Arrie

The window sticker for the E250 says the price is around that Euro 71000 out the door from MB factory. This means that when you buy the car you pay the VAT on top of it.

Depending on the European country this VAT is 20 - 30 %. This with the exchange rate brings the car's price to around $111 000 - $120000.

And the one in question is probably not equipped as well as the car costing only about half here in the U.S.

fintail

From my experience in Germany, at least with older cars, the listed price includes tax.

Re: CLA - still priced above the average consumer. I don't know if I care for the soft styling, but the only variant I would want is the AMG anyway. Salesman who I dealt with for my car said all immediate deliveries are spoken for at my local dealer (which is fairly high volume, I think). They have a W222 in now too, wow.

GregTR

Every price shown includes VAT. It's not like the US where every price is +tax. After moving to the US it took me a while to get used to that the price listed for goods in a store is not what I will actually end up paying for it at the cash register.

petee1997

Well here a fact. In the first week of it's introduction, the CLA has sold 2300 cars in the US. It is a intro model to attract younger buyers. It's certainly off to a great start. The car is slated to compete with the 1 series which it will easily outsell.

This will put MB in a solid first place in premium cars.US sales from Jan. to the end of September, MB has delivered 230,016 vehicles compared to 212,565 for BMW. With the new S class(low volume) the facelift E and the all new CLA, MB expects to overwhelm BMW in the this year in North America.

BMW has a rebadged 3 series coupe that is new. Not enough to keep ahead of the steamroller MB.

Innovation, great products, avant guard styling, makes them number one in NA. Now our resident "Know it All" will weigh in why these facts are wrong.

My source is Market Data Center WSJ.

PeterUbers

go CLA class ... sure beats that C230 kompressor hatchback thing benz released years ago ....

Germancar1

The car is selling like hotcakes. They could call it a sedan if they wanted, because after all that's what it is, but for marketing they call it a coupe.

The car is already a hit. Mercedes knows what to produce for all the people who just want the badge and the CLA250 is it. People who are buying this car are not Benz loyalist, they're people brand new to the brand. It was a brilliant plan by MB. I'm not happy about it either, but with BMW and Audi stooping lower and lower, Mercedes had to do something and they've done it right. This CLA is no where near as cheap inside as you're trying to say. Is it an E-Class or S-Class of course not and neither is anything else at this price.

M



Wrong ao

alsyli

Yeah, I think my main issue is that so many posters here seem to think the car is a "sham" and is only designed to bring in people who are interested in the MB badge and could could care less about the quality of the car itself. That may accurately describe the buyer, but until any of us have actually, uh, *driven* one, I think it's silly to make assumptions that the car itself is bad. Again, by all accounts from car mag reviews (which is all we have now for those of us in the US), the car drives quite well and is respectable for its price. ::shrug::

hyperion667

GregTR

The only people who think the CLA is a "sham" or a "disgrace to the badge" are brand snobs who have never driven a Mercedes Sprinter or seen an A/B-class. I really don't have an issue with a $30K Mercedes. I actually welcome it. The more the merrier!

This review is not exactly the glowing positive that MB would hope for: http://www.truedelta.com/Mercedes-Be...iews-1219/2014

SolidGranite

Lets also not forget this is the first go at it. No way in hell is it going to be perfect right out of the gate. But based on what I've read in multiple mags so far and what my buddy said about it from an AMG event it's a solid car all around. I saw one in Portugal myself and liked the proportions but understand this shape isn't for everyone. I chuckle a bit inside though when MB owners get upset about design queues. Myself included, we frequently complain about a new design before actually seeing it in person, then we may still not like it in person but then a year later everyone is on board. Everyone. (I know not everyone but just about as there are always some exceptions) The W212 is a great example. All I heard was how much it looked like a Hyundai, edges too sharp, not curvy enough, no hourglass lights, etc etc.. Look at us now. LOL.

The CLA is going to crush the competition for now until something better comes along. I'd bet the farm on it.

Germancar1

Very interesting review.

