Mercedes CLA 250 - What do you think of it?

[Jag_Warrior]

http://www.topgear.com.pt/media/noticias/offline/963.0.thumb.jpg

I've never been a fan of Mercedes cars (except for the unobtanium Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren), but for roughly $30 grand, this one looks like it will be a sales winner for Merc. The major downside that I see is the horsepower being only 208 from a 2.0 liter turbo 4. A 2.0 liter Subaru WRX (with a spark plug disconnected) gets better output than that. To get into some "real" horsepower (355) you have to move up to the AMG variant for $47 grand or so. Seems like they could have done better, considering the engineering talent that they have on tap.

I do like the looks of this "coupe" sedan - but what do you folks think of it?

P.S. I just saw a rendering of the "Shooting Brake" AMG wagon concept. That one makes me drool.

[janneppi]

There's something wrong with the idea of a FWD Mercedes coupe. I think the A-class hatchback works better.
200 HP is pretty standard for 2 litre turbos which are meant for everyday driving.

[donKey jote]

agree with jenny pie.
however, for $30 grand you can't even get a decent Golf here :laugh:

[Starter]

While the car looks great, I've never been especially enamored of Mercedes. With the exception of the old gull wing of course. They don't seem to live up to their image of reliability. Much the same goes for BMW IMO. I prefer the Jap luxury brands like Acura, Infinity and Lexus. They're just as fast, or more, than an equivalent Merc or BMW (with the exception of the M cars); as well or better appointed; considerably cheaper; and much more reliable.

[odykas]

Are you a taxi driver, Jag_Warrior? :erm:


for $30 grand you can't even get a decent Golf here :laugh:

A descent Golf? i have yet to see one.

[donKey jote]

Are you a taxi driver, Jag_Warrior? :erm:

http://www.forloveandglory.de/2012/01/m ... ke-a-taxi/ (http://www.forloveandglory.de/2012/01/mercedes-benz-im-gonna-take-a-taxi/)

[Rollo]

I do like the looks of this "coupe" sedan - but what do you folks think of it?

Dear Mercedes-Benz,
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

IT'S NOT A COUPE and Mercedes-Benz of all companies should know better.

http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catal ... umber=9389 (http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=9389)
Coupe: a closed bodied vehicle, usually with limited rear volume, a fixed roof of which a portion may be openable, at least two seats in at least one row, two side doors and possibly a rear opening, and at least two side windows.
- ISO 3833:1977, Definitions.

Mercedes are trying to make people use the "coupe" for a four door car when to be perfectly honest, the terminology has been fairly well standardised since 1977.

Other than that, it's nice to see that finally M-B are putting some power underneath their cars. For a long time since about W111 onwards, their cars across the board had too much car for not enough engine. Even the W116 6.9L V8 that I had was hampered by being lumbered with a car that weighed 1930kg dry.
C117 sits on the same platform as W176 which is the current A-Class and that must mean that like W176, there's going to be a CLA45 AMG in the lineup.

To be totally honest, that sounds interesting but in Australia, the base model CLA goes for A$54,817 on-road and the CLA45 AMG goes for $95,888 on-road. For that sort of money you could have an HSV GTS with three grand change in your pocket. That'll give you 430kW (563bhp) and 740Nm (545ft/lb) and top out as tested by Wheels magazine at 326km/h which is faster than a V8Supercar or a Lamborghini Diablo.

I think though, I'd prefer a nice Focus RS500 or a Civic Mugen Type-R. Both would be as frivolous but at least I'd be able to haul a washing machine in the back.

[555-04Q2]

Mercedes are for old people, period. The CLA 250 is, to quote one of our local motoring scribes, "the most un-Mercedes Mercedes I have ever driven." Maybe it's for almost old old people :p:

Rather get an OPC, GTI, RS, ST etc. They should be about the same price if not cheaper, but 10 times the fun.

