New 2014 Mercedes CLA 250 Review
10-21-13, 01:48 PM
#1
New 2014 Mercedes CLA 250 Review
Had a couple guys bring over a 2014 Mercedes CLA 250 to our dealership to see what all the fuss was about. We gave it a good comprehensive look over, and this is what we found.
Powertrain: The 250 model we drove had a Turbocharged 2.0 I-4 that put out just a shade above 200 hp, but did have a rather potent 258 lb. ft of torque. This engine is mated to a 7 speed automatic Dual Clutch Transmission. Very responsive and smooth engine and transmission combination, and it did a very good job rev-matching on downshifts. Almost no turbo lag. This car had acceleration that far surpassed our Lexus 250 models. I would put the 0-60 around 6.7 seconds or so. This was the first Mercedes i have driven that had a 3 mode transmission selector. Instead of just the standard E and S modes, this car added a third M mode that is almost identical to the manual mode in our cars. This mode selector did not however affect the weight of the steering or make any adjustment to the suspension firmness.
Handling: I think Mercedes did a pretty good job with the suspension. The car feels lightweight and nimble, minimal body roll, but does have the typical FWD understeer. I would be interested what the CLA 45 AMG drives like. In my opinion the typical Mercedes shopper might find the ride a little "plush" or "squishy" compared to what they are used to.
Interior: This is where things started to go south for the CLA. Interior quality is not quite up to Mercedes standards. You can really tell they cheaped out on the plastics for both the dash, and door panels. I could immediately spot the Daimler influence on this Mercedes. Of course the model we drove did not have real leather, as most Mercedes are using their synthetic leatherette. The worst parts of the interior were as follows. #1. There is almost no visibility out of the back window, at all. None. Side visibility is also limited by rather wide B and C pillars. #2. Overall interior room is relatively close to a standard C-class, with the exception of head room. We had 2 occupants that were 6'3 in the car for the test drive. One in front, and one in rear. The rear seat occupant couldn't even come close to sitting up straight. The middle of the rear seat positions the occupant in a position where the side of their head is literally resting on the C pillar. There was also many times that the front seat occupant, even with the seat in it's lowest position, had hit his head on the ceiling going over bumps on our crappy Nebraska roads. #3 The screen that is permanently fixed to the dash looks terrible. It reminds me one of those real cheap Coby tablets you buy at Wal-Mart . The display is the typical, not so user friendly, Mercedes system with the selector dial on the center console. The interior reminded me of a Volkswagen CC, except the seats were not as comfortable. I did like the rather large panoramic moonroof.
Ok now I wanted to address some of the shortcomings on this car when compared to our Lexus products. The sticker price on the car we drove was $38,640. That is far above the $29,999 they advertise, and this car still didn't have navigation, real leather, or a spare tire. This car has 8 airbags standard. It is missing the side airbags for the rear seat passengers that most of our cars have. There is also a real absence of weather stripping around the bottom of the doors, and around the sides of the hood. It showed, because this car wasn't near as quiet on the road as our ES or IS models.
All in all, this was not a bad car to drive at all, as long as you are under 6 feet tall, and making short trips. It was fun to drive, for a FWD car, but not the car I would pick for a road trip with 3 friends. I am left wondering how baron the inside of the car would be at the advertised $29,999 figure, as this car wasn't equipped with much.
Powertrain: The 250 model we drove had a Turbocharged 2.0 I-4 that put out just a shade above 200 hp, but did have a rather potent 258 lb. ft of torque. This engine is mated to a 7 speed automatic Dual Clutch Transmission. Very responsive and smooth engine and transmission combination, and it did a very good job rev-matching on downshifts. Almost no turbo lag. This car had acceleration that far surpassed our Lexus 250 models. I would put the 0-60 around 6.7 seconds or so. This was the first Mercedes i have driven that had a 3 mode transmission selector. Instead of just the standard E and S modes, this car added a third M mode that is almost identical to the manual mode in our cars. This mode selector did not however affect the weight of the steering or make any adjustment to the suspension firmness.
