The All-New 2014 CLA-Class Mercedes-Benz

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Consumer Guide’s Take on the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Mercedes is readying a junior edition of its popular midsize CLS-Class “4-door coupe,” with many of the same desirable assets in a smaller, handier package. With edgy new styling and lively but economical 4-cylinder powertrains, the CLA should be hard to resist.

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What It Might Cost

Mercedes has yet to announce pricing for the 2014 CLA-Class. Rumors suggest a base figure of about $30,000. Well-equipped models will likely overlap entry-level versions of the larger C-Class Coupe and Sedan.

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What It Is

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class is a new premium-compact sedan with coupe-like styling. It’s essentially a smaller, more-affordable take on the brand’s successful CLS-Class premium-midsize sedan, although the CLA has standard front-wheel drive, not rear drive. All-wheel drive will be available, however, as on the CLS.

Once rumored as the “CLC” and previewed by the Concept Style Coupe (CSC) special at the April 2012 Beijing Auto Show, the front-drive CLA is expected to reach American dealerships in September 2013, with AWD versions available in the spring of 2014. A hot-rod version tuned by Mercedes’ AMG performance arm should hit dealers in November 2013.

It should arrive a few months before the American-market 2014 B-Class premium-compact car, a boxy 5-door hatchback whose basic architecture underpins the CLA. That platform also hosts Mercedes’ just-redesigned A-Class premium-compact car, which has been rumored for U.S. sale but not yet confirmed.

Last but not least, the CLA’s underpinnings will serve a new compact Infiniti sedan as part of a collaboration announced in 2010 between Mercedes and the Nissan-Renault alliance. (Infiniti is Nissan’s luxury brand.) That car is expected in America as a 2014 or ’15 model.

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Engineering and Powertrains

Despite riding the same MFA platform (Mercedes Front-wheel Architecture) as Stuttgart’s other new compacts, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class differs markedly in dimensions, thanks to its unique sedan styling. In fact, it’s not far removed from today’s C-Class premium-compact sedan, measuring some 1.4 inches lower, nearly 2 inches longer, and a whopping 4 inches wider. The CLA is also somewhat larger than the newly updated A-Class hatchback.

The dimensional variations aren’t surprising, as MFA is one of those modern modular platforms that can be pulled like taffy to suit different vehicles, thus allowing all variants to roll down the same assembly line. From what we know of the redesigned A- and B-Class, MFA is engineered to be strong but relatively light, helped by fairly extensive use of aluminum, plastics, and other weight-saving materials.The car will launch in America as the CLA250 with one drivetrain: a new 208-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch automated-manual transmission.

As a fuel-saving measure, the car will come standard with engine-idle stop/start functionality.The line-topping AMG version, expected to debut a couple months after the mainstream-model launch, packs a high-output 360-horsepower 2.0 four and the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. All-wheel-drive is standard as well. It’s being tipped for the CLA 45 AMG badge, honoring AMG’s 45th anniversary.It bears mentioning that Mercedes is planning several “alternative” powertrains as future options for the hatchback B-Class.

They comprise a battery-powered pure-electric drive, a gas/electric hybrid, a natural-gas engine, and a hydrogen fuel-cell system. Timing on all these is unclear, as is whether any of them would be offered in the largely style-driven CLA.As a member of the MFA family, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class will ride a 4-wheel independent suspension with all-around coil springs, front struts, 4-link rear geometry, and antiroll bars at each end.

Steering will have electrohydraulic assist, while brakes are the expected 4-wheel discs with ABS and Mercedes’ ESP integrated antiskid system with traction control. Stuttgart’s small-car initiative doesn’t stint on big-car features, so the CLA will offer most every electronic driving aid in the corporate cupboard. These are likely to include M-B’s Distronic Plus adaptive cruise control, Attention Assist drowsy-driver alert, blind-spot warning, lane-keeping assist, a new low-speed pedestrian/obstacle-warning system called Collision Prevention Assist, and an automatic parallel-parking system.

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Design and Features

Inside and out, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class employs many of the same design cues as the new A-Class, but is intended to be even more edgy and youthful. Company CEO Dieter Zetsche terms CLA a “rebel,” referencing its assigned mission of attracting younger buyers to the tristar brand. Wagener says Zetsche himself decreed a more avant-garde look for the CLA.

