Mercedes-Benz CLA

Mercedes-Benz’s EV efforts aren’t exactly burning up the sales charts. Models like the EQS and EQE haven’t convinced the brand’s demanding clientele that batteries are the future, forcing the company to scale back its electric ambitions.

Scale back, but not abandon. Benz is about to launch a new generation of EVs relying on technology derived from the epically efficient EQXX. The first is the new CLA. It’s coming soon, and after getting some time behind the wheel of a prototype vehicle undergoing final testing in the snowy wilds of Sweden, I’m convinced this could be the car to change Mercedes’ electrified fortunes.

And, for anyone who isn’t convinced, there’ll be a hybrid version too.

The EV is definitely the focus, though, and it tackles many of the most significant sticking points for would-be buyers of the company’s current electric offerings. First among those points is the styling. The somewhat anonymous shapes of the EQS and EQE have not earned those machines many fans outside of obsessive aerodynamicists. While the CLA I drove was unfortunately clad beneath some eye-warping camouflage, it seems to share enough lines with the Concept CLA Class that I’m already convinced it’ll be a looker.

The second concern with many of Benz’s current EVs is cost. Yes, you can get an EQB in the mid-$50,000 range, but that’s based on the older GLB. The least expensive of the company’s current EV range is the EQE sedan, with a mid-$70,000 starting price. That puts it well out of reach for many avid EV enthusiasts.

The current, gas-powered CLA starts in the mid-$40,000 range. Mercedes isn’t saying how much this new one will cost, but while the EV version will presumably be more, it should come in well beneath the EQE.

Next is the driving dynamic, which is really what brought me to Sweden. Both the EQS and EQE are fine cars, comfortable and calm with plenty of torque and power to be fun. However, they’re simply not the most engaging of machines. Can the CLA do better?

First impressions are definitely a yes. My driving was performed in the low-grip, wintery environment of northern Sweden, making it a little difficult to tell exactly how the car will feel when pushed in a more temperate world. But lowering the level of adhesion also lets you get an immediate sense of how well-balanced a machine is, and the CLA feels very well-balanced indeed.

When pushed beyond the limit of adhesion, it did have a tendency to understeer, but it didn’t take much provocation to bring the rear end around. Even with the stability control on, the 4matic-equipped car I drove was happy to swing out the rear as I danced from one corner to the next. When cruising at more relaxed speeds, the car soaked up the decidedly rough road surfaces extremely well for a car with such petite dimensions.

Most impressive was how well it handled the limited grip. One of the prime advantages of electrification is how quickly and smoothly stability and traction control can react to a loss of grip. The CLA didn’t immediately cut all power when it detected wheelspin, it quickly and automatically raised or lowered output to match the available grip.

Power delivery, then, wasn’t all-or-nothing, and when it gave all it was plenty. The electric CLA felt comparably quick to the 402-hp EQE 500 4matic. The CLA 4matic makes similar power: 268 hp (200 kW) from the rear motor and 107 hp (80 kW) from the front. It gets off the line quickly, with the two-speed transmission on the rear axle ensuring that motor was still pulling strongly as I approached 100 mph (160 km/h).

Things were even more interesting when I needed to slow down. The CLA will be the debut of a new, unified braking system that effectively decouples the brake pedal from the actual physical action of the brakes. It’s not quite a full brake-by-wire system as there’s still a mechanical linkage there as a sort of fall-back, but in normal operation, the sensation you get from the brake pedal is entirely artificial, created by springs and bushings, not hydraulics.

There’s no feedback here, no haptics or adjustable resistance to signal what the brakes are doing. Indeed, the only indication that I’d triggered ABS on hard stops was the chatting noise coming from the wheels. In exchange, you get a consistent, solid brake feel, with the car mixing regenerative braking and physical braking as needed to deliver clean, consistent stops.

It’ll take more extensive testing to know how well the system handles something like a summer track day, but I can say that in my testing I got the brakes hot enough to be quite pungent, yet the car still stopped cleanly and predictably.

When it comes to one-pedal driving, the CLA offers a “D-” mode that will bring the car to a complete stop, but the outright deceleration rate after lifting off the accelerator is nowhere near as strong as something like a Tesla on Standard mode. That’s in addition to two lighter regen modes, plus “D Auto,” which varies regen based on surrounding traffic and terrain, just like the company’s current EVs.

The CLA is also designed to address any concerns about efficiency with a number of improvements. That includes a new heat pump that can scavenge waste energy from the motor, the battery pack, and the ambient air. It’s said to heat the cabin twice as quickly with half the power consumption of the old heat pump.

There’s also a revised motor design, utilizing permanent magnets on both the front and rear axle. The system relies on a decoupling system to reduce drag on the front axle when it’s not needed, as on the EQE SUV, but the engagement is so quick and seamless that I never noticed.

The battery pack has also been revised, with a new chemistry that Mercedes says boosts overall energy density by 20 percent while also enabling a “significant reduction” in the use of cobalt.

The net result is a machine that promises to go 5.2 miles/kWh (11.9 kWh/100 km) and offers 466 miles (750 km) of range from the 85 kWh usable capacity “premium” battery pack. That’s on the European WLTP cycle, so on the American EPA cycle we can probably expect something closer to 400 miles (644 km). That still compares very favorably to the 308 miles (497 km) the current EQE can manage from its 96 kWh battery pack.

And, when you run out of juice, the new CLA’s 800-volt architecture enables charging rates of up to 320 kW. That theoretically means 186 miles (300 km) of charge in just 10 minutes.

So, then, the promise is for a better-looking, better-driving, more-affordable, longer-range, and quicker-charging EV. That sounds like a winning bet, but Mercedes still has a hedge in. I didn’t just drive the electric CLA up in Sweden. I also got a go in the 48-volt hybrid version.

Yes, there’s a new CLA for you even if you’re still not on board with the EV revolution. This one’s built around a 1.5 L four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor that’s integrated with an eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission. Engine output is rated at 188 hp (140 kW), plus an additional 27 hp (20 kW) from the electric motor.

That’s enough to drive the car up to 62 mph (100 kph) without spinning up the gasoline engine, but with only 1.3 kWh of battery at its disposal, you won’t go far without combustion. Mercedes doesn’t even quote an all-electric range. The engine comes on early and often.

In fact, during my time behind the wheel, I couldn’t get the engine to turn off. The engineers blamed the below-freezing temperatures. So, I can’t say just how sprightly the car will be without internal combustion. With that four-cylinder humming, the car was reasonably sprightly, the transmission slipping smoothly through the gears. Outright power is definitely on the limited side, though. Anyone who cares about acceleration should go for the other CLA, the one with the bigger battery.

I got a good look at the interior of the two cars, but sadly, I’m not allowed to talk about that yet. Suffice it to say it includes some tasteful and practical changes that should be well-received. More on that to come.

Will the new CLA change Mercedes-Benz’s BEV fortunes? Initial impressions are indeed very good. If it looks half as good as that concept, delivers on the range promise, and is priced right, it should be a winner.

We won’t have long to wait to find out how it looks, but don’t expect an answer to the pricing question until closer to the car entering production later this year. Regardless, it’s great to see all the testing in the EQXX finally bearing fruit. At first bite, it’s tasting sweet.