Looking forward to hearing about the experience but December will be a long wait, hopefully it is worth it.

 

Yeah, as much as I'm excited to drive the S model, I have to wait until the 16th of December, which for me it is more than a month of wasted time since I'll not be placing any order! And as I was told, that order will take a minimum of 7 months to arrive! I hope that test drive is worth it.... !!

 

Yup, certainly a long wait but.... is there a different dealership you can go to that has an CLA 45s for you to to test drive sooner than the dealership you booked?

 

If it helps your decision, this is one of the better riding AMG vehicles in the Comfort setting, even on 19s. I find the comfort to be perfectly acceptable for this kind of machine, but it will not have the "wafting" isolation that non-AMG C and E classes have. Think of the ride as "Alert."

Operating costs are not significantly higher than non-AMGs, however fuel consumption is what you might expect out of such a Jekyll & Hyde engine: can do mid-30s at steady highway speeds, but easy to destroy that number with your right foot .

That said, you're getting a fairly rare car in a CLA45 -- not many built, highly entertaining, looks like it should cost twice the price ... and probably the last hand-built, high-output I4 from this maker. If you're OK with the room inside (front seats fine; back seat OK for two sub-6-footers) it's an epic little car.

 

Thank you Five Spoker, your feedbacks helps a lot. Yes, I'm very okay with the room inside. I test drove the 2021 CLA180 this morning for half hour. I'm quite amazed at how well it looks and feel. The only downside is your viewability at the back. It will take a while to get used to the small coupe window and the dark tinted glass. The salesman kept telling me that this is an 18” wheel car and the CLA45 is 19” which makes a big difference. I’m very curious to find out what he meant, never drove a 19” car.

@W205C43PFL Can't seem to find any at the moment. I was told the majority of the "available for test drive" AMGs end up being sold fast because people are willing to pay almost full price for a nearly-new car, rather than wait 7-8 months for a brand new. The same will most likely happen with that CLA45S coming in a month and worth 80K Euro, which is crazy money.

 

I see but for the wait time it depends, for example, forum member anb from abauto was able to get his car within weeks or just a month after ordering.

 

I think what the sales man was trying to get at is... the combination of the lower profile 19 inch tires and firmer suspension means the CLA45 AMG is going to have a noticeably stiffer ride than the CLA180 you drove.

So what did you think of the interior of the CLA versus the C and E coupes you were looking at?

 

Generally, the larger the wheel size, the shorter the tire sidewall -- allowing each combo to maintain approximately the same circumference. Shorter tire sidewall usually means a less compliant ride, all other things being equal.

FWIW, my car got to the dealership in just 71 days from order to delivery. I attribute that to my habit of only ticking the boxes for performance stuff and the loud stereo ... and the Suez Canal being blocked at the time of shipping, allowing traffic from Europe to book it over to the U.S. without having to compete for ports with all those pesky freighters from India, etc. (I'm willing to bet most lot shortages even today are related to dealers routinely ordering uncommitted cars loaded with high-margin tech options most people don't really want. If you don't want the multimedia/nav/trackpack, etc. you might find the estimated delivery time is quite reasonable).

 

In my opinion, of the 5 Benzes I drove, the C limousine had by far the best interior. It feels you’re in some concept future car of some sort. In comparison, the C coupe feels quite outdated; I thought I was in a 2017-18 model but he told me it’s 2021.

The E’s, both limousine and coupe are in league of their own. Their screens and center consoles are not that different (layout-wise) from the CLA, but the way they feel is a world apart. As much as I liked the CLA (and I liked it a lot), compared to the E’s, it feels more and more like a young dude’s car and maybe not for me at 38. But an AMG CLA is a different story. I guess I'll have to wait and see how that feels!

 

There's this mandatory package they force you to put, which includes all sorts of these options; everything you mentioned + ambient lighting, amg illuminated branding, smartphone integration, wireless charging and many other I can live without! The only thing I want from that package is the reverse camera. Oh well.... !!

 

Hey! I've actually picked up a 2021 CLA45 about 6 months ago (brand new) and it is basically fully loaded in options (minus performance seats). I've driven quite a bit of cars however this is technically my first car and it is also my daily. I will say it is an extremely fun car and despite road noises, and more of a bumpy ride - the pros of driving it definitely outweighs the cons. I will say because it is an inline-4 cylinder, the exterior sound/exhaust is not there, as well as it not being a true rwd sport car. Sometimes I personally crave the raw power of the v8 as well as sound. Granted my father owns a z51 c8 and I occasionally switch on the weekends. It feels amazing swapping from his car to mine because the cla45 just feels extremely light and nimble after being in a such heavy feeling car. However I will say that if you feel like what I said will make you 2nd guess/feel bored about your car, I don't think you should get it.