As he told Autocar, “Imagine how it feels as a designer to have the board [of directors] pushing you to design a ‘style rebel’ in the lineup…Our directive is to build cars that don’t all look alike…[and] so long as we keep the core values of Mercedes, we have the freedom to execute them in different ways.”

Highlighting the CLA execution is what might be termed a “melted wedge” profile, with a stubby rear deck and compound-curve body sides punctuated by three sharp crease lines. The “soft nose” frontal styling provides visual linkage with other recently launched Mercedes, and there’s an aggressively sculpted lower facia with three air intakes. Those openings, plus the wide tristar grille, are filled with “diamond finish” inserts comprising a myriad of small chrome elements.

Wedgy wraparound taillights echo the headlamp treatment and frame a trunk lid with a modest carved-in lip spoiler. A wide inverted-U form juts out slightly from the lower rear fascia to cradle the exhaust ports and has its own “diamond” insert.Like the new A-Class, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class dashboard is dominated by a twin-pod gauge cluster ahead of the driver and a trio of circular air vents in the center, with a matching outboard vent at each end.

The center vents surmount an array of infotainment switches. Climate controls sit below, in the forward end of the console, with Mercedes COMAND infotainment knob situated where the gearlever would normally be. That’s because, as on some other recent Mercedes, the CLA shifter is an electronically controlled switch mounted on the right of the steering column.Other standard features include a sport suspension, leather-wrapped steering wheel with paddle shifters, all-season run-flat tires, rain-sensing windshield wipers, Bluetooth wireless cell-phone link, power driver seat with three-position memory, and vinyl upholstery. Options are offered in packages or as standalone items.

The Premium Package includes an iPod/MP3 player interface, satellite radio, upgraded harman/kardon LOGIC7 audio system, heated front seats, and dual-zone automatic climate control. The Multimedia Package adds a navigation system with voice recognition, 10-gigabyte music hard drive, rearview camera, and a larger dashboard screen (7 inches versus the standard 5.8). A Driver Assistance Package adds the aforementioned adaptive cruise control, blind-spot alert, and lane-keep assist. The Sport Package nets unique body addenda and 18-inch AMG-inspired alloy wheels.

A la carte extras include hands-free parallel parking, panoramic sunroof, blind-spot alert, heated front seats, bi-xenon headlights, different wood trims, and summer-only performance tires.

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Why It’s Being Built

Mercedes started the “4-door coupe” craze with the midsize CLS-Class, and that model’s surprisingly strong sales performance undoubtedly encouraged Stuttgart to do a smaller version with thoughts that lightning would strike twice. As noted, all the new MFA-based premium compacts are aimed at boosting overall sales and profitability, with the CLA-Class the most glamorous member of the clan.

Though the new baby CLS is likely to cannibalize a few sales from the 2-door C-Class, it mainly targets Audi’s A5 Sportback hatch, which isn’t sold in America, and an expected Gran Coupe version of the latest F30 BMW 3-Series, which might come to America in 2014, perhaps sooner.

Those rivals aside, the CLA will have no direct competition, as no premium-brand coupe-styled compact sedans are in the pipeline that we know of–though, of course, that could change if the CLA proves as big a hit as the CLS. Interestingly, the latest “fluidic sculpture” Hyundai Elantra is much the same idea, but without the premium-brand cachet–or spendiness. (CONSUMER-GUIDE)

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Preliminary Specifications

The Basics

Vehicle Type: Premium-Compact Car

Drivetrain

Drive wheels: front/all

Engine: 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder

Horsepower: 208 (CLA250), 360 (CLA 45 AMG)

Torque: 258 pound-feet (CLA 250), 332 pound-feet (CLA 45 AMG)

Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch automated manual

Dimensions

Wheelbase: 106.3 inches

Length: 182.3 inches

Width: 70.0 inches

Height: 56.6 inches

Base Curb Weight: 3,264 pounds

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Mercedes-Benz CLA 180 Zirrusweiß  /  Mercedes-Benz CLA 180 cirr

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Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 Edition 1, (C117), 2012

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