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In the latest episode of our long-running automobile series, we turn our attention to Mercedes all-electric sporty model that comes with a broad array of exciting technologically-advanced features on top of offering reliable performance.
"Every time I've sat in one of Mercedes's EVs, I've been consistently impressed with build quality, the way that they drive, even the multimedia experience, and that's not been the case with all of the established giants who I feel like were a bit surprised, caught off guard by some new brand's emergence on the market."
"But in order to stay competitive, one must evolve. In order to stay competitive, you must introduce new models that cater to the present market. This is the new Mercedes CLA, and it is a way to not only maintain their market advantage, but also to try and introduce the Mercedes EV brand to more people. Because while this isn't cheap, it's definitely cheaper than you might think. And to spoil the ending a little bit, it's also very good."
"Let's take it for a spin.
First things first, the CLA is built on Mercedes brand new 800 volt EV platform, which first and foremost means charging speed. We're talking 320 kilowatts and 10 to 80 percent in around 20 minutes. And this semi-affordable model will go between 700 and 800 kilometers on a charge, too, meaning you'll get at least double the range of the MGS5 I tested the other week. A lot of consumers these days, even those that buy very expensive EVs, tend to just jump right into Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and who could blame them? But Mercedes is one of the established giants that put so much effort into their own proprietary software that I think it's at the very least worth just taking a quick peek at what they themselves have built before you jump right into those other software suites. Now, this is MB OS, and I think it is still quite lovely. There's supposed to be a partner screen over here. I've been informed that will be present in the final trim of this car. But here you have your main screen, which is much more vertical, which I found to be not good or bad, just odd. It is very TV screen like. Usually, it will be very angled towards you like this. But here it is, again, very vertical, which I think makes sense. Paired with a little wireless charger here. Some lovely metal effect here with the cup holders. And that is paired with the command screen over here. Very lovely, saturated, color rich. It's fantastic. Alongside some rudimentary things that you can do from the steering wheel here. So that is, for instance, just the automatic drive aids, the volume control, the call taking, all of that basic stuff. Works very well alongside seat controls back here, window controls. Again, very rudimentary, very simple to use. But the screen itself actually has a lovely interface that I fell in love with very quickly. So it's very Apple liquid glass-esque, meaning that there is the main map here, and then it layers information in these tiles on top. So I have audio playback, my phone, my route. But I also have access to a whole host of apps that are really readily available, which I think is lovely. So there is all of the cameras, YouTube, Disney+, Spotify, a very basic set of games, including Angry Birds. Again, all of this stuff works very well. That is paired with fantastic seats that aren't really bucket style, but they're just so classy and comfortable that I just found this to be a very nice place to sit in general."
"That is paired with amazing speakers and just a lovely cabin feel. I've seen it described in other reviews that this does not have the quality cabin that they would have thought. But to me, this is a very classy Mercedes. And considering the fact that you can save some money on a CLA compared to what you usually have to spend on a very luxurious Mercedes sedan, I think this is great. Now, one could make the argument that with the advent of the EV, that cars just don't feel as unique as they once did. And there is some truth to that. When the drivetrain is electric, when the steering is electric, a lot of what used to make the car's actual personality is now pretty similar feeling across a whole host of models. But I do think that manufacturers like Mercedes really try to lend their specific models with personality. There is the sound of when you press the throttle. There is the cabin feel. There is a very particular kick happening when you really put your foot down. And I do think that I sense what the engineers were thinking of when they designed the overall driving profile of the car, which particularly comes into its own if you don't put it in eco or comfort, but rather something a little bit more sporty than that, even though this isn't particularly a sporty car. What I will say is though, that these seats are very comfortable. I mentioned that in the interior section of this very video. And I also think that it overall just handles really well. It's very, it's an aerodynamic shape. These seats are very comfortable and holds me very tight in. It's a tight feeling experience in a lot of different ways that the tall riding crossovers and SUVs really can't be. So if you like driving, not sitting as low as in a Tesla Model 3, for instance, but if you like driving, this is a much better place to be when you want to connect with driving as a hobby compared to those bigger cars that we tend to, we tend to buy here in Denmark, for instance."
"Amongst the standard equipment, we find a panoramic glass roof, reversing camera, the chat GBT enabled smart assistant. It's not Spartan at all. And with Danish pricing, starting at 379,000 Danish kroner, it's more expensive than a Tesla Model 3 for sure.
And a Hyundai Ioniq 6, but not by as much as I thought."
"It would be absolutely bonkers for me to suggest that this, the new Mercedes CLA, is cheap. But cheap is a relative term because the X-Peng G9 sure isn't cheap. And that sure as shit showed Mercedes and several other manufacturers that you can make a big, bulky, luxury SUV for less money.
Now, this is not the same price as a Tesla Model 3, which this in some cases would set to go directly up against, but it is markedly cheaper than you'd think it would be given your experience with the Mercedes brand in general. And when you drive it, when you look at it, when you experience it, it very much succeeds your expectations for what a car in this price bracket normally would cost. I think that there actually isn't all that much difference between this and Mercedes's much more expensive vehicles in their range. So this is a bit of a freebie and I recommend it wholeheartedly."
