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2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDI First Drive

About a decade ago, when Mercedes-Benz surprised everyone by introducing the first modern “four-door coupe” in the form of the Michael Fink-designed CLS, not many people believed that the success of the car would spawn the creation of a baby brother not even ten years later.
Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDI 9 photos
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Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDI InteriorMercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDI InteriorMercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDIMercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDIMercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDIMercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDIMercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDIMercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDI
Not only that, but the resulting Mercedes-Benz CLA is on its way to become a much greater success story than the larger, more luxurious and much more expensive CLS trend-setter - albeit the main reason for that is probably closely-related to its price range.

Based on the Mercedes-Benz MFA (Modular Front Architecture) platform, the CLA shares its most of its underpinnings with the A-Class, B-Class and the recently-launched GLA, meaning that it also shares its engine lineup, wheelbase and most of its interior with the aforementioned models.

In short, the Mercedes-Benz CLA is a party-sized CLS for some, whether you're talking about performance, interior room or driving dynamics, while others are yet to be conquered by its streamline look because they think it's just a prettier A-Class with a sedan luggage compartment instead of a hatchback.

Both opinions could make a case in court, depending on the point of view being used, but to make sure of which is closer to the truth, we decided to have a stroll in the “baby CLS” and see for ourselves what all the fuss is about.

Long story short, we jumped in a Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDI - a model which is probably the bread and butter of European sales when it comes to the diesel engine range – equipped with the 7G-DCT dual clutch transmission and an AMG sports package that also included a sportier and lower AMG suspension.

In order find out its positives and negatives at the same time, we think that a better engine/transmission/equipment combination couldn't have been possible, as the test drive made us see the CLA as a fuel sipper, a sports coupe, and also a well-being machine – if you like - but we will talk about how each of these features can also have downsides as well.

Numbers are both good and bad

For some reason, the Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 CDI remained the only member of the MFA platform to sport a 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbocharged diesel, as all the other three models (A 200 CDI, B 200 CDI and GLA 200 CDI, ed) have recently replaced it with a down-tuned 2.1-liter that offers the same power and torque, but with a slightly better fuel consumption and a Euro 6 emissions rating.

With 136 hp and 300 Nm (221 lb ft) of torque, the petite diesel under the car's non-damped but sexy hood is not what you would call a tour de force when it comes to dynamics, especially since the CLA 200 CDI is no featherweight at 1485 kg (3274 pounds) equipped like our test car. On the other hand, it is quite a bit smoother in operation than we had previously thought.



The 9.3 seconds required by the car to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) don't make it a slouch on wheels, but the performance is clearly not what you would expect just from looking at it, especially when fitted with the aggressive AMG bodykit and 18-inch wheels with low tire walls.

Its fuel economy, on the other hand, could make you friends with quite a large group of tree-huggers, as over our two-day test drive we saw the fuel needle stubbornly refusing to move faster no matter what type of driving situations we threw at it.

During city traffic, if you are careful with the way you press the go-fast pedal and leave the start/stop system on, you can get the CLA 200 CDI to use no more than 6 liters per 100 km (39.2 mpg), but if you start getting bored with that type of driving it can obviously get a lot worse, with an observed 8 or even 9 liters per 100 km (29.4 – 26 mpg) with the start/stop system off.

On the open road, the same throttle-strategy applies, with the car being able to use as little as 4 liters per 100 km (58.8 mpg) on longer stints and at legal speeds – with extreme hyper-milling getting you even better results - while a sportier driving tactic should make it use over 6 liters per 100 km (39.2 mpg).

Do you think you can handle it?

The AMG package can no only make the exterior even more aggressive courtesy of the beefier bodykit, but it can also give you the AMG sports suspension, which in our opinion is perfect for a car that looks as it should handle the twisties like there's no tomorrow.

Which it does, pretty much effortlessly we might ad, while the high-speed stability of the sportier suspension setup makes the CLA feel even more planted than the BMW M235i we tested just a few weeks ago. The AMG suspension feels so good, as a matter of fact, that it can also make you forget that you are driving a front-wheel drive sedan with a humongous front overhang and a transverse engine.



