I intended to write a review after 1000 km but after 600+ km there is already a lot to say that I hope others may find helpful.

Specification:
See first post!

Range:
The car was delivered with about 35% battery, and the dealer took me to a local fast charger for a tutorial about charging. They do this because they are shifting so many EVs that they simply do not have the capacity to charge them all. The tutorial was not necessary in my case but still gave time for a quick rundown of things I needed to know and had not learned during the test drive or through my own research. In addition, it probably gives the option to start clean with 80% maximum charging for those who wish to limit it.

We charged to about 50% then I drove home and did a slow charge (7.4kW home charger) to 100%. I have not yet done any more fast charging. Once down to about 21% I have recharged to 80% based on general performance to date. I have about a 25km daily commute to work that is a mixture of motorway and local roads. I run the cabin temperature around 22 degrees and tend to drive in Comfort mode (default). Based on this I am seeing a real-world estimate of about 680 km on a full charge. Consumption is roughly 16kWh/100km or 3.88 miles/kWh. Individual trips have scored better, it depends on settings and driving style. This car can shift if you want it to! (More on that later.)

In early January I will make two long distance trips, one to Germany then one to the UK and will update. I will definitely charge to 100% before each of these trips.

Recuperation:
Having driven an EQA for the preceding month I was by now reasonably well-versed in the effects and benefits of changing the recuperation setting. The EQA offers four settings: D, D+, D- and D Auto. D- with Eco mode offer the one-pedal driving experience that is obviously best suited to low-speed town driving. The CLA seems to have just D, D+ and D- (for D Auto you need to push and hold the stalk - the sequence goes from D- / D / D+ / D Auto then back again with successive pulls of the stalk towards you). The effects are far more pronounced than in the EQA. D- with Eco mode give a full one-pedal experience including coming to a complete halt in queues or junctions. (DISCLAIMER: this is not in any way advice explicit or implicit that you should not apply the brake when stationery.) In fact, it seems harder to get into Hold mode when stopped at a junction when driving with this combination.

I am waiting for long motorway journeys to try out D+ properly.

Driving experience:
EVs of course tend to have much more power than the equivalent Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle. In my case I have gone from a 95kW Mercedes C160 to a 200kW CLA. (You haven’t heard of the C160? Neither had I! Same petrol engine and build as the C200 and C180 i.e. the M274 but tuned down an extra level below the C180; very handy for company car tax bands over here.)

Bear also in mind that EVs are naturally heavier. And the last factor are wheels and tyres. The Luxury Line has 18” wheels, front 255/45R18 rear 255/40R18 factory-fitted Goodyear tyres. The winter tyres will be Hankook W330 as specified by the leasing company. I specifically wanted 18” as I find the ride much smoother than with low(er)-profile wheels on previous C-Class cars. The combination of these plus the weight makes a benchmark journey along a short road that has a couple of gullies running across much smoother.

In general I find the car an easy drive, responsive and comfortable. I defer to professional reviewers to discuss the tightness or otherwise of the steering and road-holding. For me it is simply a comfortable and fun drive that exceeds my expectations. As I say, I had an EQA for a month beforehand so I do not think that this can be ascribed to novelty value.

Comfort:
Key features for me are fully electric seats with memory, seat heating, and the extensible seat cushion. The former being my choice and the latter two my wife’s. So a couple of comments about all these: I was happy to find that similar to the EQE that I tested, the driver’s seat can automatically configure according to your height. I found that to be pretty much spot on and have accepted the default. Seat heating appears to extend to the lower back as well as the seat cushion – something that I think differs from the C-Class. And the seat cushion extension is longer than in the C-Class, according to my wife – something that she definitely appreciates.

I opted for the 50€ extra for massage function. The EQA had this too: I think it uses the lumbar support actuators to work a massage pattern of continuously variable movement. The massage function in the CLA is stronger than in the EQA. Not one for back issues, I actually do have a little lower back discomfort recently and so have enjoyed both the seat heating and massage even on short journeys.

