Ever since Mercedes decided to bring forwards its CLA-Class models, the BMW enthusiasts have been waiting for BMW to come up with something similar, both in shape and size and pricing.
While the new 2 Series might not be exactly what they’re looking for, it comes really close, offering the CLA a run for its money. The two are similar though, in more than one way and we’re going to take a look over what those similarities are and what sets them apart.
The Mercedes-Benz is being marketed as a 4-door coupe but in reality, the extra doors at the back don’t have an impact in the overall practicality of the car. Sure, they help you get in and out easier but as far as space and headroom goes in the back, there’s room for improvement and not much else.
Headroom is tight. If you’re over 5’5’’ (165 cm) tall, you might have to tilt your head to the side to fit in there. In the leg room department, that’s not as big of an issue.
In the BMW, almost the same story applies. In the back, you’ll get plenty of legroom but headroom could be more generous. Even so, our general consensus, after testing the car, was that even for taller people (6 ft. - 184 cm) there’s a bit more room than expected.
Therefore, we have 2 Coupes that offer limited headroom in the back and the 2 extra doors of the CLA don’t really help. What a surprise!
Moving over to the practicality part of the comparison, we should point out that the Bimmer in at a disadvantage here, offering less boot space than the Merc, by 80 litres (390 vs 470 liters). However, the shape of the taillights of the CLA might intrude in your loading/unloading process. That’s not the case for the 2er that has a more ‘regular’ shape.
The seats are comfortable in both cars and feature premium materials. That’s where the Merc gets slightly ahead, the standard upholstery feeling more premium than in the Bavarian. However, the wider seats of the M235i might be more to your liking, especially if you’re on the plus size side of things.
On the road things are different in the two. The CLA45 AMG uses a 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine making 360 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque while the M235i is a bit more relaxed, making 326 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque out of a silky smooth inline 6-cylinder 3-liter turbocharged unit.
The CLA is also superior in traction, sending its power to all four wheels unlike the M235i that is rear-wheel-drive. While that’s helpful in straight forward drag racing, the system is not as good as you’d expect on the track because it’s based on a front-wheel-drive platform and it tends to understeer.
The M235i on the other hand, is a lot more playful. The rear axle is alive and the car feels agile. However, even so the rear end is really hard to get sliding, the car being extremely grippy at all times. The xDrive alternative of this model was just announced and will start deliveries this summer.
Looking over the numbers, the CLA seems to get away with the win here, doing the 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.6 seconds, 0.2 faster than the automatic M235i and another 0.2 seconds ahead of the 6-speed manual. Even so, for feeling you can’t go wrong with the manual gearbox that, unfortunately, isn’t available in the Merc.
Talking about the gearbox, many reviewers claimed that the 7-speed DCT unit used by the Swabians lacks refinement and can’t really keep up with the 8-speed auto from ZF despite being a dual-clutch. The same problem is reported in the video below, by the guys from Autoguide.
While on paper, the Merc seems to be winning, on the road things are quite different. The defeat is all even more embarrassing as the CLA is a full-on AMG model while the 2er is just an M Performance Automobile and not a real M car. For that, we’ll have to wait for the M2.
Going over the pricing, we should also point out that the Benz is the more expensive one here thanks to the AMG badging. The model tested below was priced at $55,925 while the Bimmer set the price tag at $51,600. You might say that was all because of the optionals but the starting prices show the same story, the Merc starting at $48,000 and the BMW at $44,025.
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