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Car Review: 2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic Coupe

Overview Compact-sized coupe-styled luxe/sport four-door
Pros Expressive styling, all-wheel drivetrain, sporting dynamics
Cons Turbo four-cylinder roughness, abrupt throttle tip-in, tight rear legroom
Value for money Fair
What would I change? Rework the transmission control unit for smoother operation
How would I spec it? Base 4Matic plus addition of $3,200 AMG Sport Performance package

If people, especially the value seekers, bought their cars by the pound, like prime rib, or simply used a perceived “bigger is better” comparative metric, then Mercedes’ compact-sized CLA four-door “coupe” could be in for a world of hurt.

Case in point: Both the CLA 250 4Matic I now have in my possession and the recently driven Dodge Charger SXT Rallye AWD cost about $45,000 as tested. Both have all-wheel drivetrains. The CLA is a compact; the Charger is full-sized. The CLA is powered by a 208-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder and requires premium unleaded. Fuel economy for the week was 10.3 litres per 100 kilometres. The Rallye version of the Charger has a 300-hp 3.6L V6 under its hood that runs on regular 87 octane. Fuel economy was 15 L/100 km. The CLA is upscale, very stylish and German; the Charger is made-in-Canada middle-class muscle. It’s a tight squeeze for anyone other than kids to comfortably fit into the back seats of the Mercedes. It’s a tight squeeze for a six-foot person to fit into the back seat of a Charger.

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2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic Coupe

2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic Coupe
Brian Harper, Driving

On the face of the above and except fuel economy, the CLA is a 98-pound weakling getting sand kicked in its face by a 200-pound beach bully. Fortunately for Mercedes (and, indeed, all auto manufacturers), not that many consumers make their car-buying decisions using such a black-and-white parameter. More matter-of-factly, both cars serve two wildly diverse markets.

Other than the B-Class minivan/wagon, the CLA is the gateway vehicle to the Mercedes brand. As such, it is likelier to find a more youthful audience — as opposed to an older, more traditional clientele downsizing from their larger luxury vehicles — who don’t sweat the fact the car is built on the same versatile front-wheel-drive platform as the A-Class (not sold in North America), as well as the B-Class and the GLA crossover. Nor the fact that, like the B and GLA, the CLA is only offered with four-cylinder gas engines. (Not that Mercedes leaves its performance-seeking faithful in the lurch; AMG versions of both the CLA and GLA have formidable 355-hp turbo fours under their hoods.)

It’s equally likely that younger buyers who are moving up and into the CLA are more comfortable with noisier-running four-cylinders. It’s not that the 2.0L is particularly discordant; it’s just not that different from other similar-sized engines from other manufacturers. It does get the job done, though. At 1,540 kilograms, the CLA 250 4Matic isn’t packing a lot of extraneous weight, so the torquey turbo four (258 pound-feet at a low 1,250 rpm) is by no means overwhelmed. Performance can also be tailored via a console-mounted button, which allows the selection of sport, manual or Eco modes.

However, as with the GLA 250 crossover I drove a few months back, there can be an unsettling nature to the CLA, notably in its Eco mode, which comes with automatic stop/start. Unless one applies a very light foot to the gas pedal, throttle tip-in is abrupt, making for an unsettling launch.

Conversely, slipping into sport mode and using the paddle shifters alters the 250’s personality. It’s not a Bruce-Banner-into-Incredible-Hulk transformation, but the CLA is no wimpy dilettante in this guise, either. Upshifts and downshifts are crisp and there’s little peakiness to the power flow. Put the hammer down and the car scoots to 100 km/h in a little more than seven seconds. And, when combined with the 4Matic’s grip, the Mercedes shows a bit of a bad boy side, especially holding a tight line while accelerating onto highway on-ramps.

Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel-drive is an excellent upgrade to the CLA, adding just 60 kg to the car’s avoirdupois while providing better four-season, all-weather traction. The drivetrain’s low weight is attributable to the compact power take-off unit and rear differential as well as weight-optimized rear-axle half shafts and prop shafts — Mercedes saying 4Matic is up to 25% lighter than in the AWD versions offered by the competition. Under optimum driving conditions, the CLA runs in a more fuel-efficient front-wheel-drive mode, the 4Matic channeling drive torque to the rear axle only when necessary.

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2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic Coupe

2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic Coupe
Brian Harper, Driving

Visually, the CLA is stunning, mimicking the coupe-style four-door look of the larger, stylistically groundbreaking and far more expensive CLS, only in 4/5th scale. As such, it is very aerodynamic with a coefficient of drag of just .23. More subjectively — and, admittedly augmented by the $3,200 AMG Sport Performance Package (which includes 18-inch AMG five-spoke wheels, styling package, sport suspension and more) — it makes competitive products such as Audi’s A3 and the BMW 2 Series look porky.

Yet, as urbane as it is on the outside, one just has to peer inside to see Mercedes’ attempts to adhere to a price point. It’s not that the CLA’s cabin looks particularly cheap — though there is a lot of plastic to be found — it just hasn’t got as much of that desirable “premium” feel as found in other, pricier Mercedes models. More to the point, the location of the touchscreen, jutting out instead of being integrated into the dashboard’s centre stack, looks like an afterthought.

Legroom and headroom is sufficient for taller front-seat occupants, just remember to duck when getting in. Rear-seat comfort is very much dependent on how far back the front seats are in their tracks. Needless to say, at 6-foot-2, I’m not going to be happy trying to squeeze in there.

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2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic Coupe

2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic Coupe
Brian Harper, Driving

On the safety side, one item of note is that Mercedes’ radar-based braking system (Collision Prevention Assist) is now standard. The system is able to warn the driver of an obstacle from a speed of seven km/h and to initiate “precision” braking when the driver steps on the brake pedal.

The CLA 250 4Matic is more than an overpriced economy car with an upscale badge. It’s a stunner in the looks department, plus it offers decent performance, even without the AMG go-fast bits, with quick, direct handling. Interestingly, it’s more popular here in Canada (ranked 45th among cars sold during the 2014 calendar year) than in the United States (69th). Ultimately, it may be entry level — with all the positives and negatives that go with that — but it’s still a Mercedes.

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2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic Coupe

2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic Coupe
Brian Harper, Driving

The Specs

Type of vehicle All-wheel-drive compact coupe-style sport/luxury sedan
Engine Turbo 2.0L DOHC four-cylinder
Power 208 hp @ 5,500 rpm; 258 lb.-ft. of torque @ 1,250 rpm
Transmission Seven-speed manumatic
Brakes Four-wheel disc with ABS
Tires P235/40R18 run-flat (optional)
Price (base/as tested) $36,800/$46,090
Destination charge $1,995
Natural Resources Canada fuel economy (L/100 km) 9.9 city, 7.4 highway
Standard features Automatic climate control, power windows, manual tilt/telescoping steering column, cruise control, keyless start, panoramic sunroof, tinted green glass, heated and powered exterior mirrors, power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory, power-adjustable passenger seat with power lumbar support, heated front seats, aluminum door sills, 60/40-split folding rear seats, automatic bi-xenon headlights, eco start/stop function, rear-view camera, heated windshield washer system, Collision Prevention Assist, Attention Assist
Options Premium Plus Package ($1,400) includes integrated garage door opener, keyless start, exterior power folding mirrors, auto-dimming mirrors (rear-view and driver’s side), bi-xenon headlamps; AMG Sport Performance Package ($3,200) includes 18-inch AMG five-spoke wheels, AMG styling package, sport suspension, sport brake system, black Artico/Dynamica leather upholstery, black seatbelts, tire rating and “engineering enhancements”; Premium Package ($3,800) includes Thermotronic automatic climate control, passive blind spot assist, panoramic sunroof, Comand online navigation, Parktronic with active parking assist

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