Hi:
Does anyone here wonder quite what MB have in mind with the CLA saloon versus the C-class saloon? One is based on a front drive hatchback and the other other is the old classic RWD saloon, with roots in the 190E from the 80s.
About the end of summer I kept on seeing what I thought was "the smart new C-class" with its rakish lights and teardrop shape. Then it dawned on me that a whole new type of Mercedes had been launched and I didn´t even know about it. I eventually went to their home page and toggled between the images of the two cars. They seem so similar that even a side by side examination doesn´t reveal staggering differences. Then I went to a dealer and saw the two cars side by side. I haven´t looked at the power trains or prices yet. It´s more a gut feeling type of question. Doesn´t one of these cars seem redundant? Can anyone foresee a time when the C-class is a rebodied version of whatever FWD car Benz might happen to make in a decade´s time?
Richard
(Currently reading: Autocar, September 1982. Cover story: Opel Senator long term test).
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CLA looks - to me at least - like a small car, distinctly smaller than the C. Designed, I think, for Asian markets where the MB badge sells on prestige and where people are (typically) smaller and more able to tolerate undersized interiors.
They have one thing in common, though. They are, to use a word I learned from Humph, bogging. There's presumably a new E in the works too. Given the current MB design direction, I dread to think how that will look.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Mon 10 Nov 14 at 22:51
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The CLA is much smaller than the C class, which is very noticeable inside. Both quite different to drive as well, as you'd expect. I thought both were very good in their own way though. The new C in particular was particularly impressive.
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>> About the end of summer I kept on seeing what I thought was "the smart
>> new C-class"
I drive an older Mercedes C Class and I'm not aware that I've ever seen a CLA on the road.
Car manufacturers (at least some of them) appear to have gone mad - stumbled across a BMW 2 Series the other day, where did that come from?
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The CLA is effectively a (fwd) A-class with a boot. It is expensive and hideous (IMHO). The C-class is a proper rwd Mercedes, and all the better for it.
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I've had a CLA has a courtesy car, and any number of A classes from Avis as hire cars. They feel exactly the same to drive, which is no bad thing as it's a neat handling little car, despite being FWD. But why you'd buy a CLA over the hatch I'm not sure, though as I think I've posted before the CLA did attract an inordinate amount of positive attention among the under 30s when I had one. Which is probably exactly who MB are targeting...so what do I know ;-)
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Yeah but they think FWD is normal, desirable even. But they can't drive for toffee so neh to them !
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>> Car manufacturers (at least some of them) appear to have gone mad - stumbled across
>> a BMW 2 Series the other day, where did that come from?
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Agreed, seems some/most manufacturers need a model for every niche and then try and create some niches of their own
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2-Series Active Tourer shares a platform with a Mini. Rest of the 2-series share a platform (RWD) with the 1-Series.
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I have an unaccountable BMW itch that I wouldn't have believed if you'd predicted it ten years ago when I last drove one, an unpleasantly nervous, overtyred 320d. Now I can't decide whether it's a 5 Touring, a 3GT, a 220d or even an i3 that I'd like to put on the drive. I will find an opportunity to try one or more and report back. It might put me off for another ten years.
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5 Touring might suit you. Good apparently,while remaining very useful.
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Mercedes CLA saloon versus the C-Class - WillDeBeest