I have not yet to drive it in the winter (that was my main reason of choosing it because of it being awd, i get pretty bad snow in my area. My top option was a older c63). I will say I am having second thoughts about my car, despite how much I love it. I may end up trading it in for a c63 or even a glc63 (suv just seems nicer after such stiff/rough rid conditions I get in the cla45).

I hope what I said gave you a little more insight! Good luck.

 

Are you second guessing your car just based on the stiffness of the suspension?

 

Im coming up on a year of ownership. Personally I love the car.

It serves me just fine as a predictable daily when I want it and set it to comfort. But is also a riot when I want to put it into S+ or Race mode.

The suspension isnt all that hard to imagine. Its still a sports suspension at the end of the day.

The active dampers help, but only in the sense the car goes from having rigid sports suspension (in full sport mode) to a sports suspension that I would assess falls somewhere in the “softer” realm as far as rigidity for a sports suspension.

To me, its not bad at all. However, Im used to sports suspensions, having had a sports car for my 3 previous vehicles. Perhaps you are as well coming from a GTI, but Im not familiar with driving one.

Again, I think it’s similar enough to suspension found in most other sports cars. You should be able to compare the ride stiffness to how you feel about the ride quality in other sports cars.

 

Thank you ozo!
You have AMG Ride Control on your 45, correct? Can you please comment on the "C" mode's suspension compared to the "S" and "S+"? Do you feel a significant difference? The guy told me that without the AMG Ride Control, there will be no difference in suspension when changing modes. But with AMG Ride Control, there will be a smoother ride on "C" and superior performance on "S".

As for my GTI, I have the 2008 5th gen 197hp and I love how it feels and drives. If that's what the sport suspension feels like on the 45 then not only I'm I good with that, I very much want that! (But at 180+ horses more, this may not be the case).

The reason why suspension is so crucial for me is because I had people tell me that AMG suspension is not meant for daily driving and it can become annoying and give you headaches when you're in the city. As I understand it, this was very much the case with the previous generation of the CLA45 (C117). On YouTube, people are calling it "horrible".

 

Thank you @whysolavish for your feedback one question: did you spec the 45 on your own? Do you know if you have the AMG Ride control installed on your car?

 

Yeah I do have the ride control suspension.

However, It can be adjusted completely independently of the “driving modes”. Each overall car “mode” (IE comfort, sport, sport plus) will initially set it to whatever MB has specified for that mode. But you can then change it to whatever you want.

There are also customizable “independent” driving modes that you can configure to what you like personally. For instance, one of mine is all sports+ driving dynamics settings with the “medium”
suspension mode.

But yeah the ride control suspension has 3 settings that basically amount to soft, medium, and stiff. As I said, in my opinion there is a significant difference between soft and stiff. It definitely softens it up significantly on the soft mode.

At the end of the day, however, its still a sports suspension. Even with the soft damper setting helping a bit.

Does your local MB have any AMGs with that feature you can try at least? Maybe a C class? Its not going to be exact but may give you some sort of idea of what to expect.

 

Thank you very much ozo, you cleared things out perfectly.
Yeah, I booked a test drive in a month from now with the CLA 45S and the A35 hatch.

 

Enjoy the test drive, December can't come fast enough, it is that time of year again...
Anyways, here are more videos of the A35 that I found recently:

 

I ordered my new CLA35 with the AMG Ride Control suspension based on repeated recommendations from MBWorld readers as well as examining the MB Technical White Papers describing how this suspension improves the base CLA AMG handling by lowering un-sprung weight, better steering feedback and steering kickback control on rough surfaces when in S and S+ modes. In C mode it also significantly smooths out the ride and makes the ride more comfortable, particularly on rough surfaces. Also, the road/tire/wheel vibration feedback into the chassis and the car interior is also reduced and a quieter.

I have only driven the car a few hundred miles so far, and am complying with the recommended break-in driving constraints and so have only a limited amount of time in S+ at reduced speed, but I am already convinced the AMG Ride Control was a very good investment for me. Loving the combination/choice/switch-ability enabled with this upgrade.

And yes, you can really notice the ride quality and characteristics instantly respond as you turn the AMG Drive unit knob... the AMG Ride Control Sport Suspension changes in automatic concert with the Mode selection switch.

 

Can't thank you enough for your feedback Todd!
If this applies for the 45 (which I'm pretty confident by now that it does) then I think we're in fact seeing an everyday performance car that can adjust to both calm and angry! Can't wait to try it myself. Thanks again.

 

From your posts, it seems to me like either the C400 is the best choice if you want some power, or if you prefer the best ride the E300. CLA off the list for sure.

 

OP, looking forward to hearing an update from you. How was your test driving experience, which car did you end up getting?

