Test drive Mercedes with 1,3 engine: test drive the new CLA Coupe
A squat coupe-like profile, frameless glass, front-wheel drive and a very modest French engine - the new generation Mercedes-Benz CLA has become the most atypical for the brand.
I had to apologize because the pensioner driving an old MG TF from the 1950s had a very unambiguous facial expression on his face after we almost finished off all the beauty of his retro car on the rear bumper of a brand new Mercedes-Benz CLA. Fortunately, the veteran slowed down, but supplied us with such a fiery tirade that it was clear even without translation from German: they passed, as they say, into a thin one.
Warm spring in Bavaria comes much earlier than in central Russia, and well-off burghers in March begin to walk their retro cars on local paths - restored with sincere love and polished to a shine. In an hour, on any rural road, you can find heels of old cars, mainly BMW and Mercedes-Benz brands. But we, oddly enough, gave on the brakes not at all for their sake, but only after seeing the CLA of the previous generation.
Forgive us the owner of a rare MG, who happened to be nearby, we could not stop. The old CLA was parked by the side of the road, the same bright red as ours, and it was worth putting both cars side by side to find answers to statements like "Well, almost nothing has changed here." It has changed, and so much so that the first car of the 2013 model seems outdated against the background of the new one.
The new CLA, which is now officially called the CLA Coupe, looks squat, assembled and very sleek - as if the plasticine model of the old CLA has been carefully walked with a giant roller, rolling up all the fanciful details. Under the bolster, the edge of the hood sank down, the radiator grille became wider, the headlights narrowed, the upper break in the sidewall disappeared, and there were almost no Asian influxes of lanterns in the stern. By the way, the tailgate now splits the lights into two sections: part remains on the body, part rises with the lid. A trifle that allowed us to make the opening a little wider.
The Germans themselves consider the key parameter to be 5 cm - almost as much as the new CLA is longer and wider than its predecessor, the headlights have narrowed by the same amount, and the track width has increased by the same value. The base has grown by 30 millimeters. And compared to the current A-Class CLA sedan, it is 139 mm longer and a little wider, although the machine is based on the same MFA2 platform - in fact, a modernized chassis of the old A-Class with heavily redesigned suspensions, a rear multi-link for all versions of the coupe, thicker anti-roll bars and adaptive dampers available at an additional cost.
The fact that the new CLA is tuned for drive is immediately apparent from the clear reactions, clear steering and rather strict suspension. At first, you don't seem to feel much of a difference with the standard A-Class, but with a set of speed, the connection with the car does not disappear, and the chassis continues to please with stability and high-quality feedback. The winding Bavarian tracks do not require track skills, and in such conditions the CLA steers very well, and even the front-wheel-drive CLA 200 does not show any tendency to understeer, as if once again justifying the use of the "wrong" drive for the brand.
The advantage of adaptive dampers is the ability to customize the character of the machine. If it seems that the steering wheel is too light in the standard chassis mode, then you can switch to a sporty one, in which the steering wheel is poured with strong effort and requires a slightly different approach to control. The suspension in this mode is also picked up, but you need to understand that in the standard mode it is also quite strict to the rare unevenness of the Bavarian roads, although it swallows gentle waves without problems.
The test vehicles featured an AMG Line with 15mm lower ground clearance, 19-inch Run Flat wheels and optional adaptive dampers. Our default ground clearance will be just that, but large wheels and customizable shock absorbers will be offered for a surcharge, and it is possible that with a simplified suspension and softer tires, the CLA will be a little more comfortable. The engineers themselves, for example, consider the 18-inch ones to be optimal, and for the economical Europeans they even keep the 16-inch ones in the range.
What was really alarming was the overly nervous reactions to crossing the lane markings or approaching other cars. CLA electronics can suddenly slow down and tighten the belts, which pretty much scares the driver, who saw no danger. Engineers do not even try to get out - they say, the car trains the driver, forcing him to get used to a more accurate ride.
“After three detections, you’ll learn to drive safely,” Senior Compact Car Test Manager Johan Eck told us. Perhaps it is worth suggesting that Johan take a ride on our roads, where the assistant systems will be doomed to shutdown.
The French turbo engine with a volume of 1,33 liters, which develops a solid 163 liters, seems a little wrong here. with., but, to be completely honest, we will have to admit that paired with a preselective robot, he is really genuinely good. Firstly, the CLA 200 pulls great from the spot, and in the claimed 8,2 seconds. up to "hundreds" is easy to believe. Secondly, it is normally lucky at track speeds, allowing you to quickly overtake with instant shifts and a high-quality set of revs.
