I feel positive about the new CLA, it could put Mercedes on the successful path to gain much needed BEV sales. Lets hope the styling will be attractive when the disguise is taken off.
When Mercedes launches the next CLA, the first electric cars of a new generation, the Swabians will be back in the game. First drive in the prototype!
It doesn't offer all the glitz and glamour yet, and the logos are covered up, as is always the case with a prototype. But the developers didn't want to hide completely in anonymity, so they stuck the camouflage film over the headlights to create a star. Because even though it's their future entry-level model, Mercedes is extremely proud of the new CLA .
For good reason: No other project in recent years has been or is as important for Mercedes as this one. Because the next CLA generation - currently around 4.80 meters long, not so compact anymore - not only marks the future entry into the Mercedes world and has to prove that even the self-proclaimed guardian of automotive luxury can still build cars that are somewhat attainable and still desirable.
As the first car in the new MMA modular system, the CLA is intended to be the breakthrough that will finally bring the Swabians back into the game in the race against Tesla & Co. In any case, they took a very close look at the Model 3 during development, and of course the New Class from BMW as well.
After a rather dutiful EQC as the first battery car, half-hearted conversions of the GLA and GLB to the EQA and EQB and the anything but first-class luxury models EQE and EQS, the Swabians are currently lagging far behind on Electric Avenue. Not only are the new players from America and Asia better in terms of sales, but the inventor of the car is also having to let the competition show it the future in terms of technology.
Mercedes CLA: over 750 km range
"But that's over now," says an almost defiant Mercedes boss Ola Källenius, looking proudly at the Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA), which aims to set new standards in efficiency , range and charging performance and make the CLA the electric equivalent of the "one-liter car."
A range of over 750 kilometers, a consumption of 12 kWh per 100 kilometers and 400 kilometers of recharging in 15 minutes: "We want to keep or exceed everything we promised last autumn at the premiere of the study at the IAA in Munich," emphasizes Källenius, listing the many adjustments they have made: a new generation of engines, this time developed in-house, new batteries with new power electronics, sophisticated aerodynamics and an almost religious fight for every single watt of energy from the most efficient chips to the sleekest rims .
Anyone who lets the boss and his chief engineer Axel Heix drive them along the home routes in Immendingen in the prototype will experience the future CLA not as an economical vehicle, but as a fun vehicle - even if the on-board computer shows a
remaining range of 802 kilometers before departure.
It is tied up in a short and crisp manner, small steering movements are enough for the boss to negotiate tight bends, in long bends he only holds the steering wheel with two fingers, and the GPS tracker repeatedly points out with an energetic beep that the speed limits on the test site also apply to the owner.
At least this proves that the meager top speed of 160 km/h of the current EQ entry-level models is apparently history. As is the front-wheel drive. And that entry does not have to mean joyless abstinence.
Google-based navigation
And it's not just the driver who should have fun. A continuous screen flickers across the entire width of the cockpit beneath the camouflage mats. And after they've already given a taste of their new infotainment system in the new E-Class, they want to go one step further here: Google-based navigation , Chat-GPT as a conversation partner, over-the-air updates and, for the passenger, everything that you can imagine as an app in Europe, America and especially in China. "If it doesn't work, it won't be available anymore," promises Källenius.
Those in the back also benefit from the new MMA and from the fact that no more consideration has been given to the combustion engine: the overhangs are short, the wheelbase is long and there is no tunnel between the seats. Even those who sit behind the tall CEO don't have to bend over completely. There isn't enough space for a miracle because there is a trunk at the back and the roof is flat in the wind. But a current C-Class doesn't feel any more spacious. And finally, Mercedes has a frunk. "And one that deserves its name," says chief engineer Heix.
Just like its appearance, the new CLA wants to catch up with the rest of the family in terms of ambience and put an end to the almost embarrassing "de-sophistication" that has recently disenchanted the current models around the A-Class. Källenius calls the glitter and sparkle "jewelry" that, embedded in a noble selection of materials, is intended to make you forget the sometimes dreary plastic deserts and hard surfaces in the current entry-level models.
Of course, all of this has its price, and the biggest component is of course the battery, even if the base model is converted to the next generation of LFP chemistry. The current CLA's almost 43,000 euros can therefore certainly not be used as a benchmark for the successor. Especially since Källenius makes no secret of the fact that he does not want to compete with Tesla & Co on price, but on prestige and technical advantages and subtle values such as the level of maturity and depth of integration.
But at the same time, he also counters fears that they have completely lost touch with reality on the way to becoming a luxury brand: "We will certainly not catapult ourselves out of the segment in terms of price," he says in an attempt to appease people, which leads us to an estimate somewhere in the first half of the 50,000s.
The CLA is intended to be a booster for the electric revolution at Benz and is being celebrated as the first Mercedes to be developed as an EV without compromise . But they still don't quite trust the peace - and therefore have a combustion engine in the planning stages: Joint venture partner Geely is building the Swabians a Mercedes-developed petrol engine in China that is intended to keep all those on board who are not yet ready for the electric age. And even if it is only coming a year after the electric drive and chief engineer Heix wants to save a few new features, one thing is already clear: There are - that much premium has to be there compared to the competition - four and not just three cylinders, there is a turbo for high performance and an as yet unspecified electrification for low CO₂ values.
Despite all the electric commitment, MMA and thus also the CLA stand for more than just battery-powered drive. For the first time at Mercedes, the new platform also comes with a new operating system based on a new electronic architecture. This no longer uses dozens of control units for each individual component, but instead bundles the functions into four domains, which can be updated and expanded more easily.
This is all the more true because the necessary hardware for this - such as in highly assisted driving according to Level 2+ - is often already on board as standard: "The car will stay new for longer and will also age much more slowly," says Källenius. He acknowledges the fact that this might mean putting off the replacement purchase with a smile: "We'll come up with something to create further incentives to buy."
After all, the CLA may already mark a huge leap, but as a coupé sedan with the classic three-box design, it is forced to make the most compromises. Moreover, development has not stood still since the freeze for the first model, which makes Källenius excited about siblings such as the successor to the GLA, GLB and the Shooting Break as the first electric station wagon. And on top of that, there is a second new electric architecture, on which the renewal of the C-Class upwards will begin: "The CLA is therefore a greeting from the kitchen, and we will soon be serving up a really big dish for the EV generation ."
Conclusion
from
Thomas Geiger
The EQC was just a tedious exercise in chore, and even the EQS and EQE are at best mediocre. But when the new CLA is launched next year, the Swabians will finally have arrived on Electric Avenue, can start hunting Tesla and, as the inventor of the car, regain control over its future.
Wenn Mercedes mit dem nächsten CLA die ersten E-Autos einer neuen Generation bringen, drängen die Schwaben wieder ins Spiel. Erste Fahrt im Prototyp!
www.autobild.de
