Review: Mercedes-Benz CLA (2013 – 2018)

Mercedes-Benz CLA (2013 – 2018): At A Glance

• Insurance Groups are between 20–46
• On average it achieves 74% of the official MPG figure

Mercedes-Benz CLA (2013 – 2018): What's It Like Inside?

• Boot space is 470 litres
• Euro NCAP rating of five stars

Dimensions
Length	4630–4691 mm
Width	1777–2032 mm
Height	1416–1436 mm
Wheelbase	2699 mm
Full specifications

That slippery shape doesn't help when it comes to rear space. While the two front passengers have plenty of head and leg-room, that's not the case in the rear. Headroom is tight, very tight in fact, and is the big giveaway that this has been developed from the A-Class rather than the C-Class. Although there are three seats, it's a real squeeze for two in the back and the sloping roof line means many adults will find their heads hitting the rooflining. If you're only going to occasionally use the rear seats, you can probably get away with it, but if you have older children and expect to be using the rear regularly, it may well be enough to put you off the CLA altogether.

Up front, it's very similar to the A-Class with very upmarket-looking controls that have a top quality feel to them. It also has an iPad-esque tablet mounted to the dash. It's standard and is how many of the car's functions, including the stereo and sat nav, are accessed. Right now it looks smart and is an innovation, but with the current pace of technological advances, you can't help but wonder whether it will start to look rather dated in a few years' time.

The boot is impressive. At 470 litres, it's 130 litres more than an A-Class and and just five litres short of a C-Class. It opens at a good height, too, so it's pretty easy to load and unload. Unusually for a saloon, it gets split-folding rear seats as standard, which lends it a little extra practicality.

What's the Mercedes-Benz CLA (2013 – 2018) like to drive?

• Engines range from CLA 180 to CLA 220 d Automatic
• Readers report Real MPG to be between 22–56 mpg

Being based on the A-Class means front-wheel drive and four-cylinder engines. It's a limited line up from launch, with just the CLA 180 petrol and CLA 220 CDI diesel on offer. Later in 2013 comes the CLA 200 CDI and CLA 250, as well as the headline-grabbing CLA 45 AMG with 355PS. Mercedes-Benz's 4MATIC four-wheel drive system is offered on the continent and could make it over here in time for Winter 2013, competing with Audi's quattro and BMW's recently-introduced (to the UK anyway) xDrive system.

As ever with Mercedes-Benz, the badge on the boot doesn't necessarily reflect what's under the bonnet. In the CLA 180's case, it's a 1.6-litre petrol with 122PS. With 0-62mph coming in 9.2 seconds, it certainly isn't that quick, but it does offer decent economy (on paper at least). The combined figure is 50.4mpg and it emits 126g/km CO2. That's pretty good for a car of this size. Not only does it mean cheap road tax, but up against larger saloons it will look good on company car lists too.

But the one that most buyers will opt for is the CLA 220 CDI. As its name doesn't suggest, it's a 2.1-litre diesel with 170PS and gets from 0-62mph in 8.2 seconds and onto a top speed of 143mph. It's an engine that we like: punchy, flexible and with 350Nm of torque available, it doesn't hang around when it comes to overtaking. Emissions are pretty good too, at 117g/km and official economy is 62.8mpg. In the larger C-Class, owners report in our Real MPG section that the figure for this is engine is up to 93 per cent of the official figure.

The CLA 220 CDI gets Mercedes-Benz's 7G-DGT seven-speed automatic gearbox as standard. It's not a bad gearbox and changes are generally swift and smooth, though in situations where you need to change several gears quickly, it can feel as though it has been caught out.

One area where the new A-Class has come in for criticism is in the way it rides – it's too choppy, too firm and often downright uncomfortable. So it's no surprise that Mercedes-Benz has brought in a few changes to improve comfort, including revised damper settings, specially-calibrated shock absorbers and an entirely new rear suspension subframe.

And, to a degree, it's worked. While it remains a firm riding car, it's far smoother at higher speeds and can now be specified with Comfort or Sport suspension. Comfort gives a better blend of ride comfort and dynamics and is standard on CLA Sport models.

The CLA doesn't offer a particularly engaging or rewarding driving experience when compared to the likes of the Audi A3 or BMW 1 Series. Body control could be better, especially when it's being pushed, but the steering is nicely weighted and gives a reasonable amount of precision.

For those looking for outright speed, there's the petrol-powered 211PS CLA 250, but don't expect to get your hands on it until later in the year. Until the CLA 45 AMG puts in appearance, this will be the fastest CLA, with a 0-62mph time of 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 149mph. In reality, it lacks excitement and feels much slower than that and the C220 CDI – despite being slower on paper – has so much more usable power. Neither does it offer particularly impressive economy: 46.3mpg and 142g/km. For outright power we'd wait for the CLA 45 AMG or opt for the C220 CDI which offers a better blend of both.

For many people, knowing that this is the most aerodynamic car you can buy (the Cd figure is as low as 0.22) will bring little more than shrug of the shoulders. But it's worth mentioning as it's not just Merc engineer showboating – it brings tangible benefits to fuel consumption. For every decrease of 0.04Cd, there's the same fuel economy saving as dropping the kerbweight by 100kg. A couple of tricks that the CLA uses to enhance its slippery shape are a front grille with shutters that close at speed, specially-shaped door mirrors, fins in the rear lights and vents in the wheel arch linings.

Engine	MPG	0-62	CO2
CLA 180	42–51 mpg	9.0–9.3 s	128–152 g/km
CLA 180 Automatic	46–53 mpg	8.7–9.2 s	122–141 g/km
CLA 200	44 mpg	8.2 s	147 g/km
CLA 200 Automatic	44 mpg	7.9 s	146 g/km
CLA 200 CDI	64 mpg	9.4 s	117 g/km
CLA 200 CDI Automatic	63 mpg	9.3 s	118 g/km
CLA 200 d	67 mpg	9.5 s	109 g/km
CLA 200 d Automatic	71 mpg	9.0 s	105 g/km
CLA 220	39 mpg	7.1 s	168 g/km
CLA 220 CDI	63 mpg	8.2 s	117 g/km
CLA 220 d 4Matic Automatic	51 mpg	7.7 s	145 g/km
CLA 220 d Automatic	52–69 mpg	7.7 s	106–142 g/km
CLA 220 d Automatic 4Matic	59 mpg	7.7 s	123 g/km
CLA 250	42 mpg	6.5 s	156 g/km
CLA 250 4Matic	43 mpg	6.6 s	154–158 g/km
CLA 250 AMG	42 mpg	6.5 s	156 g/km
CLA 250 Automatic	46–46 mpg	6.4 s	141–143 g/km
CLA 250 Automatic 4Matic	42–44 mpg	6.4–6.6 s	150–160 g/km
CLA 45 AMG	33–41 mpg	4.2–4.6 s	162–194 g/km

Real MPG average for a Mercedes-Benz CLA (2013 – 2018)

Real MPG was created following thousands of readers telling us that their cars could not match the official figures.

Real MPG gives real world data from drivers like you to show how much fuel a vehicle really uses.

Diesel or petrol? If you're unsure whether to go for a petrol or diesel (or even an electric model if it's available), then you need our Petrol or Diesel? calculator. It does the maths on petrols, diesels and electric cars to show which is best suited to you.

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