[henners88]

Mercedes are for old people, period.
I drive a Toyota! :erm: :p

[SGWilko]

Mercedes are for old people, period.
I drive a Toyota! :erm: :p

There'll be a recall along shortly......... :D

[henners88]

Mercedes are for old people, period.
I drive a Toyota! :erm: :p

There'll be a recall along shortly......... :D
Already had 2, but nothing serious. The last one I had was for the rear window mechanisms, and when I picked it up they'd changed the oil in the car and valeted it! Couldn't fault the service. Still, I am the youngest person I've seen driving the same model lol. They are very reliable though.

[555-04Q2]

Mercedes are for old people, period.
I drive a Toyota! :erm: :p

At least they are reliable :D ;)

[Gregor-y]

With no option for a manual transmission I wouldn't consider it. That's more important to me then what wheels are driving it, maybe even the price. That said sitting in a current WRX makes me feel like I'm sitting in a well.

[555-04Q2]

With no option for a manual transmission I wouldn't consider it. That's more important to me then what wheels are driving it, maybe even the price. That said sitting in a current WRX makes me feel like I'm sitting in a well.

WRX's are great cars. My bugeye REX was my second favourite car after my Golf 2 GTI. My Rex gave me almost 10 years and 140,000 km's of hassle free driving. Bulletproof is the best word to describe it, never gave me a days problem, simply amazing car!

[henners88]

You don't see so many Impreza's around these days over here. Prodrive are based in my home town so they had quite a local following and you'd see quite a few kicking around. Since Prodrive moved on to Aston, people can't quite afford to emulate them any more lol. :)

[555-04Q2]

Not only that, but they aren't the bargain they used to be :( Current generation Opel OPC's, Renault RS's, Golf R's etc are doing the same job for less! But, nothing compares to the boxer burble of a Rex :D

[Jag_Warrior]

A 2.0 liter turbo 4 (in a luxury/performance brand) doesn't impress me at all. The Hyundai Veloster has a 1.6 liter turbo 4 and it produces 201 hp. The 2.0 liter turbo in the Cadillac ATS has 270 hp on tap. My (aging) 2.0 liter WRX had around 230 hp when it was stock and was pushed to nearly 300 after mods and tuning. Maybe 208 is "adequate" for the Merc. But I find myself stuck on that low hp figure for a car of this type. IMO, they should have set 250 hp as the entry level target and still have the AMG variant at 355.

To piggyback on the discussion about WRXs, after the Great Recession lightened people's pockets (and they could no longer afford to support their kids' passions and desires), the import tuner scene seems to have severly fallen off in the U.S. That may just be my perception, but I certainly don't hear as much about NOPI events or the hot little cars that attended those events and races. Subaru actually set a sales record here in the U.S. - so they're doing quite well. But I'm not sure that the performance cars in the lineup (particularly the WRX and STI) are as popular as they used to be. Mine is an '04. And after '05, I thought they became ugly as sin, so I've held onto mine in hopes that at some point, they'll make one that doesn't make me want to vomit. But as far as performance/$ and reliability, these things really are amazing! I've had a lot of cars over the years and this thing is bulletproof. About all I've done in 10 years is change the oil (and pack on lots of performance goodies :)). And because it's a wagon, people don't realize what it is until they try to blow by me or get silly... then those 300 ponies come on tap. Fun! So much fun in this car!!! It's like a go-kart that I can haul stuff in! :bounce:

[Gregor-y]

I think most cars in the first tuning craze were less expensive new, and even cheaper used. The used cars were more reliable as well compared to, say a used WRX. Once the gold standard changed from an $15,500 Civic Si to a $24,000 WRX between 1999 and 2002 the price difference started weeding out the turner crowd in favor of older/wealthier/more in debt people. The WRX/STI and Mitsubishi ended up taking the performance market too high, just like the Supra, RX7 and 300ZX did in the early 90s.

