20 - 26
221 - 416
8 speed, Auto-Shift Manual w/OD
Intercooled Turbo Gas/Electric I-4, Intercooled Turbo Premium Unleaded I-4
All Wheel Drive, Front Wheel Drive
The 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe is one of the luxury sport brand's smallest models. Still, it plays an important role in attracting new buyers to the German automaker's extensive lineup of luxury sedans, coupes, roadsters, SUVs, wagons, and electric vehicles (EVs). The key to this role is its base price, which starts at $44,350 (including the $1,150 destination charge), thus making it the second least-expensive model wearing the Mercedes three-pointed star logo.
Photo: Ron Sessions
Sporty and small, the CLA is uniquely positioned to attract buyers looking to move up from mainstream brand offerings to something with luxury cache. Small sedans don't get much better looking than this four-door coupe, especially wearing the test car's blazing Patagonia Red Metallic paint.
Along with the recently introduced CLE, the swoopy Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe owes much of its design inspiration, including its overall shape and forward-leaning, shark-nose grille, to the now-discontinued full-size CLS four-door coupe.
Shrink-wrapping the CLS shape around a subcompact platform results in a stylish but cozy cabin. That's likely not an impediment for young singles or couples without children looking for a little visual excitement in their daily transportation. The trunk space is a minuscule 11.6 cubic feet, but the split rear seatbacks fold down to handle larger or longer items. Unlike traditional coupes, the CLA at least gives rear-seat passengers their own doors for entering or exiting the cozy aft accommodations.
Inside, the CLA looks modern and upscale. Some switchgear and interior bits are hard and plasticky. Still, standard amenities include power-operated front seats, a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, a wireless phone charger, a garage-door opener, and 64-color interior ambient accent lighting.
For the 2024 model year, the standard driver and center infotainment screens get larger, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone projection is now wireless, and the powertrain gains mild-hybrid electrification and an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) with improved power flow smoothness and fuel economy.
Outside, a mild refresh nets a revised shark-nose grille, lower front fascia air inlets, new high-output LED headlamps, and a revised air diffuser on the lower rear fascia.
For the 2024 model year, the Mercedes CLA Coupe is available with front-wheel drive (FWD) or 4Matic all-wheel drive (AWD). Including the $1,150 destination charge, prices are as follows:
There are also two high-performance, AMG-branded CLA sub-models beyond the scope of this review:
Previously, JD Power reviewed the 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 and the 2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA 35. This review focuses on the CLA 250's updates for 2024 and how they potentially impact its overall consumer appeal.
In the following sections, our independent expert analyzes a 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 4Matic equipped with the following options:
The test vehicle's price was $61,370, including the $1,150 destination charge to ship the car from the Kecskemet, Hungary, assembly plant to your local dealership.
Photo: Ron Sessions
The previously optional dual 10.25-inch driver and infotainment displays are now standard. Mounted end to end, the two create a colorful digital cockpit effect that populates half the dashboard's width.
For 2024, Mercedes drops the console-mounted remote touchpad for the center infotainment display, replacing it with a flat tray for stashing small items. Aside from voice commands or steering-wheel buttons, the primary interaction is via the infotainment touchscreen.
The MBUX system upgrades from wired to wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, helping to eliminate the console clutter of USB cables. For the 2024 model year, there are four USB-C ports—two up front and two for rear passengers—and all USB ports are illuminated for easier connection in low light.
Mercedes also enhances the available 590-watt, 12-speaker Burmester surround-sound system with Dolby Atmos technology, which, according to the automaker, optimizes the separation of audio components and creates an immersive three-dimensional soundscape.
Pairing my Samsung phone was quick and seamless. Before activating Android Auto, I used the native MBUX voice assistant to find and navigate to an arboretum 78 miles away using conversational language. After voicing the keyword phrase, "Hey, Mercedes," the voice assistant quickly and easily found the location by name only. No street address or city information was required.
