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Pros: Impressive range, stylish cabin, comfort, refinement
Cons: Small in back seats and boot, divisive styling, charging issues
Mercedes-Benz CLA Design
If the new CLA — all-electric for now, with a petrol-hybrid version coming soon — has a contentious point, it’s the styling. In some ways, it’s the same again, compared to the outgoing CLA. It’s a four-door saloon masquerading as a sleek coupe, but there’s enough curviness in the design to kind of carry that off, and it’s helped by nice, frameless doors which always add a touch of class.
At the rear, the CLA looks sleek and smooth, but at the front, things become a bit more divisive. The old CLA had a handsome, low-slung nose, with headlights set outboard of a large grille. Here, the headlights (and a full-width light bar) have moved upwards, snuggling just under the edge of the bonnet, while the grille — studded with 142 three-pointed stars — has become wider and lower. It’s not an entirely good-looking solution, although the way the stars light up at night is rather cool.
Mercedes-Benz CLA Interior
The CLA’s self-identification as a coupe is most obvious in the back. It’s not quite cramped, but the seat is low, and the floor is high, so you do feel a touch hemmed in, and taller passengers will have their knees sitting way too high in the air for comfort.
Things are much better in the front, where the high-backed bucket seats are supremely comfortable, and there’s an impressive ‘cliff-face’ digital dashboard. This includes a 10.25-inch screen for the driver’s instruments (backed up by an optional head-up display) and a massive 14-inch screen in the centre for the infotainment system.
Crucially, this infotainment screen is running Mercedes’ new MB.OS software, which is not just there for the screens. Yes, it provides you with a responsive touchscreen system, excellent navigation (based on Google Maps but also able to overlay a real-time feed from the forward-facing camera so you don’t miss a turn) and the potential to download other apps from Spotify to Fortnite (and yes, you can wirelessly connect your PlayStation or Xbox controller too).
MB.OS also controls the rest of the car, and this could be the secret to the CLA being able to improve itself over the years. Over-the-air software upgrades could, potentially, improve the car’s range, or its charging, or other aspects as you own in. Upgrades in real time? Maybe.
There is an optional extra passenger side screen, but we’d avoid this. Passengers are more likely to use their own tablet or phone anyway, and the extra screen is too distracting for the driver.
The CLA is fairly practical, too. There’s a 405-litre boot out the back, which is useful if a touch shallow, and that’s backed up by a 101-litre ‘frunk’ in the nose, which is very handy. If you need more space, the CLA Shooting Brake estate arrives in 2026, with a 455-litre boot.
Mercedes-Benz CLA Performance & Drive
The big news here is the range. Thanks to an 85kWh battery, the entry-level CLA 250+, with its 272hp electric motor driving the rear wheels via a two-speed automatic gearbox, can run for a quoted 792km before you need to charge it again.
Our test drive took place in Denmark, where roads are largely flat, largely smooth and with very tightly enforced speed limits of around 80-90km/h. That means that the CLA’s battery was being given something of an easy ride, aside from the 30-degree temperatures making us to turn the aircon up full.
In such conditions, and with a few short motorway bursts at 130km/h, the CLA seemed capable of around 700km on a charge. We started our drive with 85 per cent charge, drove for 250km in mixed conditions and returned the car with a 50 per cent charge and an indicated range of 350km. Pretty impressive.
Just as impressive, at first, is the charging. Mercedes has fitted the CLA with an 800-volt electrical system which can accept up to 320kW of DC charging. This means a 10-80 per cent charge in 22 mins, and as much as 325km of extra range in just ten minutes of charging.
However, right now the CLA’s charging system isn’t backward-compatible with older 400-volt DC fast chargers, which is most of the fast chargers in Ireland. Apparently, a fix for that is in the works, so we just have to hope it happens before the CLA arrives in mid-2026.
As for how it drives, the CLA is comfortable and refined, with a terrific ride quality, but the steering lacks sharpness and it leans quite a lot in bends, so it’s not as much fun as you’d hope for a car claiming to be a coupe.
Mercedes-Benz CLA Pricing
We simply don’t know how much the CLA will cost in Ireland yet, as Mercedes won’t be announcing local prices until much closer to the on-sale date. However, going by its pricing in other European countries, it looks likely that the basic CLA 250+ — the longest-range version — will have a starting price here of around €50,000, which given its range potential is not too bad. Standard kit will include 19-inch alloy wheels, the big 14.9-inch touchscreen and its clever software, plus electrically adjustable seats.
Carzone Verdict
There are a couple of caveats when it comes to the Mercedes-Benz CLA. Its looks won’t please all, and the current inability to use older DC charging points might be a deal-breaker for some (although hopefully that will be fixed soon). However, the CLA’s combo of Mercedes style and quality, and a colossal real-world range, means that it might just be an EV game changer when it arrives in Ireland.