Mercedes-Benz CLA250 - With Front-Wheel Drive And A Four-Cylinder Engine

This is the Mercedes-Benz CLA. It looks a little bit like a dumpier, stumpier CLS, but instead of a suave rear-wheel-drive chassis, it’s based on the front-drive A-class. That means it has MacPherson struts up front, a multi-link rear axle and a range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines that drive through six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes.

CLA’s four-door coupe looks are bound to be a hit

The most exciting model from Evo’s point of view is the CLA250, powered by a 2-litre direct-injection turbo petrol engine producing a decent 208bhp and 258lb ft. It’s a rather portly 1480kg, although its astonishingly slippery shape should help it pass energetically through the air (in tiny-rimmed 180 BlueEfficiency spec, the CLA has a drag coefficient of Cd 0.22).

One thing’s for sure: Mercedes will sell CLAs like Evoque-shaped hot cakes. I’m not huge fan of the looks, but a four-door coupe than $45,000 is sure-five recipe for success. So why am I struggling to get excited about it? Perhaps because its drag coefficient is about as exciting as it gets.

The interior looks great, with flashes of SLS in the air vents, and there’s a nice tactile steering wheel and a decent driving position too

That’s not entirely fair. The CLA does get some things right. The interior looks great, with flashes of SLS in the air vents, and there’s a nice tactile steering wheel and a decent driving position too. Overall the car is refined, has good high-speed stability and is loaded with all manner of driver-assist systems to stop you wandering out of your lane or to bring you to a stop should you fail to notice a stationary lorry ahead. As a sensible, premium and stylish statement, it’s probably a mighty fine thing.

Sadly, it’s not really on the pace dynamically. The engine offers plenty of performance but sounds hopelessly dull and its top-end delivery feels strangled. The wide spread of torque is useful but the almost diesel-like delivery can feel turgid. But the real problem is the 7G-DCT gearbox, which is incredibly slow-witted in Eco mode and too aggressive in Sport, down changing into corners like a teenage Ferrari owner in Mayfair and then hanging on to gears when you want an upshift. It also fails to properly respond to inputs from the paddles in Manual. The six-speed manual is better, but isn’t available on the 250.

This range-topping model has 208bhp, but weights a chunky 1,480kg

The chassis balance itself is pretty tidy. There is under-steer but also a surprising amount of throttle adjustability when you really get going. But the ride – whether Comfort or Sport suspension is fitted – is ragged and its poor wheel control makes the car feel scrappier the harder you push it. It’s a shame because that underlying balance is rather sweet and the steering is accurate and has good feel, too.

Somehow it just never comes together for the CLA. We can only hope that CLA45 AMG, with Haldex four-wheel drive, will be a more cohesive package. In the meantime, stick to a hot hatch, the M135i or even a nice simple C250. For Evo people, there is nothing too see here…

Mercedes-Benz CLA250 back