 

Well, I have been driving my 2022 Denim Blue/Neva Grey AMG CLA 35 since I took delivery on 11/08/21 after waiting 4 months and watching all of the factory delays, shipping problems, semiconductor reliant equipment and feature deletions, et al. I have only driver about 2000 miles to date but will be starting a 3500 mile round-trip from home to central Florida, USA next weekend.

Despite the problems my car was delivered with a fully functional Hermes Module, and therefore all of my comm reliant functions through MBUX all have been working wonderfully. Despite the deletion of the Active Reality (AR) feature the Navigation system's integration with external info sources is just marvelous. MB also deleted the Burmester Sound upgrade from my order and substituted a hybrid system that includes a more powerful amplifier and improved subwoofer (AMG only) over the base/non-AMG CLA models; it is OK. The open access (foot-kicking) trunk thing was also deleted... other than described above the car is complete and working fine.

Now to my driving impressions. I love this car! It is the best driving/performing car I have ever owned or driven. It is all that I hoped for, The car was delivered in perfect condition with flawless construction. My dealer stuck to the original deal with an agreed to specific discount from the final sticker/MSRP and MB USA honored a further discount/rebate coupon from MBCA. I got off easy compared to the many rip-off stories are been shared on the MB World Forum.

Power/acceleration/braking is very good as expected, Road handling on 19" summer performance tires is better than I even imagined. Have driven through winter avoiding all snow and ice, and carefully allowed tires to gradually warm-up from upper 30s F (a couple of miles) until they stabilized at mid 50s F in rear and 60s F in front tires; grip on cold roads was then fine. Michelin Pilot Sport 4s tires are surprisingly quiet and smooth. All winter HVAC systems on car are great, even the windshield washer fluid electric deicer. Watch out for low front ground clearance... this is a very low slung car. I am 6'1"/230 lbs and fit fine... just have to slide in and down to lowered seat position.

No problems at all yet, no rattles or squeaks, solid and tight construction. Just tap the AMG Drive mode button or twist to S and the sporty throttle tip-in/response, ECT shift points and up/downshift logic, adjustable ride dampers switch and increased steering sensitivity instantly transform the "Sportiness" factor.... very, very nice. I only the S+ mode when I want to hear all of the exhaust pops and crackles and fully open exhaust tone; fun, but short time use for me.

Comfort mode ride is feels smoother and more comfortable then a base model CLA 250 and about the same as a standard C class except for a stiffer front suspension compliance with a bit higher tire noise. Wind noise is lower (i.e. very good) than expected, especially as speed increases beyond 80 MPH; must be the low Cd and slippery shape.

Anyway, those are my impressions to date. I feel fortunate to have gotten this 2022 model "just under the wire", as there are very few coming. If you can find one, get it.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience you had of the CLA 35, I was surprised when you mentioned the comfort of the CLA 35 was better than the CLA 250 though, interesting experience for sure. The regular Mercedes-Benz models are usually tuned towards more comfort compared to the sportier models, is there a chance that your CLA 250 had run-flats or 19 inch while the CLA 35 had non-RFT and 18 inch resulting in the ride comfort improvement on the CLA 35? What were the tire pressures you had on both vehicles? I also assume your CLA 35 is equipped with the Ride Control option for adjustable damping as well?

 

The CLA 250 I drove was a test drive stand-in for the CLA 35 I was looking for as none of the nearby dealers had any CLA 35s available for test drives. The CLA 250 was a 2021 model with several common "packages" of options, but did not have the adjustable damping. I asked if any of the dealer's A series cars had the automatic Adjustable Ride Dampers but none did, and the dealer said it was not commonly ordered. The 2021 CLA 250 rode better than my prior 2013 CLA 250 which had a notoriously stiff front-end that had very little compliance range combined with rather stiff springing... terrible over potholes and railroad tracks. The new 2021 CLA 250 had a much more comfortable ride than my old 2013 model. The car I drove at the dealership had OEM 18" sized size wheels and tires... nothing fancy, just a plain vanilla FWD CLA 250.

My new CLA 35 has the optional AMG 10 spoke 19" Michelin Pilot Sport 4s tires inflated to the recommended 44/41 psi F/R setting that I reduced to the winter/cold setting of 41/35 psi F/R for 2 passengers up front and < 300 lbs in back and trunk. The tire pressures go up quite a bit when warm; usually about 44/39 during the winter. The Ride Control system is a must have for CLAs in my opinion as it makes the comfort mode... well actually comfortable and pleasant, and yet really gets down to the business of keeping the tires in contact with the road surface on rough/choppy and poorly paved roads. That "automatic" sensing/adjustment capability is magic is well worth the $990 cost. Many folks only are only aware of the "select-able" aspect.

I am going on a long drive next week carrying a full load... we will see how this goes.