Mercedes presents the CLA four-door coupe for the opening of the 2013 Detroit auto show press days. The dominant themes are style, aerodynamics and optional 4Matic all-wheel-drive.
Dimensions (4630/1777/1437) are slightly longer than the C-class sedan (4591) but lower (1447). Mercedes focused a lot on aerodynamics with a record Cd of 0.23, 0.22 on the CLA BlueEfficiency Edition. The chassis is available in two versions, Comfort and Sport with ride height lowered by 20 mm front and 15 mm rear. Power steering is electromechanical.
The powertrains available at launch:
| Model | CLA 180 | CLA 180 BE Edition ** | CLA 200 | CLA 250 | CLA 220 CDI | |
| Engine | Petrol, direct injection | Diesel, direct injection | ||||
| Displacement | cc | 1595 | 1595 | 1595 | 1991 | 2143 |
| Transmission | 6-speed | 6-speed | 6-speed | 7G-DCT | 7G-DCT | |
| Output | hp | 122 | 122 | 156 | 211 | 170 |
| max. Torque | Nm | 200 | 200 | 250 | 350 | 350 |
| Mileage, combined | l/100 km | 5.4 – 5.6 | 5.0 | 5.5 – 5.7 | 6.1 – 6.2 | 4.2 – 4.5 |
| CO2-emissions* | g/km | 126 – 130 | 118 | 127 – 131 | 142 – 144 | 109 – 117 |
| 0-100 km/h | s | 9.3 | 9.9 | 8.6 | 6.7 | 8.2 |
| Max. Speed | km/h | 210 | 190*** | 230 | 240 | 230 |
| Price* | Euro | 28,977 | 28,977 | 31,862 | 38,675 | 37,991 |
The CLA is available with optional 4Matic all-wheel-drive transmission. The components of the new 4MATIC include the power take-off to the rear axle which is integrated in the 7G-DCT automated dual clutch transmission and the rear-axle gear with integrated, electrohydraulically controlled multi-disk clutch. This set-up enables fully variable distribution of the drive torque between front and rear axle. Additional benefits of this design are a lower system weight than is available from the competition and high efficiency.
