Compact cars: the most polyvalent models and also the most popular in Europe, the C-segment is populated with brilliant vehicles right now, from the award winning VW Golf 7, to the RWD BMW 1 Series or the uber-practical Skoda Octavia, which has probably grown too big for this class.
So where does Mercedes sit with its customers? What can a German middle-class businessman possible buy that’s got style and substance at the same time? Well, how about this, the new CLA four-door coupe. Think of it like a bigger A-Class with more style and a sedan boot.
Because they didn’t want people to think lightly of the CLA, Mercedes only offers its more decent engines on the car. There are no underpowered 1.5-liter Renault diesels here!
The petrol range starts with the CLA 180 model, which at just 122 PS is kind of underpowered, and stops with the CLA 250 DCT which has 211 PS. “Fine, I’ll have that!” you’ll probably have said to yourself. But depending on the market it’s probably around €10,000 more expensive. You can buy a cheap car for that!
his is why we think the best model of the CLA range is the CLA 200 model, which is only slightly more expensive. It has the same 1.6-liter engine, but the turbocharger setup has been improved to produce 156 PS and 250 Nm of torque. 0 to 100 km/h takes 8.6 seconds, while top speed is 230 km/h… at least those are the official figures. Curious what it’s really like?
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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