[Zeus]

The CLA doesn't have many direct competitors, but one of its closest competitors would have to be the Buick Verano Turbo. While the CLA comes out on top after a comparison, it doesn't run away with the whole thing.

Styling

The CLA beats out the Verano as far as styling IMO. The Verano doesn't look bad, it just is boring when put beside the CLA. I will say that the Verano comes standard with leather seats while that is an option on the CLA.

Driving

The guy's at the Car Connection describe the CLA as having more sporty handling, while the Verano has a more passive feel that "takes the brunt of the road for you." Depends what you are looking for, but any true driver would go with the CLA. It should be noted that the CLA doesn't have a manual option though, and the Verano does.

The Verano Turbo runs a 2 liter inline 4 that produces 250 HP. The base CLA runs a 2 liter turbo four with 208 HP.

Safety & Comfort

Here the Verano wins. It has aced safety tests, while the CLA has not even completed them yet so the jury is out. On comfort, the Verano doesn't squish your back passengers heads with a low roof like the CLA does.

Efficiency

CLA blows the Verano out of the water here. The CLA can get 30 mpg combined. The Verano only gets 21 mpg combined.

 

[Giovanni S.]

CLA blows the Verano out of the water here. The CLA can get 30 mpg combined. The Verano only gets 21 mpg combined.

I suspect this has to do with the horepower output of the CLA engine compared to the Verano. The CLA ECU could be tweaked to make a little more power but probably suffer mpgs.

 

[brianch]

The Verano doesn't bring me any sort of lust or excitement. Just doesn't do it for me.

Maybe I'm bias. But I feel like comparing a Mercedes to a Buick isn't exactly fair. Even an entry level Mercedes.

There will be many who would pick the Mercedes purely for the name,

 

[BenzFan]

Verano is the first compact luxury sedan from Buick and it started off okay, but it will never be like anything Mercedes can offer. Buick will have to do a lot to catch up. I rather compare a Verano to Acura's ILX.

 

[SimpsonTide985]

From what I hear, the Vernano is a ROCKET and it's very fun to drive. It's a bit softer and quieter compared to the CLA.

Of course, it doesn't look quite as good as the CLA IMO, but it's selling like hotcakes down here. The other possible negative is that even though it's very sharp, fast, and affordable, it still will have the Buick stigma attached to it