There is also a seat kinetics function that is described as being for longer journeys where it will move the actual seat position a little from time to time. Waiting for a long journey on which to try it…

After using the massage function most journeys for three or four days, an extra button appeared on the Home screen offering Massage that triggers the driver’s seat massage without having to command it or delve into the menus. MB say that the car assistant will learn your preferences over time and this is clearly an example.

Gadgets:
Speaking of the virtual assistant... this is one area where I have a gripe. The steering wheel control for voice control is gone. Our choice is now either to accept Hey Mercedes voice control (this can be selectively disabled for either or both of the front seats, implying the rear seats cannot invoke Hey Mercedes), to tap a soft button at the top right hand corner of the Home screen, or to press a physical button in the array below said screen and vents. I find it irksome because not using Hey Siri for CarPlay, I have to long-press that physical button to invoke Siri. For solo driving I admit that despite my professional cynicism and paranoia (I work in IT!) I have enabled Hey Mercedes for my seat. I do however resent Mercedes forcing me in that direction by suppressing the steering wheel control.

I have to mention the self-parking: this is way more sophisticated than the old style drive-past-a-space method. You have to be stationary to invoke it, and the screen displays surrounding vehicles and its best guess as to where there are parking spaces. Tap a space and the car does the rest – though I have not used it enough to figure out when you can choose front or rear facing as appropriate. The car appears to be able to exit a parking space even when you parked it manually. I say appears because I have not paid much attention to this but have a hazy memory of doing so at least once.

Other moans: First World problems that could be fixed with a software update!
The speeding audible warning is always on but can be quickly turned off with a tap on the button at the top left of the Home screen.

The parking brake is not automatically applied when you shift into P i.e. turn the car off. It is of course still linked to opening the driver's door. It is more than force of habit from the C-Class that I expect the same behaviour from the CLA. I wrote to MB asking for the option of parking brake on P to be included. Their [prompt] reply was that it is applied automatically after three minutes. I could wish that time interval were configurable... and thus we enter the anything-might-be-possible of SDV - Software Defined Vehicles.

Superscreen:
Without a passenger the Superscreen is not active and we have not tested it yet. Ha, that reminds me – when there is a passenger and the screen is still showing the default image just tap it to activate. That had me flummoxed for a bit! Speaking of the default image, you can change that default of a car with moving stars to one of a number of other “standard” images, or upload your own. There is space for just one – see under Vehicle Settings / Vehicle display in the MercedesMe app (Superscreen required!).

But wait, there's more:
I have now had the chance for the car to run in Eco Assist mode - I needed to have a route planned and was driving in Eco mode with D- recuperation. I am sure that it was more efficient for consumption but cannot say I noticed anything specific beyond the little accelerator icon in the display as per the description in the Owners Manual.

What was much more interesting was the discovery at the same time of two additional dashboard displays that I had not seen before. But that was only because I have never tried the right arrow on the steering wheel keypad - up and down changing the information display and trip counters is one thing; left is about a reset; right opens up a new vista!

The first display is the navigational map - full size:


But then, shift down for this:


The detail on the illustrated car is entertaining: the indicators and brake lights come on exactly as for real. A true Digital Twin LOL.

I will try to figure out how best to share a short video capture that I made while stationary at traffic lights.

Now, the killer fun bit (?): when running Waze in CarPlay the dashboard display was the Waze map not the MB Navigation.

That's all for now!

 

I have recently rented a CLA250+ and was pleasantly surprised.

Suspension is better than the EQE and potentially the EQS. One of the strong points; compliant and lively. That car was actually fun to drive and this is a bare bone rental. The car was also quiet with good sound insulation; it surprised me given that it is more of a budget car. The CLA showed good range (over 700km - in Germany) but given that I mostly drove 100mph+ in cold weather, the range was quite a bit less, as expected.
Especially at the lower power level (like the ICE CLA 200), EV's just deliver so much more pickup and power over ICE and PHEV. This car felt much quicker than the numbers suggest.

