ON THE ROAD
>> Strong and solid, with great ride quality
The single biggest issue with driving any of the CLAs on any crowded road has nothing to do with the engine or the chassis dynamics. It's the vision. You just can't see anything you need to see out of any window save the front one.
The rear window is small enough, but the main rear mirror takes care of it. But the thick B-pillars and thicker, raked C-pillars combine with the front passenger's headrest to make the car's blind-spot warning system absolutely critical. It's very difficult to turn your head and see cars in the next lane.
We tested it several times, with one car moving into another car's blind spot and there are areas on each side of the car that are nigh-on impossible to see into. We even tested it sitting still by walking into blind spots and each time we knocked on the window, it was a surprise to the driver. That sounds damning, and it is meant to be, but can be somewhat mitigated by the Blind Spot Assistant and no car is in more serious need of it.
For all that, it's a very pleasant place to be, especially up front. There is a stylish centre that marries the best of the A-Class's interior with its own flavour and a large feature panel across the dash to add a feeling of width.
The Comfort pack's leather-rimmed steering wheel fits beautifully in the hands, while the seats are instantly supportive and combine with a wrap-around dash to give a cocoon feeling.
The 1.6-litre CLA 200 motor is a nice enough thing, firing up quietly and getting on with the job with a soft-gloved strength that is stronger at its lower reaches than a small four-cylinder petrol engine has any real right to be.
Around town, it's a really nice little package, even with the six-speed manual attached (we weren't offered a seven-speed with it). It climbs up its rev range easily and without tantrum, but it follows the Benz strategy of “down-speeding” its engines as well as down-sizing them, so its best work is all done and dusted by 4500rpm. Sure, it will rev up into the high fives, but its trait of preferring to live in its bottom two-thirds gives it the performance character of a diesel without the extra noise and harshness. Or the fuel economy.
Speaking of which, the 220 CDI's 2143cc motor isn't quite the smoothest four-cylinder prestige diesel going around, but it's strong at almost every point in its rev range. The torque is the star, delivering 350Nm from 1400rpm until the power curve takes over, and that's how it feels to drive.
It doesn't matter whether you're on full throttle or ambling away with the rest of the traffic, the diesel always seems to be operating with plenty in reserve. Its overtaking is simple and crisp with strength in reserve, even though it only posts an 8.2 second sprint to 100km/h.
The CLA 250's engine is easily the strongest package here, though the step up in performance at low to middling rpm isn't quite what you'd imagine.
It's smooth, though, especially below 4000rpm, and delivers some real character when you're asking it to work harder between 3800 and 4500rpm. It can get a little scratchy in its feel out beyond 5300 or so, but that's all part of the down-speeding and it never feels uncomfortable.
If the engine is better described as 'serviceable' rather than 'a highlight', the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is also less than outstanding. It suffered from a few jolting downshifts in the CLA 250 we drove, which Benz put down to an untested software patch, but was otherwise a little less crisp than we've found in other versions.
It was fine in the diesel, and Benz explained that by admitting the diesel dual-clutch transmissions have different control software for a different, softer feel than the units attached to the petrol engines.
In none of the CLAs, though, are the engines a highlight. They fit into the packages nicely, but none of them leave you thinking “wow” at their prowess, nor do you leave thinking anything negative of them.
The best part of the CLA's on-road package is the way it rides. The steering system is a little slow, particularly in those critical few degrees just off-centre, which means the car isn't going to cut it as a baby sports sedan. Our advice would be to forget the Sports pack, because what it does best is deliver a beautifully damped ride.
The car's damping is absolutely bang on for even the bumpiest roads while the handling is tremendously competent without ever feeling like it's inviting you to explore its depths. Instead of teasing you with baby sports car-style entertainment, it feels calm and reassuring, always promising to take care of you should things go wrong, which isn't a message in keeping with the body style.
It's a hard car to put in a pigeon-hole, though. It looks like a baby sports sedan, but it rides like a baby E-Class, but with even more assurance. It looks small, but is actually quite large, except inside. Its boot is usefully large, but its rear seat isn't.
You'd come for the looks and stay for its unshakeable commitment to keeping you comfortable – and for plenty of people that will be enough.
But given the competition, it's just very good. It's not great and it's no Golf.
