My wife and I went to see the new CLA today.

The only one they had was fitted with 18" run-flat tires. NO spare - one of the reasons that, after about 12 BMWs, I no longer own a BMW. Because we live in the west and very much enjoy drives through Wyoming/Montana/Utah, no spare doesn't work for us. Who wants to be in the middle of nowhere without a spare and no replacement within 200 miles??

Does anyone know if the CLA fitted with the 17" wheels will come with the spare?? The salesman at the MB dealer obviously did not know that the car did not have a spare and was trying to find it - and did not know whether the car with 17s would have one or whether a spare would be available from MB.

My mini review of our test drive:

The car was great to look at.
2.0L Turbo motor makes the car feel very quick.
The turbo and DCT made the car feel a bit twitchy on and off throttle. Seemed to be slow on the start and then all of a sudden (the torbo came in or it shifted down or something and it really took off. Would take some getting used to.
The front drive car did not handle like most front drive cars - I didn't note any "torque steer."
Car felt very connected to the road and my wife loved the car - really liked the feel of the car.
The size was good for us - not too big - not too small.
Seats felt good - not too narrow.
The car we drove had 18" run flats and it did have a bit of harshness in the suspension. I liked the suspension on my 2005 CLK convertible better.
I did not find a spare tire.
Fold down rear seats are standard.

The first salesman (Porsche sales at the dealer) that tried to show me the car - they just got it in - did not know that it was a front drive car. "All MBs are rear drive" he told me.

My guess is that this will be a very popular car for MB and it will give BMW fits.

You might take a look when you get a chance. Be prepared, people were standing in line to drive it.

My wife and I were both very impressed.

 

Were you impressed enough to pay only MSRP or sometimes MSRP+ for that kind of car? I enjoyed it also and my wife is loving it more and more but can't justify spending close to $600 month on a lease of a 41K car...

 

No.

And if it only comes with run flats, I won't buy it when it's available at normal prices.

 

There is no spare tire in ANY CLA model.

 

$600??? You can easily negotiate that down.

 

Or get a C Class because it's in the final year of W204, deals are vastly better.

CLA is a great car, but when you can get a RWD C Class for less money, it's the car to get.

 

Back thr truck up - yes no spare - but tires are NOT old-school run-flats that have disc type sidewalls - tires are extended mobility which are the new honeycomb supportive sidewalls - big difference - however most 18's have Summer Tires, 17's have All-Season.

Ride.handling wise with the CLA weight and new extended mobility is fine - quite good actually - a "bit" of rear road noise from open large trunk area - not bad.

Also check inflation upon delivery - front should be higher 36-38, rears should be 32-34.

Extneded mobility - whether GLK250 or CLA250 are a light year above old-gen run-flats which were like wagon wheels