Video Summary
The new Mercedes CLA can do almost 500 miles on a single charge. Efficiency is partly due to a streamlined body with low drag and low rolling resistance. It was driven up to about 20 kilometers an hour, whacked it into neutral, to see how far it will roll. The car rolled for 300 meters. That rolled a lot further than expected, so the aerodynamics played a part. In neutral, it's never felt a production car roll so effortlessly, but there was also a headwind.New technology, the car searches for parking spaces.
The most range achieved was in a Porsche Taycan, at 368 miles with a supposed range of 422.
A lot of the CLA’s technology came from the groundbreaking EQXX. The experimental Mercedes had half the size and a third of the weight for a standard EV’s battery, thanks to technology borrowed from Formula One. It could drive from Stuttgart to Silverstone (over 747 miles) on a single charge. That car has an aerodynamic drag co-efficient of 0.17 CD, which is more aerodynamic than any other road car. The chassis is made using 3D printing to reduce weight.
The CLA has minimal panel gaps, a smooth design with full-length light bar, and a blanked-out Mercedes grill with little stars. Air vents are real. The door mirrors are smaller than a C-Class’s. All designed to reduce drag, giving a drag co-efficient of 0.21 CD.
With the 85-kWh battery, the power meter showed 4.2 miles per kilowatt hour for a real-world range of 357 miles, or 83% of claimed range. In 10 minutes of charging, it had an extra 111 miles. Cost was about £10 for 111 miles.
Interior offers the choice of real leather or man-made alternatives. The seats are nice and comfy. The headrests can be pushed forward. The 1,925-kilogram weight is 70 kilos less than an electric BMW i4. A 300 metre trip from 20 km/h in neutral. A split central storage and USB ports under the dash. Full-length glass roof is offered as an option with a two-tone spoiler. Climate control is through the screen.
But touch sensitive buttons are a gimmick, but also some areas feel cheap. The rear seats are set low, which affects under thigh support. The single paddle to activate gear shifting and regenerative breaking is a bit fiddly. The boot size is 405L. Rear windows only go halfway down.
Mercedes offers a new central airbag to stop front seat passengers colliding, plus a knee airbag.
Navigation uses both Bing for search and Google for mapping.
The 272-horsepower CLA 250+ uses a two-speed gearbox in its rear motor. The 354 horsepower CLA 350 adds a second front motor with a single speed gearbox that can decouple. The AI augmented-reality SatNav is really good, though not quite “artificially intelligent,” and prefers to take the reviewer through the right streets on the first try. When activated, the front passenger screen is idiot proof, in the sense that, when the driver is distracted, the screen gets locked.
However, it has been confirmed it does sell duck.
The conclusion is to go right ahead and buy the new CLA because it looks good, it's fabulous to drive and packs all the latest technology, it has very quiet cruising, and there is no range anxiety at all due to large battery.
