Thursday 8th May

New electric Mercedes CLA on sale now

EQ Technology four door boasts up to 484 miles, 320kW charging, plus new Benz Operating System 

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Those that aren’t up to speed on the new Mercedes CLA, see here. We say that because there’s an awful lot to get your head around with this latest baby Benz, even more than usual, and if we start getting into all that again we’ll be here forever. The details on the Mercedes-Benz Operating System, the 800-volt electrical architecture, the Mercedes Modular Architecture, the hybrid powertrains and MBUX Superscreen can be found in the original news story. This is no mere CLA refresh. But make it a big cup of tea for that one. 

The news today is that the Mercedes-Benz CLA with EQ Technology is now on sale. The petrol model will follow later in the year, as will perkier electrics; for now the range is just the 272hp, single motor CLA 250+, supplied by an 85kWh battery. The asking price for a Sport Edition spec will be £45,615, so right in at Polestar 2 (from £45,160), Hyundai Ioniq 6 (£47,040) and Tesla Model 3 (£39,990) kind of money. All the 250s reach 62mph in 6.7 seconds and 130mph. Sport Edition trim means a 14-inch centre display, an illuminated front panel with 142 LED stars, a pano roof, Thermatic climate control and 18-inch wheels. 

Upgrade to AMG Line Edition, as many surely will, and the CLA receives ambient lighting, wireless charging, a Nappa leather wheel, Digital Vehicle Key compatibility and some AMG styling flourishes; it’s from £49,375. Top of the range for the moment will be the £51,770 CLA 250+ AMG Line Premium Edition, with 19s, Multibeam LED lights and the Night Package. 

All models are on the configurator now to have a play with; Patagonia Red seen here looks smart, as does Sapphire Blue. Mercedes suggests that deliveries will begin in Q3, by which time the electric CLA range will surely have been bolstered with many more models. If this is the first time hearing of the Mercedes-Benz CLA with EQ Technology, rest assured it most certainly won’t be the last.

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• All-new CLA is ‘cleverest Mercedes ever made’
  
• BMW goes ‘beyond next level’ with new EV test rig

[Slowlygettingit]

I recently had an eqs as a courtesy xar while my ps2 was being worked on.
Nice car but terrible consumption. Hope that is sorted and might be as this could be a lot lighter.
Would consider this as a replacement for the ps2 in the next few months.

[cerb4.5lee]

484 miles range seems decent on this I think.

[TWPC]

The new CLA does not have a 400V DC converter fitted so at public chargers is only able to use those running at 800V.
According to the attached article;

"Newer ultra-rapid chargers which operate at 350kW or more use 800V systems to deliver their super-fast charging but older devices, even those offering up to 250kW, often use cheaper 400V technology.
There are 15,874 public chargers [in the UK] capable of charging at more than 50kW, according to Zapmap. Half of these are 150kW+ but it’s not clear how many of those are the latest 350kW+ devices using 800V systems and how many are the slower 400V units."

https://evpowered.co.uk/news/next-gen-mercedes-cla...

Could be a problem for some potential buyers.

[Master Bean]

cerb4.5lee said:

484 miles range seems decent on this I think.

6 miles per kwh isn't going to happen. Probably 4 which gives 320 miles. My dad wants to replace his Ghibli with this. I think he's gone mad.

[Mark_Blanchard]

What's going on with Mercedes? I know appearance are subjective, but that front end looks like some sort of aquatic bottom feeder. Lets have some of the understated elegance back again please.

[P675]

Master Bean said:

6 miles per kwh isn't going to happen. Probably 4 which gives 320 miles. My dad wants to replace his Ghibli with this. I think he's gone mad.

I've had 5.8 in my boggo model 3 doing 50-60mph for an hour in good weather, it's not impossible.

[bennytheball]

I thought the big news about this CLA is that it has a two-speed transmission to allow lower motor rpm at higher speeds, improving efficiency and enabling the high claimed range.

This makes sense to me, but I’m an economist… I’d appreciate it if an engineer out there can confirm that this is indeed the case.

[theicemario]

Like that a lot. More of these and less crossover dross please.

