Mercedes CLA? Is it a proper Mercedes?

[white_goodman]

Intending to buy a new car in the Spring and for reasons I'm not going to go into, probably going to go for brand new. Since owning a sheddy C-Class and loving it, I always promised myself another Mercedes one day. I live overseas, so specs slightly more limited than the UK (i.e. the smallest Mercedes available with a diesel is an E-Class). Ideally, I would go for a C-Class but the cheapest model is the C250 (2.0 turbo, 200bhp), which is still a bit beyond me. I could probably afford a CLA with the same engine though but it would be FWD (only the AMG version comes with 4WD here.

I think it's a really nice looking car (better than the A3/1-Series and A-Class hatch which do nothing for me) but is it a proper Mercedes? Having worked at a Mercedes dealership in the early 2000s, the C-Class, E-Class and S-Class were all lovely cars and proper Mercedes but the A-Class was an awful car and not even in the same league. So is the CLA a credible choice or should I just wait and save up for a nicer C-Class?

[technogogo]

This is something I have wondering too. How would you categorise a 'proper' mercedes? I understand that the early M class was poor due to it factory. Not sure if that is true? But made me wonder if there are different assembly methods with different models. Perhaps with different amounts of hand building versus robots? Or is it all robots these days?
The CLS is more expensive than the E. But much of the platform may be the same? Are the different models all made in different factories? And is the quality ranking of the models the same as the price ranking? Are there quality v price sweet spots?
I'm looking forward to speaking to some mercedes workers and fans at MB world this weekend to learn more.

[KTF]

The first gen M Class was devised when Merc was at the height of its cost cutting episode and it showed.

Like you say though, what exactly is a 'proper' Mercedes? The S Class, the G Wagen?

The only way to find out is to go to the dealer to sit in one, prod the various controls and surfaces, etc.

Edited by KTF on Monday 4th November 21:39

[white_goodman]

Build quality certainly comes into it but for me it's the way it makes you feel. The old C-Class only cost me 700 notes and had seen better days but it still felt special. The long bonnet with the 3-pointed star at the end of it like a gunsight certainly adds a certain something! The old A-Class just felt like a roly-poly MPV that any old manufacturer could have made and not a good one at that! I like the look of the Sport model, so know I'm not going to get a 3-pointed star on top of the bonnet though but it would still have to "feel" like a Mercedes to be worth it over a cheaper brand for me.

[sebhaque]

Flame suit on just in case.

While I don't think the CLA is -not- a proper Mercedes, in much the same way that a CLS isn't -not- a proper Merc (yeah, poor choice of grammar there), I do honestly think it's a little too much badge for the car. You're paying extra for a niche model that your average punter wouldn't buy. I know it's rich coming from the owner of a 6-series, but personally I think the CLA is just a C-class with a taller bonnet and boot - if it's a car you want then go for it. Otherwise, I'd suggest a "normal" Mercedes.

Just my opinion, of course. Probably bears as much weight as everybody else in this topic.

[KTF]

sebhaque said:

I think the CLA is just a C-class with a taller bonnet and boot - if it's a car you want then go for it.

The CLA is actually an A class with a 'taller bonnet and boot'

If you want to sample its competition, try this: http://www.audi.co.uk/new-cars/a3/a3-saloon.html

[cookie42]

I'll add my opinion here . I've just gone from a slk 350 to a cla 180 amg sport.

The main reason was I needed at least 4 seats again.

Plus points are the 4 seats , ok it's nowhere near as quick as the slk but I've got a bike for the quick stuff.

The cla in my opinion is a cracking car for the money , build quality seems fine and to be honest it's only ford or vw money.

Is it a proper mercedes ? I don't know , what is a proper mercedes ? Does a more expensive one make it a proper one ?

What I can tell you is I'm happy with mine

[KTF]

cookie42 said:

The cla in my opinion is a cracking car for the money , build quality seems fine and to be honest it's only ford or vw money.

Not being funny but its a Focus(ish) size car that starts at 24k and goes up to 42k before options.

VW fair enough (although the Jetta is cheaper), but what Ford do you consider to be its competition?

[Finlandia]

Build quality is perfectly fine, but it's not a big car and it doesn't feel as comfortable as the bigger ones.

[greggy50]

The CLA looks an absolute mess in person imo if it was me I would save money and get the A Class it is based on.

They is a new C Class due out next year however and initial pictures look good so by the time it has been released you may have saved up the extra to buy it?

http://www.hindustantimes.com/autos/htauto-topstor...

[jon-]

To drive in any sorted spirited style it's not a proper Merc... fortunately it's much better.

[0a]

A mercedes should be a car that's idea as a daily driver, but unlike average daily drivers does not need to be replaced every 3/5/10 years. A proper mercedes, alas, will not cost the same as a typical daily driver.

My old e300 was expensive compared to everyday cars at the time and every option cost a fortune, it's still being used as a daily 23 years later.

Modern mercedes are just average daily drivers, designed to the same low standard as bmws, audis and vws . Get them to the end of the lease and it's job done. I would like to think the latest e class isn't built in this way, but recent Merc history doesn't bode well.