Some people may not enjoy the slightly-reduced comfort on smoother roads and the downright-stiffy setup when driving over potholes or poorer roads, but the CLA was never made for off-roading. On the whole, the AMG suspension won't make you vomit your kidneys but it's very much into hot-hatch territory when it comes to how it grips the road.

Until we finally convinced ourselves to also put it into sport mode, the proprietary Mercedes-Benz dual clutch transmission with seven forward speeds reminded us more of a well-groomed automatic like the 7G-Tronic or the ZF 8HP in terms of smoothness during gear change.

Unfortunately, when put into Sport, Manual or simply trying to drive in a much sportier manner, the 7G-DCT is a bit far from offering a perfect experience, which we think is mostly related to the software calibration calibration between the driver input and the torque range of the diesel engine.

What's it like inside?

As far as the interior of the CLA goes in general, we had our fair share of both disappointment and gratification from a number of reasons, but let's start with the exact car we drove.

As our test car wasn't fitted with all the bells and whistles that the mile-long CLA options list can have, there were some features of the interior which don't exactly scream premium, starting with the cheap-looking infotainment display and continuing with the hard plastics situated on the lower part of the center console.

While the aforementioned free-standing display can become a little more pleasing to the eye if you choose the right options, such as Comand Online, the hard plastic surfaces remain no matter if it's a CLA 180 CDI or a CLA 45 AMG interior you're touching.



We weren't expecting the visibility of a smart, but let's just say that the CLA is not entirely different than a Porsche 911 when it comes to seeing where all four corners of the vehicle are, and the blind spots are quite a bit larger than on your average compact sedan. Still, this problem comes with the territory, as no other coupe out there can let you have the cake after you've already eaten it.

As far as the interior space goes, it is exactly like most of you have heard or read about. In short (pun not intended) the headroom in the rear is only enough to fit people under 1.75 m (5 ft 8) in total comfort. Any passenger above that height will be doomed to sit about as hunkered down as the car's side profile.

The luggage compartment, on the other hand, is more than enough to fit the stuff of four people for longer trips, with its 470 liters (16.6 cu ft) volume being about the same as on the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. On the other hand, the opening is not perfect, with the sexy shape of the taillights cutting into it quite a bit.

Our take on the whole shebang

We should first let you know that we started the test drive with quite a lot of preconceptions about the Mercedes-Benz CLA, most of them being based either on the official numbers for the car or on other reviews from both European and US “car experts”, something which we wholeheartedly advise all our readers to never do before giving a cast in stone opinion about a vehicle.

After three days of driving what should have been a sexier but less practical A-Class – or, in other words, awesome packaging for a poor product – the Mercedes-Benz CLA made us pretty much fall in love with it.

It has its downsides, like almost every other niche vehicle out there, but it more than makes up in things that we would have never expected, with driving pleasure being the biggest surprise. With the AMG suspension it sticks to the road like a Koala bear hugs trees, the steering is nicely weighted despite being fully-electric, while the huge front overhang is actually far from giving you the impression that you're driving something with the engine hanging over the front axle.

Last but not least, if you let go of the traditional “a coupe has a maximum of two doors” definition and actually treat it like a coupe with better access to the rear seats, the CLA is practical as well.

We are not even mentioning the fact that it is the cheapest way in which you can drive a four door coupe (there, we've said it!) that looks almost every bit as good as a CLS, since the Mercedes-Benz CLA deserves more than being known as “the cheapest sedan with the three-pointed star.”

It has its fair share of faults, with some of the most evident being the fact that the gorgeous frameless doors don't provide you with the usual Mercedes-Benz “thunk!” when being closed, the engine hood needs a cheap metal stick to stay open and the interior could use softer plastic surfacing on the lower part of the center console.

If you can get past those, as we find them rather minor, the Mercedes-Benz CLA is one of the coolest and joy-bringing cars we have tested this year. Take one for a drive and you will probably arrive at a similar conclusion.
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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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