Mercedes-Benz CLA220 News

The car's coupe design gives it the most efficient aerodynamics on a mainstream production car. Kick off point is the CLA 200 with a 115kW/250Nm 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine. It sips fuel at a combined rate of 5.7L/100km.Next up the ladder is the CLA 250 Sport u with a 2.0-litre, petrol, four cylinder, direct injection, turbocharged engine achieving 155kW/350Nm. This car's appearance is characterised by AMG styling, depicted by the diamond grille, intelligent light system, 18-inch' AMG wheels, sports pedals, AMG tuned suspension and sports steering wheel.Top of the range is the Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG with 265kW/450Nm from a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged engine along with performance oriented 4matic all-wheel drive. This model is capable of extremely dynamic performance, clocking a 0-100kmh time in 4.6 seconds. A host of features are standard on the CLA-Class including 18-inch wheels, Becker Map Pilot Navigation, and a reversing camera.The 250 Sport gets heated electric leather sports seats with memory function and AMG styling. The 45 AMG includes AMG driver's package, AMG night package, AMG performance steering wheel, COMAND navigation and a Harmon Kardon Logic 7 surround sound system as standard. The CLA-Class will also arrive with exceptional safety features as standard. 

The "shooting brake" has captivated the car-loving consciousness almost since the introduction of the automobile, but in recent years, it has risen to a new level, with cars like the Ferrari FF pushing the concept into unexplored territory.Mercedes-Benz has done its own work with the idea, although not meeting the strictest definition of the "shooting brake" term.The four-door CLS Shooting Brake has two more doors than is typical for the body style, but claims it over the "wagon" moniker due to the sloping roof line that preserves a bit of the four-door coupe's shape.Now, it looks like the CLA Class four-door coupe may get the shooting brake treatment as well. According to a report from WhatCar? Mercedes-Benz design boss Gordon Wagener has indicated the CLA Shooting Brake is in the works. Previous reports had hinted that Mercedes was planning to build two shooting brakes as much as two years ago.Perhaps even more enticing than the standard CLA Class getting the shooting brake treatment is the possibility that it will extend to the CLA 45 AMG as well, much like the CLS Shooting Brake has its CLS 63 AMG variant.www.motorauthority.com

Prestige cars will continue to cost us less than ever with a Mercedes-Benz sedan that's priced at less than a Subaru Liberty going on sale in December.With a price tag to be a little over $50,000 the CLA is the least expensive Mercedes of its type ever sold in Australia. It will be some $2000 more than the top priced Mazda6, less by  the same sum than an upper bracket Subaru and almost $10,000 below the popular Mercedes-Benz C-Class.Unlike the C-Class, the country's best-selling mid-size imported car, the CLA enters showrooms well under the luxury car tax threshold, which takes effects from $58,000.The traditionally premium cost German luxury brands are fighting a price war that has already seen Mercedes, BMW and Audi market family-sized hatchbacks for as low as $34,900. Last month Mercedes released the A-Class hatch at $36,000, less than a basic Commodore.Mercedes-Benz spokesman Jerry Stamoulis said the CLA was another move toward broader acceptance. The world's oldest carmaker has the world's oldest buyers with an average age of 55, among the highest of any auto brand."People who buy the CLA will very likely never have even considered a Mercedes-Benz," he said. "We want to get into people's lives earlier. We think they'll continue to buy Mercedes."Billed as a "four door coupe", the CLA is closely related to the A-Class, which has become the best selling car of its type with demand threatening to outstrip supply.The unprecedented plunge into affordability by the prestige brands is placing pressure on Japanese brands and Volkswagen, whose new Golf is released next month.WHAT $50k BUYS YOU - the sedans being squeezed from aboveHonda Accord Euro - $43,140Mazda6 Atenza diesel - $49,690Subaru Liberty Premium - $52,990Toyota Aurion Presara - $49,990Volkswagen CC - $54,990 

Fashionable Gen-Y buyers and the “young-at-heart” are the targets of Mercedes-Benz’s new four-door coupe, which will be priced in the $50,000s when it goes on sale in Australia late this year.The CLA looks like a scaled-down version of the CLS but is based on a stretched platform of the front-wheel drive A-Class. All-wheel drive is optional across the line-up but Australia will only take all-paw grip in the high-performance AMG version. Similarly, Aussie-spec cars will use a dual-clutch seven speed as standard rather than opting for the six-speed manual.Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy says customers will care about the features and how the car drives, rather than which wheels are providing the traction. “If a car drives as the customer expects, they don’t care whether it’s push or pull,” he says. “We don’t see it (AWD) as a big issue for us.”Three versions of the CLA will be sold in Australia: a 1.6-litre turbo petrol, 1.6-litre turbo diesel and an AMG 2.0-litre performance turbo petrol.All cars will be highly specified, with a radar-based “Collision Prevention Assist” system that warns drivers of imminent crashes at speeds above 7km/h. Linked to the adaptive cruise control, the CLA will auto brake if the driver fails to respond.Telematics are also a major focus to woo Gen-Y buyers and include internet connectivity with Facebook and Twitter, Siri voice control and location sharing. The CLA is the third model spun off Mercedes-Benz’s modular front-drive MLA architecture, following the A and B-Class cars.Another two versions are planned: one has been confirmed as the GLA baby SUV and the other is expected to be a shooting brake version of the CLA. The car is bigger than the current C-Class sedan, giving a good indication the next-gen C will also grow in size to differentiate itself from the front-wheel drive model.The interior look is similar to the A-Class, with extensive use of alloy finishes, the SLS-style round air vents (though three vents in the centre of the dash is probably overkill) and a stand-alone touchscreen. The exterior design is edgy and stylish, with strong contour lines along the flanks and over the bonnet that pictures don’t do justice to. Mercedes-Benz sales and marketing head Dr Joachim Schmidt says the CLA is “a real Mercedes, but not as you know it”“Our new CLA-Class has everything to attract new customers and it’s one of the few new cars to turn heads. But at the same time it comes packed with all of the traditional values which are typical for a Mercedes,” he notes.

Though we’ve been spying prototypes for the upcoming CLA Class from Mercedes-Benz, the sedan version of the German automaker’s new compact range, for more than a year, so far all of these have been heavily camouflaged. Now the first official images of the new compact sedan have been revealed, showing off the car's design ahead of its debut next month. The images confirm Mercedes’ design team has managed to retain the distinctive look of the Concept Style Coupe unveiled at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, for the production version. The front of the CLA Class is almost identical to the latest A Class hatchback launched overseas, while the body gets four-door coupe styling that makes it resemble the CLS Class, albeit on a smaller scale. Under its pretty sheet metal is a version of Mercedes' latest front-wheel drive platform, code-named MFA (Mercedes Frontwheel Architecture). This new platform is flexible enough to spawn a variety of models including hatchbacks, coupes and even a crossover, and it will offer the option of 4MATIC all-wheel drive. U.S.-delivered cars are likely to come with 4MATIC as standard. The car’s overall length will stretch just over 4.5 meters, and inside there should be ample space for four adults. A fifth-seat option may be available. The interior design, as expected, is identical to that found in the A Class hatchback. A performance-tuned 4MATIC system will be standard in the AMG version of the new CLA Class, which is likely to be called the CLA45 AMG and come with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine rated at more than 245 kW. www.motorauthority.com  

We've already got the all-new A and B-Class hatches. And the CLA becomes a CLS-style four-door coupe for people who want a bit more luxury in a compact package.