[CYMR0]

For what it's worth I'd rented a couple of C-Classes in the past, and my daily driver is a new E-Class.

I've just handed back a 2013 C250 petrol as a rental car in the US - although the same age as my car and with slightly fewer miles, the power seats didn't move and the parking brake release warning came on even when the brake had definitely been released and the car generally felt much more cheaply built than the E-Class.

I actually got it on a daily upgrade and returned it because of the issues, declined the upgrade and got a Nissan Altima which wasn't available on my original rate. I think I actually prefer it to the C250. It's not quite as smooth under acceleration but the steering is more direct, it's got more room, and it's about 40% of the price while (apart from the fact that it doesn't have a chunky leather steering wheel) not feeling much more spartan.

I've not driven the CLA at all, but given that this was the first C-Class I'd had since getting the E, I was surprised at how big the step down in quality actually felt.

[Ozzie Osmond]

greggy50 said:

The CLA looks an absolute mess

+1

After the initial flurry of interest in a new model I can't see much in it. Expensive too.

[SexySpecimen]

I don't think it looks that good, just buy an old CLS.

[cookie42]

I think you'll find that the 42k cla is the amg version so you're not really comparing. Ok the ford probobly is cheaper but IMO I think the cla is more mondeo size than focus.

Genuine question but have you driven the cla ?

I've driven the vw and was left feeling numb. To be honest though I've had an e46 m3 which I only kept for 18 months (I hated it on the way home from London after buying it). That was an expensive mistake.

Maybe I just have funny tastes in cars.

KTF said:

Not being funny but its a Focus(ish) size car that starts at 24k and goes up to 42k before options.

VW fair enough (although the Jetta is cheaper), but what Ford do you consider to be its competition?

Edited by cookie42 on Tuesday 5th November 07:41

[KTF]

cookie42 said:

Genuine question but have you driven the cla ?

I havent driven one but I did go for a look at my local dealer.

Personally I didnt like the styling of it and, when compared to the A class that they also had in the showroom, I would rather have the A class as the A class has more space inside and a more useful boot.

I also thought the CLA was pricey compared to the more 'conventional' alternatives that didnt have the 3 pointed star on the front.

The upcoming shooting brake version might sort the styling out at the back plus give you a more usable bigger boot.

If you like yours then nothing wrong with that. Thats why MB make a wide range of models now (and spin as many as possible off the same floorpan) in order to appeal to as many people as possible

[loudlashadjuster]

My S204 C-Class doesn't have the same feel as the S124 I had, but then no modern car I've been in does, including E- and S-Class.

I think the 'real Mercedes' thing boils down to one thing (and I'm sorry it's such a cliché): Rear wheel drive.

BMW quite deliberately kept the MINI brand for FWD and therefore have the "We're 100% RWD, Ultimate Driving Machine and all that" to cling on to. Mercedes chose a different path but it is one that still defines a hierarchy of two distinct classes of car:

FWD - Cheaper family cars
A-Class
B-Class

RWD - Serious saloons, coupes and sports cars
C-Class
E-Class
etc.

In addition to that, the A-Classes I've been in (and I assume the CLA is no different) seem a bit more frivolous and tacky inside than the C or larger models. The awful screen alone, plonked on the dashboard like an afterthought, would stop me buying one.

Sad to see that M-B seem to consider this a positive styling element and the leaked W205 shots show a similar arrangement, with the same novelty vents but an even more incongruous screen.

Having said that, the new S-Class seems to have gone completely mad in that department so who knows where Mercedes are heading?

Anyway, I would've considered a CLA next (interior notwithstanding) but I know that part of me would (stupidly) always be thinking it wasn't a 'real' Mercedes-Benz, not something I get from my current car.

[StescoG66]

My Mrs really wanted one, badly, and had a CLA220CDI AMG Sport on loan for a weekend as her company car is now overdue for replacement. She was straight on the phone heartbroken as within a couple of miles driving it deciding it was ste.

"It can't be that bad." said I, chuckling heartily up my sleeve at another over-rated piece of German 'engineering' getting its come-uppance.

It was worse than that - ste can at least be used to fertilise plants. It was truly woeful. Noisy, rough, the transmission was a mess constantly hunting up and down if a gnat even so much as farted near the throttle. The interior was a mess, with plastics befitting a 1980's Amstrad tower system and as for that screen nailed on by a spastic - come on, on a £33k car. Her current Accord is galaxies ahead of that piece of pretentious tat.

For the record, her next car is due to be a Lexus IS300h Luxury. Not exciting, but much closer in ethos to the 'old' Merc way. Quiet, comfortable, well finished, well built and a nice place to be driven as well as to drive with a cossetting relaxing demeanour - which is exactly what she wanted. Superior in every measurable and subconscious way for similar money. The fact it works out £80 per month cheaper on tax than even the CLA is the icing on a very tasty cake.

[Ozzie Osmond]

StescoG66 said:

chuckling heartily up my sleeve at another over-rated piece of German 'engineering' getting its come-uppance.

That's the odd thing. BMW, Merc and Porsche (probably Audi too for all I know) make some very, very good cars. But oh my word they have some over-priced tat in their ranges as well.