Handling: I think Mercedes did a pretty good job with the suspension. The car feels lightweight and nimble, minimal body roll, but does have the typical FWD understeer. I would be interested what the CLA 45 AMG drives like. In my opinion the typical Mercedes shopper might find the ride a little "plush" or "squishy" compared to what they are used to.
Interior: This is where things started to go south for the CLA. Interior quality is not quite up to Mercedes standards. You can really tell they cheaped out on the plastics for both the dash, and door panels. I could immediately spot the Daimler influence on this Mercedes. Of course the model we drove did not have real leather, as most Mercedes are using their synthetic leatherette. The worst parts of the interior were as follows. #1. There is almost no visibility out of the back window, at all. None. Side visibility is also limited by rather wide B and C pillars. #2. Overall interior room is relatively close to a standard C-class, with the exception of head room. We had 2 occupants that were 6'3 in the car for the test drive. One in front, and one in rear. The rear seat occupant couldn't even come close to sitting up straight. The middle of the rear seat positions the occupant in a position where the side of their head is literally resting on the C pillar. There was also many times that the front seat occupant, even with the seat in it's lowest position, had hit his head on the ceiling going over bumps on our crappy Nebraska roads. #3 The screen that is permanently fixed to the dash looks terrible. It reminds me one of those real cheap Coby tablets you buy at Wal-Mart . The display is the typical, not so user friendly, Mercedes system with the selector dial on the center console. The interior reminded me of a Volkswagen CC, except the seats were not as comfortable. I did like the rather large panoramic moonroof.
Ok now I wanted to address some of the shortcomings on this car when compared to our Lexus products. The sticker price on the car we drove was $38,640. That is far above the $29,999 they advertise, and this car still didn't have navigation, real leather, or a spare tire. This car has 8 airbags standard. It is missing the side airbags for the rear seat passengers that most of our cars have. There is also a real absence of weather stripping around the bottom of the doors, and around the sides of the hood. It showed, because this car wasn't near as quiet on the road as our ES or IS models.
All in all, this was not a bad car to drive at all, as long as you are under 6 feet tall, and making short trips. It was fun to drive, for a FWD car, but not the car I would pick for a road trip with 3 friends. I am left wondering how baron the inside of the car would be at the advertised $29,999 figure, as this car wasn't equipped with much.
10-21-13, 02:02 PM
#2
Lead Lap
Overall interior room is relatively close to a standard C-class, with the exception of head room. We had 2 occupants that were 6'3 in the car for the test drive. One in front, and one in rear. The rear seat occupant couldn't even come close to sitting up straight. The middle of the rear seat positions the occupant in a position where the side of their head is literally resting on the C pillar.
All in all, this was not a bad car to drive at all, as long as you are under 6 feet tall, and making short trips. It was fun to drive, for a FWD car, but not the car I would pick for a road trip with 3 friends. I am left wondering how baron the inside of the car would be at the advertised $29,999 figure, as this car wasn't equipped with much.
10-21-13, 02:31 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
any pics . All have seen are the CLA45 pics in the commercial and we know most will not look like that. I want to see it stripped in less than 32k form. Pretty crazy that you can buy a benz for the price of an Accord
10-21-13, 03:38 PM
#4
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What did it have if it didn't have navigation of leather for 39k? If one was to buy this car, leather option is a must. This adds mb tex to the door panels and to the upper dash with stitching. Makes it look much more upscale.
I priced one out on the website fully loaded and it was "only" 42k and this was up to the gills with the full distronic plus safety package.
Also wanted to add that all cla models are on run flat tired so no spare
I priced one out on the website fully loaded and it was "only" 42k and this was up to the gills with the full distronic plus safety package.
Also wanted to add that all cla models are on run flat tired so no spare
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