2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Shapes Up to Be a Better-Looking A-Class Sedan

Cramming the shape of a four-door coupe into the compact segment proved to be a bridge too far for the Mercedes designers - of course, depending on who you ask. But you can't ignore the fact its proportions are off, and that rear end looks like it's been crying endlessly for the past few days. You tell us if that's the recipe for an attractive vehicle.

Even so, the German manufacturer decided to continue the model, and so here we are looking at its upcoming second generation. Scheduled for a 2019 release, the CLA-Class will continue in the same tune as its predecessor by borrowing the front end from the yet unreleased 2019 A-Class, but judging by what we can see in this spy video (and those before it), the rear appears to suffer some considerable changes.

The best way to describe it is to reference the recently launched CLS-Class, though that's not exactly doing the CLA-Class any favors. The back of the larger four-door coupe is its most controversial design feature, but we just can't see any way Mercedes-Benz could screw things up more than it did with the current generation of the compact model.

The Germans are really milking the last drop out of their front-wheel-drive platform (MFA2) as they prepare to launch an endless number of models based on it, with the CLA-Class being one of them. There is the A-Class and A-Class Sedan (with an AMG version at least for the former), the family-oriented B-Class, the SUV-ish GLA-Class (also available in AMG flavor), and finally, the CLA-Class, which might lose the Shooting Brake version but will retain the AMG-powered one.

Speaking of power, the more mundane models will get to choose from a range of four-cylinder turbo engines split between gas and diesel. It's worth pointing out that smaller units with a 1.6-liter displacement are expected to populate the bottom of the pool, some of them making it into the CLA thanks to the Renault partnership.

We've already seen the new A-Class interior as proven by the drooling on the keyboard. Expect the CLA-Class to receive something identical, and since it'll be pushed even further upmarket by the arrival of the A-Class Sedan, the four-door coupe might even offer only the poshest of the trim levels.

Mercedes appears hellbent on filling up every niche there is or carving new ones where they don't yet exist, so it's only natural for the CLA-Class to have a successor. The good news is the new car seems to replicate everything the previous one did well, and right some wrongs at the same time. But let's wait until we get to see more of its bodywork before jumping to any conclusion.