Finally, from the inside, this engine doesn't feel like a grinder motor, which is a good thing because Mercedes-Benz buyers will hardly appreciate the squeaky powertrain. And he also knows how to drive on two cylinders and fit, if not five, then seven liters per “hundred” in highway modes - pretty nice numbers for a premium car.
The CLA 250 version already has a full two-liter engine, but it does not destroy the charm of the base unit. It is clear that there is more traction, and the handicap of two seconds when accelerating to "hundreds" is very noticeable, and on an unlimited German highway on this version it is more convenient to drive. But the main customer benefit is still the uncontested all-wheel drive, and in this sense, the CLA 200 has nothing to answer.
We can only guess how the four-wheel drive will work on slippery surfaces, but, in theory, the rear axle should be connected faster, because instead of an electro-hydraulic clutch, an electromechanical one is now installed on the A-Class family. On dry, all-wheel drive CLA rides very neutral and under traction even seems to show slight hints of the family tucking of the rear axle. Well, it sounds a little juicier, although the owners of earlier models are definitely not surprised by this.
It is clear that for lovers of real old-school Mercedes-Benz, the combination of a front-wheel drive layout, a French motor of an extremely small volume and a little girlish ideology, under which both the word Coupe and the bright red color of the body can be adjusted, looks, to put it mildly, alarming. But Mercedes has long been focusing on a new generation of customers, while maintaining its basic values - refinement of the finish and comfort, which does not imply an omnivorous suspension, but the comfort of the cabin and the pleasure of using every element of it.
In this sense, only too plastic paddle levers are strained, and everything else practically rings, if not luxury, then good quality and cool efforts of the handles. Salon CLA borrowed from the A-Class, and even in a moderate configuration with rag seats and a minimum set of electrical adjustments, it makes quite a premium impression. Leather and wood are artfully imitated by pliable plastic, the fabric is sewn and fitted perfectly, and the cold aluminum keys, like the handles of the swivel deflectors, are just a pleasure to touch. Even the interior lighting LEDs shine with a warm yellowish tint, and the Mercedes people clearly thought about this in advance.
Finally, the MBUX media system, which looks more like an extra-long screen, seems like a masterpiece. Even without a visor, the panels do not glare in the bright sun, the graphics are excellent, and the customization options seem endless. And what about augmented reality, where the navigator draws hints and arrows on the image from the front camera? The only thing that has been done here for show is a voice control system, and in this sense, the Germans can quite learn from the Russian "Yandex". Well, the control of gestures with nervous reactions to the spoken gestures of the driver seems rather pointless.
The CLA's cabin differs from the A-class in a lower roof, but for people no taller than average this will not be a problem. But the longer base allows you to sit quite freely on the back sofa, again, adjusted for a more noticeable roof slope. That is, the CLA coupe is just as good for passenger transport as a sedan, given the age and life credo of typical A-class users. The CLA, however, does not have a single overhead handle, unlike the sedan, but that can be forgiven for the wow effect of the frameless door windows. And you will also have to come to terms with the lack of the usual USB sockets: instead of them, USB Type-C connectors are scattered around the cabin, for which it is not so easy to pick up adapters.
In Russia, a Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 costs exactly $ 32 for a base car in the "Special Series", that is, the price of a real purchase with additional options can approach $ 748. The A39 sedan costs at least $ 298, and the hatchback is another $ 200 cheaper, but the Sport A24 with a comparable set of equipment is already on sale for $ 234. There is a feeling that the overpayment of almost $ 785 for a beautiful body and high-quality handling is quite justified, but the A-Class sedan can be customized much more precisely, and in this sense, the pseudo-coupe, of course, loses to him.
| Body type | Sedan | Sedan |
| dimensions (length / width / height), mm | 4688/1830/1439 | 4688/1830/1439 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2729 | 2729 |
| Curb weight, kg | 1345 | 1475 |
| engine's type | Gasoline, R4, turbo | Gasoline, R4, turbo |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | 1332 | 1991 |
| Power, hp with. at rpm | 163 at 5500 | 224 at 5500 |
| Max. torque, Nm at rpm | 250 at 1650 | 350 at 1800 |
| Transmission, drive | 7-st. robot, front | 7-st. robot full |
| Maximum speed km / h | 229 | 250 |
| Acceleration to 100 km / h, from | 8,2 | 6,3 |
| Fuel consumption (city / highway / mixed), l | 8,5/4,8/6,2 | 9,1/5,3/6,1 |
| Cargo space, l | 460 | 460 |
| Price from, $. | 32 748 | 37 988 |