The seats are MB comfortable with a good seat position. One has to get used to the large steep-angle dash which sported 2 screens (no superscreen) with the starry dash for the passenger.
MBOS does use a very Tesla-like display for lane centering and surrounding cars as shown above. A good look IMO. Overall, I really like the OS. On a side note I was surprised how good the base stereo (no Burmester) was. Easily beats other brands mid-level stereo systems. Used a 400KW Mercedes charging station delivered a 300+KW charge, similar to what I have seen with a Lucid.

Can't wait to see the production version of the AMG GT EV given how good this car is over MB's prior EV offerings including the EQS.

 

Thank you for providing your review of the new CLA EV. You have given me high hopes for the new CLA as I much prefer a more compact car.

On the suspension assessment, do you find it better than the EQS (which to be honest I quite liked the way an 2024 EQS 450 4matic with the AMG wheels drove but didn't care for driving a 2022 EQS 450 RWD non AMG (too loose)) soley because it is more fun to drive (which would be expected of a smaller car) but at the sacrifice of comfort or did you find it to be very comfortable plus fun to drive.

I know that you had a E63S and an AMG GT neither of which would i would expect that I would find to be comfortable, which makes me wonder if you just prefer a sportier ride.

Autogefuehl's review comments as to the ride be sporty is part of what is prompting the question.

I am also concerned about the what appears to be a nearly if not vertical dash and the ergonomics of that.

 

I am not sure I understand your concerns, but having moved directly from C-Class for years to EQA for one month to the CLA I really cannot say that I notice any issue. As far as ergonomics go, this will have been tested extensively during the design phase, though of course tastes and individual circumstances will vary.

Take one for a test drive and let us know what you think!

 

This is nothing like an AMG, so no worries there. I think you will find it both comfortable and capable. I am not a huge fan of the dash, same for the new GLC, but one gets used to it rather quickly. There wasn't an ergonomic issue rather one of personal preferences. As for Autogefühl you will find the guy always leaning towards the non-sport, non-AMG packages of a model. Where I like more contoured seats, he will pick the opposite.

 

Thanks for the feedback @jbnCH and @Wolfman

@jbnCH What color is your car? Can you share any pictures? Did you consider / compare it to the Tesla Model 3? If so what made the CLA worth the additional cost?

I asked a sales rep at our local dealer and he said they wouldn't be getting any until this spring.

 

Sure. Just remember that my impressions were based on driving dynamics, etc. not luxury. So don't expect EQS luxury as its a much lower pricing tier.
Some options seem well priced though like the seat massage for $50 and 19" wheels at zero markup...

 

See first thread in this sub-forum Wow First Post... for details and some photos: it is High-Tec Silver metallic 250+ Luxury Line (model options differ by market so I attached to that post a complete configuration).

Why did I choose it?

1. Ever since an RTA in Switzerland when my 8-month old C200 was written off by a driver emerging from a side road while I was doing 80 kmph (50 mph) on a priority road I have sworn by the Mercedes safety systems.
2. Speaking of which, there are documented cases from both the US and Germany of First Responders watching occupants of Teslas burning to death because the door handles would not pop out after accidents; I have been looking for the link to an article about this from The Guardian but could not readily lay my hands on it. Nonetheless use your favourite search engine to find examples. EDIT: I think this is the article with all the details...
3. Also this: https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...keep-crashing; from the original article referenced in 2 I recall that Tesla are alleged to have Autopilot disengage one or two seconds before an imminent accident. This enables Tesla to state to Coroners et al that Autopilot was not engaged at the time of the crash.
4. Because there is no Universe in which I will travel in a Tesla (see 2 and 3) let alone own one (other reasons also apply but let's not politicise this discussion).
5. Because it is a Company Car so I could choose!
6. EDIT: Because it's a really good car to drive; see also my updates about range.

I think that covers it

 

All sound reasons including the ones not expounded upon.

My 60+ history with the mark includes my father being broadsided in his 1959 180 and gratefully only received with a couple of scratches to his ear when he flew across the car and contacted the passenger side vent window (before seat belts). So I am also a believer in Mercedes commitment to safety.