Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 - Road Test Review

Report: P.Tharyan; Photography: Mohd. Nasir

The more Mercedes-Benz India understands the Indian market, the more its products are getting so right and so perfect. The Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 is one such example. The latest from the German luxury car manufacturer, the CLA 200 comes with both petrol as well as a diesel engine.  The models for sale include the CLA 200 CDI Style, the CLA 200 Sport and the CLA 200 CDI Sport. While the petrol one comes with a 1991 cc inline engine, the diesel one comes with a 2143 cc inline engine.

We got a petrol car for a short spin and we were truly stunned by its sheer looks, besides its performance. Gone are the days when a Mercedes-Benz brand used to intimidate the general public, both with its size as well as its price. Now with rising incomes among Indians and more affordable cars from the Mercedes stable, people with decent money are buying the Mercs like never before. And the company is making it easier for these folks as they make cars at the right prices, in the right sizes and with the right looks.

The CLA 200 is CLAssy. It’s as simple as that. There is something about its shape that gets you all weak kneed. I mean it’s so aerodynamic and so shapely. The company claims that this shape gives the car the lowest drag coefficient of any production car. I believe very word of it because when I got a chance to drive it full throttle on a long stretch of road, it cut through the air like a Swiss knife on soft butter. Oops, like a German knife… 

Like the A class, the CLA has got the beautiful diamond radiator grille with pins in high-gloss black, silver-painted louvre and chrome inserts. That makes it great looking from the front. The bi-xenon headlights add to the mesmerising looks. The sides too look beautiful with the swooping lines with the rear shaping up like an elegant coupe. The rear bumper with insert in black plastic with chrome trim and the twin-pipe exhaust system with rectangular, chromed tailpipes that peep out from under the bumper makes the derriere exciting!

Take a top angle view and there is the panoramic sliding sunroof with automatic rain closing feature. Every which way you look, the CLA 200 simply inspires. The 43.2 cm (R17) 5-spoke alloy wheels painted in tremolite grey simply adds to the class. Now you get it when I say it’s a CLAssy sedan.

Just when you finish admiring the vehicle from outside, you are pleasantly surprised by what you have in store inside. The interiors again reminds you of the A class and the GLA. That’s okay in a way. Aren’t siblings meant to resemble each other in some way?

The 3-spoke multifunction steering wheel in black leather with perforated grip area has wheel gear shift paddles, just in case you want to push it hard on a lonely road where cops are nowhere present. There is a fixed high-resolution 17.8 cm colour display screen. The audio 20 CD Multimedia system churns out your favourite numbers through the Harman Kardon Logic 7 surround sound system.  The driver’s seat as well as the passenger’s seat is an electrically adjustable one with memory packages. 

As soon as I belted up and tweaked the key, the petrol engine fired up for the drive on the roads that Indians are so used to. As I went over bumps, I realised that this car has a decent ground clearance. It glided over obstacles without scraping its underbelly. This car, I felt, had been specially made for India. I was impressed. Mercedes-Benz had got its act so right for the country. The engine was so perfectly mated to the 7-speed automatic transmission that speed and acceleration came so naturally without any interruption. One can drive in any of the modes: Economy, Sport or Manual.

I tried the different modes and felt that each had its own characteristics. The Eco start/stop function made things more economical as it helped reduce fuel consumption. In the few hours of drive, we encountered long stretches of empty roads, and then had to face some crazy traffic at the end of it all. Good roads, bumpy roads or crowded roads, the CLA dealt with each in its own way. The suspension handled each terrain with considerable ease.

Though the CLA 200 boasts of a large boot space, I noticed that the spare tyre is placed in it. I found this slightly irksome because for your large suitcases to come in, the spare tyre would have to make its way out. Unless of course there are only two of you in the car and you have the luxury of folding your rear seats to create more space in the boot area. Another feature I found practically bothering was the little lever we are all so used to for opening the bonnet (in malls, high security zones etc). In the case of the CLA 200, it’s a plastic lever and one needs to really stretch your hand under the dash in the corner to nudge it. For the few of us who have not being doing our daily stretches, this could be a bit of strain on the belly muscles! But then these are not major flaws. All in all, the CLA 200 is a good looking sedan priced so right! So is it time for us ordinary folks to raise the bar in our next purchase? Maybe, yes.