Looking for some up-to-date thoughts/comparisons between the 2020 C43 coupe & CLA 45 coupe. I placed a leasing order for the C43 last October but due to incompetent dealer and COVID-19, it will now be a 2021 build (to be expected in September or so they say). I'm now having second thoughts about the order after seeing that the new CLA 45 interior looks nicer (love the dashboard), is .5 second faster in acceleration, has 4 doors (I know C43 comes with 4 doors too but the 2 door just looks so much better, esp the back) and is a few thousand cheaper.

I'm looking for aesthetics & performance. I want something beautiful in & out, high tech, and fast. I did read some reviews from a few years ago that the CLA 45 felt cheap inside and the wind/road noise was too much so everyone preferred the C43. Not sure if that's still the case, couldn't find any recent reviews. Also, the C43 has tire issues (defective from factory and typically wear terribly); does CLA 45 have this issue too?

 

@hellohello , Good to see you again.

Noticed you posted here too so I won't just repeat what I said on the other thread and hopefully the new information will be useful for you. Happy car shopping : )

S3's competitor is the CLA 35 which is 302 horsepower, it doesn't have a handbuilt engine if that matters to you.

C117 CLA was when Mercedes-Benz introduced the absolute entry point of a Mercedes-Benz vehicle in North America, previously was the C-Class being entry. For those reasons, the C-Class became more upscale for W205 compared to W204 released in 2014 (as MY15). Fast forwarding to 2019, the A-Class Sedan and Hatch was introduced replacing the CLA as the entry point so in 2020, Mercedes-Benz was able to make C118 CLA more upscale. The wind noise and interior fit and finish might still happen but it should be much improved compared to previous generation.

The C118 CLA 45 (not the s) has 382 horsepower, handbuilt engine 4 cylinder, while the facelift (MY19+) C43 has 385 horsepower but keep in mind the C118 CLA 45 is lighter than the C43 so will be more fun. Speaking of fun, CLA 45 has 4MATIC+ that means there is drift mode, you can send the power to the rear wheels. Whereas the C43 only has rear biased 4MATIC which is 31:69 split.

C43 does not have launch control if that matters to you at all, the CLA 45 does.
C43 has a regular TCT (torque converter transmission which is 9 speeds while the CLA 45 has a DCT (dual clutch) 8 speed.
C43 also have the classic twin blade grille that pre-facelift C63 used while the CLA 45 has the panamericana grille (which is the grille moving forward to represent AMG models) that the facelift C63 all uses that came from the AMG GT. (by the way, that grille was on the 1952 MB 300 SL)

Since you mentioned you love technology, the CLA 45 with newest MBUX is the way to go. If you don't always have passengers in the vehicle and don't need the extra interior space of a C43, CLA 45 is the way to go.
You mentioned about the C53 coming based on W206/C206/S206. AMG models always come one model year after the regular Mercedes-Benz models, at least in North America. C53 will probably be a MY22 (2022 model year) (if the next generation C class is released as MY21, that is)

If you are thinking of reliability and keeping the car for a long time, MY20 was the first generation of C118 and first model year of a generation of car always have little annoyances that needs to be sorted out throughout the generation, you might be lucky with your vehicle though and have no problems with it.

Not sure if you will like the W206 interior though if you want to wait, here are the spy shots of a prototype:
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-rSIqck5PZg/maxresdefault.jpg

Hope that helps, ask me in either threadw if you have questions : ) Good luck with your purchase.

 

Wow thanks for all this, very helpful. I'm definitely leaning towards the CLA45 now. Still planning to test drive it to confirm. Appreciate your help!

 

You're very welcome! Glad it was helpful!
Good luck with your purchase : )
Please do let me know if you have anymore questions. I can also share my experience with the 2017 C43 and answer any questions that I am able to answer and maybe help you perform research to questions you ask that I don't know or not 100% certain about.
Hope you are well and stay safe during this pandemic : )