Most of the early WRX owners I knew had jobs with salaries pumped up by the tech boom. And most of them made their engines go boom within three months. 2001-2003 was rife with manual boost controllers, untested ECU reprogramming, light weight crank pulleys from a friend's machine shop, and so on. To say nothing of the stripped gears these motors would cause before detonating. Personally I always thought a lot of that was from ham-fisted shifting; Subarus aren't nearly as smooth as even the old 85 Honda I owned many years ago.

I finally bought one in 2004, went with a proven ECU program and other than a CV boot tearing it's been trouble free for 138,000 miles.

[555-04Q2]

I had an bugeye 02 Rex and I had a factory approved Prodrive exhaust, intake system, turbo and engine management kit flown in from the UK and fitted to increase power from 276 BHP to over the 300 BHP mark. Went like the clappers, was dead reliable and if you drove it like a normal car was also surprisingly fuel efficient. It was not an expensive car to buy or maintain, which can't be said of the current generation.

The Rex's were cheap up until about 2008 when the current cars came out. Prices jumped and they were no longer the performance bargain they once were due to the substantial increase in power of the hot hatch brigade that are offering similar performance at 80% of the price. They have now moved to a more premium market as you mention that fits between the GTI and M3 markets. Another problem is Subaru have tried to go more mainstream with their cars and designs to appeal to a wider audience and that has also seen many of the old faithful customers, like myself, move to another manufacturer.

[veeten]

Actually, Jag, the 'bang-on' match to the Merc is none other than the VW CC. Just did a comparison, and it's a wash. Overall length, wheelbase, F/R width, engine, the whole nine yards. I wouldn't be surprised if that was where they got the chassis from for the CLA.

[Jag_Warrior]

Actually, Jag, the 'bang-on' match to the Merc is none other than the VW CC. Just did a comparison, and it's a wash. Overall length, wheelbase, F/R width, engine, the whole nine yards. I wouldn't be surprised if that was where they got the chassis from for the CLA.

I'd never heard of the VW CC before. But after doing an image search, slap on a Mercedes badge and it's pretty much the same car as the CLA, isn't it? Automotive doppelgangers! :laugh:

[555-04Q2]

Actually, Jag, the 'bang-on' match to the Merc is none other than the VW CC. Just did a comparison, and it's a wash. Overall length, wheelbase, F/R width, engine, the whole nine yards. I wouldn't be surprised if that was where they got the chassis from for the CLA.

I'd never heard of the VW CC before. But after doing an image search, slap on a Mercedes badge and it's pretty much the same car as the CLA, isn't it? Automotive doppelgangers! :laugh:

Looks like Merc is pulling a China move ;) :p:

[henners88]

The VW Passat CC is a nice car. My father in law has one in white, and its the Bluemotion version with full black leather interior. Hopefully we'll buy it off him second hand at a reasonable price in the future, fingers crossed. :)

[odykas]

I'd prefer the Merc taxi over VW :uhoh:

[Gregor-y]

I thought the CC was bigger than the Mercedes, but I've never seen them together and the new US Passat is so huge it may be distorting my memory of the CC.

[555-04Q2]

The CC is marginally bigger if I can recollect properly, but it's not like its a class above (size wise), they are pretty close.

[Jag_Warrior]

After seeing a number of initial reviews which were very positive (mainly focused on the styling), I'm now seeing more which are (like me) critical of the power levels (or lack thereof). But still, I bet they sell a boatload of them, just based on the price + that M-B badge on the hood.

[Gregor-y]

In news related to the drift of this thread the new WRX was announced. In response I'm calling up a shop to order some new struts for my 2005 and having them grind off some rust that is starting behind two fenders. I'm sure it's good for another 140,000 miles.

[555-04Q2]

After seeing a number of initial reviews which were very positive (mainly focused on the styling), I'm now seeing more which are (like me) critical of the power levels (or lack thereof). But still, I bet they sell a boatload of them, just based on the price + that M-B badge on the hood.

That's the one thing that I can never understand. BMW, Merc, Audi etc sell millions of overpriced and often bad cars as people look at the badge not the car. I have never understood how people can short change themselves like that. Buy a BMW badge for a few bucks, stick it on the front of a Mondeo and pocket the extra cash!

