessary that everyone will agree that the CLA is as good looking a car. However, like it or not, there is no way of ignoring it on the streets. Most people will like the CLA and of those who don’t, majority are probably stuck at the fact that it looks similar to other Mercedes cars.

The interior styling is a bit disappointing, especially after enjoying the fabulous exterior. It is exactly the same as that of the GLA crossover, basically with a better dashboard insert as compared to the A-Class and B-Class. The layout is not much of an issue, but the quality can be better; the top section is made of soft touch material while the rest is hard plastic. It isn’t too bad, but it is more like getting branded apparel when you are paying for designer wear.

The features list is bigger, starting with the larger, better LCD screen that uses the new software and allows many more things including web browsing (only when the car is at a standstill). It also gets a Garmin navigation system that runs on the preloaded data in the SD card and is quite intuitive, it also gets a12-speaker Harman music system. The CLA is the first MFA-based car with two-zone climate control that does help and should be standard across all their cars.

The front seats are racing-styled buckets with integrated headrests; they are comfortable and offer just about enough space for above-average occupants. The surprise however is at the rear, I wasn’t expecting anything from this rather compact sedan, but there is decent amount of space. The increased wheelbase has released extra the leg room, though there are a few trade-offs of having sports car like styling. One needs to be careful while getting in and out of the car to avoid a whack from the C-pillar, also the headroom is as limited as the space in the boot with the space-saver.

The petrol CLA 200 is powered by 2.0-litre turbocharged engine producing 181bhp and 300nm of torque. The power figures are impressive and for obvious reasons I was expecting some drama from the front-wheel drive car. However it feels utterly slow and that is perhaps one of the most impressive things about this car. The power delivery is so linear that there is hardly any lag or extra boost through the rev range and this is the precise reason it feels slow. The car continues to deliver power in a constant manner, running through each gears and the rev band in a very controlled way. It can get to 100kph in less than eight seconds in the real world – good enough for an everyday car that is not performance centric.

It doesn’t sound all that great and there is bit of a clatter at idling that we generally associate with the diesel cars. The seven-speed DCT works much better in this set up, it isn’t as lethargic as in the A-Class and B-Class and responds almost instantly to every tap on the paddle shifters.

We didn’t get an opportunity to drive the diesel version that uses the 2.1-litre diesel engine sending 135bhp and 300Nm of torque. The oil burner doesn’t have the performance but is extremely efficient with ARAI rating of 17.8kpl. This petrol version of the other hand is rated at just over 15kpl.

Mercedes has increased the ride height of the CLA for the Indian market and that a positive effect on the ride quality. It is still firm, but very much within acceptable limits for our pothole ridden roads. With the additional ground clearance, it went over all sorts of speed humps comfortably, however I think it might become a little cumbersome with full load.

The steering is heavy and further weighs up with speed, though like almost all other Mercs does not offer any feedback. It doesn’t understeer much for a front-wheel drive car and there is no torque steer like the GLA. The handling is balanced and the CLA goes through corners without any fuss. Sudden direction changes ought to be avoided – there is only so much you can expect from a front-wheel car even if it is a Mercedes!

The braking is phenomenal, the sedan runs on the premium 225/45 R 17 Continental SportContact tyres and the feedback at the pedal is precise to stop it on a dime.

The CLA is a well sorted package. The looks have already received more than its fair share of appreciation. The performance has a nice balance for everyday drive and some fun on the weekend trips. The space in general is not a problem either and discomfort in accessing the rear seats is a small trade-off for the brilliant styling. The CLA is the best of FWD cars from Mercedes; there is no comparison with the A and B in terms of size, performance and features. Also the GLA crossover lacks the style and finesse of the sedan.

It is expected to be the Audi A3 competitor, at least in terms of size, however the pricing might actually pit this FWD sedan against the more conventional A4 sedan. It does come with its own set of flaws like small boot and just about acceptable second row seating, but the CLA has the ability to make you feel special and that might be a good reason to consider paying a small premium over its rivals.

The prices will be announced on January 22 and if positioned competitively, Mercedes-Benz has another winner in its hands.