LexFather

Seems the CLA45 will be 45-50k and have 350hp. Mercedes is about to eat with this new car.

mrraider

Interesting. I've walked in to MB dealerships dressed like a bum and was well treated. Of course, MB dealers in Canada are corporate owned, so minimum standards are required.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Mercedes CLA45 AMG images leak ahead of Big Apple debut

Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/merce...photo-5747830/

It's not terribly difficult to imagine what the Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG will look like, or what it will perform like, for that matter. Take the basic recipe that is the recently introduced A45 AMG, throw in a swoopy and devastatingly attractive coupe-like sedan shell, mix and serve.

Under the CLA45 AMG's stylish hood will sit a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 360 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, as is the case with the A45 AMG, and it will be paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. A sophisticated three-stage stability control system will help keep the power on the ground, which is good, since we're expecting a 0-60 run of around 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 155 miles per hour.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/03/19/m...g-apple-debut/

LexFather

^^^ nice pics there, thanks for posting...amazing how fast this car came to light... they have a hatch version too in Europe we don't get here. Lexus offers a CT, no other engines and clearly no real F model let alone a sedan version.

Great job Mercedes

Fizzboy7

Extremely impressive. This is what the other makers need to be doing with their entry-level sedans. Nice to see MBZ on their game. Everyone else now has to play a big game of catch up.

RXSF

$47,xxx

355hp
332 lb ft

LexFather

Yup and likely tuneable for more power. Amazing that the AMG model debuts a month after the base model...this fall.

mmarshall

An everyday production engine of only 2.0 liters with 360 HP? Do I sense the letters o-v-e-r-s-t-r-e-s-s-e-d anywhere?

No matter how durable a pint-size container is made, you can't keep trying to cram in quarts or gallons of fluid without something giving way.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

I too am curious about longevity. It is very impressive though when you consider the hp per cylinder so kudos to that

amphipri0n

Any pictures of the CLA next to ANY other car get a context of size?

I remember Merc trying to enter this market in North America about 10 yrs ago with the C230 sport coupe? (MSRP hovered around $24-27k at the time)
http://autos.yahoo.com/mercedes-benz...02/c230-coupe/

I think the CLA will be more successful than their previous attempt mostly because it's NOT a coupe and NOT a hatchback which most people seem to dislike here in the states...

As far as the exterior design, I think it looks pretty attractive, especially like the upturned sculpting in the trunk, the front end looks pleasant enough / typical for the brand. However if this thing is as tiny as some other posters are claiming and looks like a CLS that was left in the carwash dryer too long, it would change my perception quite a bit (not in a good way).

TangoRed

It will undoubtedly do better than the C230 coupe for the reasons you listed. It also won't come with cloth seats and cheap interior. I would expect the CLA to be more entertaining to drive as well.

This thing will be about the size of the current C-class. If this sounds weird, it won't later because the new C-class will debut in a year which will be larger in size.

TRDFantasy

Who cares though? It's still an ugly overstyled mess which disgraces the Benz brand and heritage.

Motor

RXSF

I believe I read somewhere its about 2 inches longer than the current C class

mrraider

4630mm long. The size of an S60 or Buick verano