Just further proof I guess that people are just plain old vain and stupid!

[COD]

Personally I like the styling of the car, but there are two things that put me off:
A front wheel drive merc, not a real Mercedes. Although a 4wd version is coming. The other thing is the navigator on that. Why does it look like it was installed by a DIU mechanic?

[veeten]

Jag, I just watched Motorweek's review of the CLA. Somewhat mixed, but approving of M-B's efforts. No mention of the 'look-alike' styling to the VW's CC, though, as they felt it was more towards the family resemblance to the CLS.

[Valve Bounce]

agree with jenny pie.
however, for $30 grand you can't even get a decent Golf here :laugh:

or Jeep. We are getting slaughtered pricewise with just about all cars. You might get a Daewoo here for that.

[555-04Q2]

[quote="donKey jote":ydmo5xpn]agree with jenny pie.
however, for $30 grand you can't even get a decent Golf here :laugh:

or Jeep. We are getting slaughtered pricewise with just about all cars. You might get a Daewoo here for that.[/quote:ydmo5xpn]

You should check out our car prices here Valve. A Nissan GTR here costs double what it costs in Japan, USA, Europe etc :angryfire

[Jag_Warrior]

In news related to the drift of this thread the new WRX was announced. In response I'm calling up a shop to order some new struts for my 2005 and having them grind off some rust that is starting behind two fenders. I'm sure it's good for another 140,000 miles.

I just saw the shots from the L.A. Auto Show. Sadly, the new Rex looks almost nothing like that sweet, futuristic WRX concept car. But then again, WRXs have never been things of beauty - we were just hoping against hope. :( Some (like my '04 and your '05) have been somewhat better looking than the completely hideous newer ones and the rather bland looking older ones. Parked beside my XK8, the WRX wagon is still a nice looking car (IMO), but it's not going to win that beauty contest. But now, once you get behind the wheel, that little WRX with the Stage 2 turbo wins the day outright. Only on a long straight away is the Jag faster (but don't even mention a curve to the English girl). Performance, reliability, quality and driving excitement-wise, the WRX is just a MUCH better car than the Jag.

The new WRX looks oddly and amazingly like a Corolla. I don't hate the Corolla, but I wouldn't jump to buy one either. And despite rumors to the contrary, the 2015 WRX is still based on the Impreza platform (though they've apparently dropped "Impreza" from its model name). But I'm glad they went back to the 2.0 liter turbo. What they've done to this 2.0 liter gives it about the same stock horsepower that I had to spend some decent bucks to get out of my 2.0 with aftermarket parts and tuning. I'm guessing similar parts would easily push this thing to at least 300 horsepower with Stage 2 tuning. And that it will now have a 6 speed is great news! I really like what I've seen of the interior. And I like the available options I've heard about so far - including a factory sunroof. I'm expecting the price to be close to what it is now (mid $20's and roughly $30K fully loaded). Apart from the looks, this baby could be a fellow's dream date for the prom. All I want to see now is what they do with the new STI. I know the wagon will be killed off with both the WRX and the STI. But if the STI has some of the features that I've read about on rumor sites, I think that might be what I'm going with.

The weak-engined CLA that I had in the OP was something I felt was worth a look. But to get AWD (which I have to have), I'd have to go for the AMG version for $45K +. And by the time you got a decent option or two on that, you'd be looking at $50K easy. For that kind of money, you could go nuts on an STI with options and it would beat the AMG like a rented government mule on any road course or drag strip. So it wouldn't be a Mercedes. Who cares?! A Mercedes is an old man's car anyway. If I'm going to get me one of these high school cheerleader girlfriends I've been hearing about, I need a young fellow's car. So first I get an STI and then I guess I need to buy some Justin Beemer and Lady GoogyGa 8-track tapes... that sound about right?

[Valve Bounce]

I like it - I'll take two!