Originally Posted by Todd R

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.