{"id":2081827,"date":"2026-08-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2081827"},"modified":"2026-08-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T21:00:00","slug":"mercedes-benz-cla-long-term-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2081827","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes-Benz CLA – long-term report"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My neighbours are used to my cars coming and going like Prime Ministers, but may have wondered what I was doing sat inside this new Mercedes CLA for so long, apparently high as a kite on new-Benz-smell.<\/p>\n

I was deep in the set-up process, prodding and scrolling, signing in here and downloading there. Such is the \u2018connectedness\u2019 of a modern EV, the idea of simply climbing in, pushing the chair back to where I like it and driving off is quaintly ridiculous.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The CLA is made of screens inside. It doesn\u2019t have a dashboard as such \u2013 instead there\u2019s a towering cliff face, a Mount Rushmore of Screen Overlords. The 10.25in display for the driver showing speed, range and trip data, is joined by a main 14in infotainment screen, and in this AMG Premium Plus version, a second identically massive screen for the passenger to completely ignore while they concentrate on their smartphone.<\/p>\n

Off I ventured into the submenus to accomplish day-one tasks like saving my seat position, favouriting radio stations and curating the Vegas strip-shaming ambient lighting.<\/p>\n

Then, the screens beamed out the QR code to link the car to my phone\u2019s shiny new Mercedes-Benz app, which on first impression appears more stable and useful than similar companion apps from the likes of Mini, Toyota and MG I\u2019ve all lived with recently.<\/p>\n

This is what interests me about the CLA, and why I\u2019ll be spending around the summer in this Sapphire Blue (\u00a3795) example. Can we learn to get along?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This is an electric car where range isn\u2019t part of the conversation \u2013 Mercedes claims 452 miles, and real-world, in summer, it\u2019s good for over 350. I shouldn\u2019t have to bother with the hit and miss public charging network which spoiled life with other EVs. And if I\u2019m caught short, the Merc has an app for that. Sniffing out rapid chargers, filtering by how many are available in real time, automatically factoring their location into my journey routing. Effort from me? Zero.<\/p>\n

But it is<\/em> a hugely tech-first car. It has touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons and a prominent driver-spying camera atop the dash. It offers downloadable subscriptions, widescreen video streaming and games galore. It tells me it wants to minutely adjust my carefully positioned seat as I drive along to stave off aches and fatigue. I\u2019m only 34 for God\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n

And all that\u2019s\u2026 not really me. I like more buttons than a Nineties Japanese stereo. I loathe touchscreen-dominated cars. My mirth at Volkswagen having to put the old Golf\u2019s steering wheel back in the new Golf because its haptic controls were so flawed was limitless.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ve already switched off the CLA\u2019s horrid illuminated front grille, because it\u2019s more vulgar than a plastic chandelier and the scowls from pedestrians were embarrassing. I\u2019ve disabled the automatic re-gen braking which decelerates like a learner driver with a wooden leg, and I\u2019ve gone back to stopping the old-fashioned way. A rare case of a human wrestling back a job from AI for you there.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s see what happens when a reluctant-adopter of tech and a screen sceptic and lives with what is very possibly the single most technology-filled four-door saloon car you can buy for less than \u00a350,000.<\/p>\n

Other first impressions? I\u2019m immediately knocking on the door of 4 miles per kWh, which is excellent efficiency. I like that the front boot \u2013 where the charging cable lives to avoid clogging up the actual boot \u2013 doesn\u2019t need a second fumblesome latch to unlock the bonnet. All cars should do this.<\/p>\n

And although the CLA\u2019s multiplex interior looks horrendously plasticky in photographs, it\u2019s of a higher quality than expected. Mercedes has cleverly stolen in where Audi cheaped out, and used metal where you touch often \u2013 the door handles, the window switches, the volume roller, even the button which unlocked the armrest cubby. That goes a long way to making this entry-level Merc feel like a premium object. Much more than stacks of screens do, at any rate\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My neighbours are used to my cars coming and going like Prime Ministers, but may have wondered what I was doing sat inside this new Mercedes CLA for so long, apparently high as a kite on new-Benz-smell. I was deep in the set-up process, prodding and scrolling, signing in here and downloading there. Such is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-2081827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2081827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2081827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2081827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2081827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}