The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Mercedes-benz on right track with Cla-class
This isn’t your boss’ Mercedes-benz …
When luxury vehicles come to mind, BMW or Mercedes-benz enter the conversation pretty quickly.
Mercedes-benz had some hurdles in its design of the Claclass. They had to make sure the sedan was sleek and luxurious but an entry-level price point of under $40,000. But they did just that; the base 4Matic (all-wheel-drive) comes in at just over $38G, a total win for the lineup, right? Well …
On the interior, there’s some nice and lux standard features. A dual-customizable widescreen dash, incorporating the gauge cluster and infotainment system, which is pretty fancy looking. Upscale turbine-style air vents and standard Mercedes-benz ambient colorful lighting and trim materials create the expensive feeling.
Safety technology works well with driver assistance as Mercedes adds adaptive cruise control, auto emergency braking and active lane-changing assist.
But, they forgot the Sirius XM, the seats have limited comfortability and the key fob is not recognized when approaching the vehicle, so you have to use the fob every time to unlock and lock, unlike other luxury cars that recognize the fob when nearing the vehicle.
Mercedes-benz’s new infotainment system, MBUX, which is new to the CLA, has a personal assistant embedded in it such as Alexa. Simply speak, “Hey Mercedes” and your command, and your task will be completed. With this, the more you use it, the more it adapts to your requests and becomes familiar with your voice and gets smarter, a pretty neat feature for the everyday commuter.
Powering the CLA class is a nicely paired powertrain. A 7-speed DCT automatic transmission and a fuel efficient 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, producing a fair 221 horsepower, 13 more than the previous model, and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. Standard on the CLA is also ECO start/stop. We utilized Sport mode on our tester and it was fun and zipped around town well.
Instantly, you can tell Mercedes-benz has focused a lot on the suspension. The CLA’S suspension was luxurious and supportive while granting great comfortability which eliminated the previous generations’ rough ride.
Our Polar White tester came with a black MB-TEX interior paired with brushed aluminum trim. It was quite fun to drive and a worthy entry in the entry-level Mercedes lineup. I am not sure if they have perfected the Cla-class yet, but they’re headed in the right direction.
Mercedes-benz CLA 250
MSRP: $38,650
As tested: $50,055
MPG: 23 city, 33 highway, 27 combined