[alishutc]

The estate version's definitely on my shortlist when the lease on the ID.7 is up.

[Andy83n]

Slowlygettingit said:

I recently had an eqs as a courtesy xar while my ps2 was being worked on.
Nice car but terrible consumption. Hope that is sorted and might be as this could be a lot lighter.
Would consider this as a replacement for the ps2 in the next few months.

Probably best swapping it for a ps5 pro, especially if GTA VI is coming in the next year...

[plfrench]

cerb4.5lee said:

484 miles range seems decent on this I think.

You feeling alright Lee?

[plfrench]

I had no idea this was going to be out so soon. My wife’s starting to think about what to replace her Born with when it goes back early next year. She said she liked the look of this. Will have to take a look.

[abzmike]

Not keen on the front, but the interior is like driving a 60” wide screen tv - quite like that.

[kambites]

Hmm, they got nearly 6 miles/kWh on the WLTP cycle. That sounds... optimistic to say the least, two-speed box or no two-speed box!

It'll be interesting to see what sort of efficiency people actually get out of it.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 8th May 16:08

[plfrench]

kambites said:

Hmm, they got nearly 6 miles/kWh on the WLTP cycle. That sounds... optimistic to say the least, two-speed box or no two-speed box!

It'll be interesting to see what sort of efficiency people actually get out of it.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 8th May 16:08

A benefit of not having a massive frontal area… it only seems crazily good because we’re conditioned of thinking of 4m/kWh as being a decent number due to there being so many SUV shaped EVs so far. It’s only 16mm taller than a mk7 Golf. This should be no more surprising to us than a Golf claiming 60mpg vs a SUV claiming 40mpg

[andrewpandrew]

kambites said:

Hmm, they got nearly 6 miles/kWh on the WLTP cycle. That sounds... optimistic to say the least, two-speed box or no two-speed box!

It'll be interesting to see what sort of efficiency people actually get out of it.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 8th May 16:08

It's only what you'll get out of a current Tesla Model 3 Long Range...

[cerb4.5lee]

plfrench said:

cerb4.5lee said:

484 miles range seems decent on this I think.

You feeling alright Lee?

I wasn't sure if it would actually make that range, and that has already been pointed out. However 484 miles would be fine for me really, because the M4 only shows around 400 miles on it's range as it is anyway.

[andrewpandrew]

cerb4.5lee said:

plfrench said:

cerb4.5lee said:

484 miles range seems decent on this I think.

You feeling alright Lee?

I wasn't sure if it would actually make that range, and that has already been pointed out. However 484 miles would be fine for me really, because the M4 only shows around 400 miles on it's range as it is anyway.

And do you get 30mpg out of it?

I reckon if you drive this in the same manner as you would have to to get 30mpg out of an M4, you'll get your 400+ miles

[plfrench]

cerb4.5lee said:

I wasn't sure if it would actually make that range, and that has already been pointed out. However 484 miles would be fine for me really, because the M4 only shows around 400 miles on it's range as it is anyway.

I’d wager it’d be far easier to hit 484 miles with this than it would be to get 400 miles in the M4 or 910 in the X5! You’d be a rolling roadblock in either BMW trying to accelerate gently enough

[Aberlour]

TWPC said:

The new CLA does not have a 400V DC converter fitted so at public chargers is only able to use those running at 800V.
According to the attached article;

"Newer ultra-rapid chargers which operate at 350kW or more use 800V systems to deliver their super-fast charging but older devices, even those offering up to 250kW, often use cheaper 400V technology.
There are 15,874 public chargers [in the UK] capable of charging at more than 50kW, according to Zapmap. Half of these are 150kW+ but it’s not clear how many of those are the latest 350kW+ devices using 800V systems and how many are the slower 400V units."

https://evpowered.co.uk/news/next-gen-mercedes-cla...

Could be a problem for some potential buyers.

This is a significant issue. There are not very many 350kw+ chargers out there in the wild. The majority of commonly used Tesla ones are 150kw in the UK

I trust a more clued-up EV enthusiast will be along shortly to confirm.