Having a tough time choosing one. Figured maybe hearing from all of you could maybe lean me in the right direction.

Id like the one that can have the better sound system. And one that after modding can hit high 11s

also whichever one is more reliable definitely matters

 

For me it is not even a competition imo the cla has a terrible interior.

Plus 450 had bigger engine to mod... Just with tune cars are going low 12s. I think 11s are right around the corner

 

The CLA45 is way faster. And also way way smaller.

I think you also need to consider how you look in the car. If you are a bigger or older guy, you may not want to drive a CLA.

 

more safety features on c450, that' why i picked c450 over cla45. wait, that is if you have the driver assistance package on c450.

 

CLA45 is racier (peakier powerband, more manic... dual clutch tans)... if you have a decent commute or need a more daily driver oriented fun car, then the C450/43..

 

I would say depends on your age. I had the CLA and it felt like a 'kid's' car. I'm not saying it is but simply how I felt. I was late 30s at the time. The C class is still sporty but to me feels more classy as well. Just my opinion as I've had both but moved to the c43 once I turned 40 😂.

 

I'm 37 not married no kids
have a Range Rover evoque right now
have had a 08 335i very built up. Don't need anything like that again. Just looks good. Nice inside.
but still be able to keep up with some friends that have their mustangs and BMWs

 

Oh I'll add I won't keep car more than 2 years
i want a RR Velar, C63 or a gle coupe.

 

Get the C43

 

Is there a way by looking at pics to know for sure if it had the PE?

 

Here's an option I can throw out there. HOWs about a 2015 Jaguar F-Type? The 380hp v6

 

Not unless you can get a pic from underneath (the rear mufflers to be exact). But another way is that you can tell from the inside as the PE equipped car will have an 'exhaust button' on the center console.

I wouldn't get a Jag without a V8. But that's just me. Go drive them both back to back and see which one you want. Same for your original CLA question or for any car you ask about. We can give you our personal experiences, and we'll obviously lean heavily towards the C43 considering that's the forum we're on, but at the end of the day you need to go drive them. Drive them and see which car has that "It factor" for you.

Regarding the potential for quick 1/4 mile times and modding, the CLA will win out. At least for the next few years and the warranties are up for the c450/c43's. Then we'll start to see some turbo swaps and serious power out of these 3.0L motors. But for right now, the aftermarket support for these turbo 4 cylinder's is much stronger. I'm pretty sure AMS is already go a big turbo kit in the works. Or maybe it's already out, I haven't browsed that neck of the woods in a few months so idk. But I will tell you this: I would choose my c450 all day every day over a CLA45 no matter what turbo it had on it or how much power. It would be fun to have one as a weekend fun car and autoX it and put it on some road courses. But I've had a (see sig below) strung out 4 banger sedan. It was a great car and a lot of fun that was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation. Nice and dormant, great gas mileage getting sedan below 3500rpm, but then above that, it was a beast! But no torque. I mean, it had it, but you know what I'm saying. These 3.0l's are torque monsters just above idle. So much more fun and useful for a daily driver. In the Audi I would have to downshift 1, 2, maybe even 3 gears to have to pass someone. I can if I want to hit triple digits in a blink, but I can easily overtake someone in 7th gear @ 2k rpms. HP is fun, but TQ is funner

 

there is a cla45 near me at a dealer. I may test drive to see how it compares. on paper the cla45 is faster. but many have proven the c43 to hit 4.1-4.2 stock to 60 which is what the cla45 is rated at. it may feel quicker since its is a smaller and lower car. but id like to see a head to head. and i gotta believe our twin turbo v6 has more over head tuning potential than the turbo 4 cylinder. i think the tranny and race mode launch control may be what the cla 45 has on us. Not sure how it can handle compared to the c43. i feel like my car hugs the road pretty well.

 

And more horsepower and less weight to the equivalent of 1.5-2 passengers. To be fair the CLA45 is much faster than the C43. The C43 would need atleast a very good tune to even approach stock 2016+ CLA45 speeds.
https://www.caranddriver.com/mercedes-amg/cla45-4matic

That being said, I think most of us agreed that despite the C43/450s significantly slower acceleration, the C-Class still feels like a more significant car compared to the CLA

 

Since I used to have a CLA45 before my C43 I should chime in. I wouldn't say that the CLA45 is much faster than the C43. The only advantage the 45 has it's launch control off the line, but from a roll I bet it's pretty much even. I also had the 45 tuned with great gains by Eurocharged and now the C43. I can say that tuned the C43 would be faster tuned vs. tuned. The C43 reacts to a tune much better with no turbo lag like the CLA45. I much rather prefer the C43 in terms of luxury and power now.

 

so its settled. tune the c43 and we gold. i noticed in the roll test on car and driver, stock both cars were equal. i bet mercedes de tunes and does not give launch control to keep the c43 tamed in line behind the "true" amg cars. best bang for buck has to be the c43 out of the mercedes lineup.

 

If you're talking speed + overall experience/character, then I'd 100% agree. These things are the ****!

I ran into a guy a few weeks back with a c63s coupe. We got to cruise a few blocks in traffic before we magically ended up at a light side by side with nothing but empty road for 2 blocks in front of us. We chatted for a sec about how awesome our cars are and he was a really chill guy. Complimented my grill but I could tell he really didn't know much if anything about the 43, and he definitely had the cliche "Mine is real, yours is fake" vibe going on (I'm sure I would to be honest haha). But even though the road was clear in front of us, we were still right in the middle of the city so neither of us were trying to get our Paul Walker's on. Long story short, we rolled off the line slow but it escalated quickly until we we almost hit 60. He gave just a slight hesitation to me when we finally stepped on it which equalled me being 4 car lengths ahead. I wish we could have chatted again after that but I had to turn :/

 

Exactly!

My brother (older, 38yrs old w/ 2 kids, brother) got a GLA45. For some reason he went with that thing. He could literally afford an AMG GT if he really wanted to but he got a HotWheels car. It's a blast of a car to drive for sure. I'd be way down to have a tuned one of those for AUTOX's and canyon cruises but to drive everyday? My car feels like an S-Class in comparison.. I figure that after him driving big SUV's for the past decade, his wife finally wanted an SUV so he was like "What is the opposite of what I've been driving?"........."GLA!!!!"

 

next time i am in SLC i gotta hear your car. see what tune and dp do for this platform