M

hyperion667

I liked the CLA 6 months ago, and I like it now.......saw one in my neck just yesterday.....they look great! I've never been worried about what 'the guy down the street has' which seems like it would be important to someone that cares about a 30k (42 after options) car with Mercedes star and badges

PeterUbers

Right... 42,000 is what I priced mine out to be after I decided what options I wanted... however, 42,000 is definitely in my budget, while not necessarily for someone looking at the $30k entry price.... But for $42,000 nicely loaded, and you look at the competition (1 series, entry 3 series, Infiniti q50, audi A4, etc, Acura Tl), it's not a bad place to be and you're driving a benz. The Torque is very impressive for a 4 cyclinder engine. I'm glad ths option is out there for the $30-40k shoppers -- it's a very viable and realistic choice with tons of potential upgrades and tweaks in the future if it continues to thrive. Look at how far the C class has come!

Germancar1

Interesting take on the CLA by C&D and it mentions that price!

http://blog.caranddriver.com/mercede...ke-the-bmw-x6/

alsyli

Michael Karesh (along w/ everyone else at TTAC) doesn't "get" MBs (and, yes, I realize he posts here on occasion). He ranked a W212 dead last in a comparo of 5 cars several yrs ago, I think. And another review at TTAC commented on how much he/she initially hated the C250 but later came to sort of respect it. Are we now going to say the W212s and W204s are bad cars, as well?

As for the cheap plastics he mentions, has lived w/ an Acura or an Honda recently? The TSX doesn't, IMHO, have an impressive looking interior. The last Accord was also no great (I know, I lived w/ one for 8 yrs). Honda very shrewdly puts gorgeously looking plastic on the top half of the dashboard. The stuff below that is/was really only one stuff up from the stuff that American cars became notorious for (although, to Honda's credit, fit was still great). Not sure if the current gen Hondas are better.

As to the poster who said that this is MB's first time, it's actually not (if you're referring to A-classes in general, which have been around since the late 1990s, I think). It's perhaps the first time MB has tried to make the A-class *desirable*....

K-A

The CLA will undoubtedly sell massively upon launch. It's a mini-CLS with a Benz badge and braggart (gaudy if you ask me) styling. I just don't think it will age well at all, and in the future will be a detriment to the U.S perception of M-B (which is the whole reason M-B has stayed viable for so long), which is "prestige". The interior is very downmarket and there are non-premium brands that have nicer quality interiors in their cars that are priced/optioned $35+K, IMO. I found the CLA interior to have nothing about it that justifies a "premium" namesake, aside from the badge of course.

Also, especially in standard trim, the technology and features are nothing to write home about, reflector headlights, etc. I think the "250" engine is very underwhelming although may feel less sluggish in the CLA than I found it to in the C, and from what I've read the driving dynamics aren't anything special (I've heard reports of it being "rough" which doesn't surprise me either). FWD basis and proportions are unfortunate for it coming from M-B too.

However, if the bottom line question is "will it sell?" Hell yes, it will sell and sell a lot. M-B now with this car have by far the largest fleet in the U.S of all their competitors and with the CLA now having the cheapest entry point, M-B will finally get back their "Sales Crown" amongst Premium manufacturers (if they don't then that would be a big problem for them). I just think after a few years this car will be more negative than positive for M-B on a holistic level.

Germancar1

The CLA isn't going to do anything to Mercedes' image long as they continue to expand at the top end. People have been saying this for years about the A/B Classes that have been on sales since 1997 in Europe. People who really know Mercedes know that they build everything from buses to cargo vans/trucks.

Here is a very good take on the CLA and how it will affect Mercedes:

"Many armchair CEOs have opined that the new Benz CLA-class, with its advertised $29,900 price tag (without $925 destination, of course) and fully loaded sticker around $45,000, will diminish the prestige of the Mercedes brand. But they’re looking at the wrong car. The CLA will be fine, just as the 190E was in the 1980s. It’s the expensive oddball models that really risk damaging a luxury brand’s image. Consider the Mercedes-Benz R-class, the Acura ZDX, and the BMW 5-series GT. When you have a product that leaves people asking, “Why would I want that? Especially at that price?” you have a problem. For the sake of the cool, enthusiast-oriented models that sales of expensive crossovers help to fund, we hope we won’t need to add the new Benz crossover to that list."

I agree totally.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/mercede...ke-the-bmw-x6/


People already know that the CLA is the cheap way into a Benz and that to really get the full Benz experience you need to move up to the next C or the current E-Class. CLA will only help Mercedes with buyers and market share, not going to hurt their image like the flopping R-Class did.


M

Arrie

CLA will probably move lots of C-glass buyers to CLA. Especially young single guys pondering between C-glass and 3-series. It may be taking some potential bimmer customers to MB but mostly it will make C buyers to CLA buyers unless you need that back seat.