Added to the CLA's new standard equipment list for 2024 is a hands-free parking package with semi-automated operation that, when activated by the driver, handles steering, throttle, and braking when entering or exiting a parking space.
Otherwise, the 2024 CLA 250's standard advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are pretty limited. They consist of a forward-collision warning system with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, basic blind-spot warning, a reversing camera, a driver monitoring system, and automatic high-beam headlights.
Mercedes equipped the CLA 250 test car with the optional Driver Assistance package. In addition to Distronic adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go and route-based adaptation features, this package includes lane-keeping assistance, lane-centering assistance, active blind-spot assistance with opposite-side braking, rear cross-traffic warning with braking, active lane-change assistance, and active speed-limit assistance. The Driver Assistance package is worth every cent, but as this is written, it is temporarily unavailable when building a new vehicle on the Mercedes-Benz USA website.
The adaptive cruise control maintained the set speed and following distance to the vehicle ahead. But frequent "hands-on-wheel" requests were bothersome, especially since these mainly occurred with both of my hands on the wheel, just without the firmness the system wanted despite my desire to let the lane-centering feature do its thing. Ironically, squeezing the steering wheel rim briefly extinguished the dashboard warning, even with just one hand on the wheel.
The active speed-limit assist also worked well. It came in handy during a long stretch on a secondary two-lane highway with frequent speed-limit changes and vigorous law-enforcement presence.
Also, a pleasant surprise was the route-based speed adaptation while in Distronic adaptive cruise control, which slowed the car for a turn off a major highway after I activated the turn signal for a right turn onto a residential street.
Photo: Ron Sessions
For the 2024 model year, the CLA gets a new electrified mild-hybrid powertrain. In the CLA 250, the system works with the same turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine as in recent years but adds a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that includes an engine belt-driven starter/generator.
The mild-hybrid powertrain produces the same peak of 221 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque as the non-electrified 2.0-liter engine in years past. However, an extra 13 hp and 110 pound-feet of torque is initially available from the starter/generator at low engine speeds for improved on-demand response.
The electric starter/generator allows fuel-free coasting, recharges the system when decelerating, and smooths restarts of the fuel-saving Eco stop/start system.
The AWD system in 4Matic-equipped models is variable and can send up to 50 percent of drive torque to the rear wheels on demand to maximize traction. By Mercedes-Benz estimates, the CLA 250 can accelerate from zero-to-60 mph in 6.3 seconds, which aligns with the 6.5-second time I measured with my stopwatch.
A new eight-speed DCT replaces the previous seven-speed unit, giving the 2024 CLA 250 another ratio to work with and smaller steps between gearchanges to help the powertrain stay in the sweet spot of its power curve. Shifts are smooth and unobtrusive.
In addition to drivability improvements, the 2024 CLA 250 also achieves fuel-economy gains. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated fuel-economy ratings improve from the 2023 model's 29 mpg combined with FWD and 27 mpg combined on AWD versions to the 2024 CLA 250's 30 mpg combined with FWD and 28 mpg combined with AWD.
During my test, I observed an indicated 31.5-mpg average fuel-economy reading in the 2024 CLA 250 4Matic over 190 miles of mixed highway and suburban residential driving.
With the new mild-hybrid powertrain, the 2024 CLA 250 drives with more polish than previous examples, better aligning with the expectations of what a Mercedes-Benz should be. Acceleration is brisk, but mainly, the electric boost helps fill in the valleys between the engine’s power peaks as the eight-speed DCT smoothly works through the gears. Selectable driving modes allow the driver to tailor engine response, shift points, and steering effort.
It's been a few years since I last drove a Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 four-door coupe, but this one feels more connected to the road despite its standard comfort suspension. Handling is flat, with little to no body lean in the corners. The electro-mechanical steering provides a crisp response to inputs, no doubt aided by the test car's upgraded 19-inch tires and the standard torque-vectoring rear braking, which helps minimize understeer.
Photo: Ron Sessions
Updated for 2024 with a mild-hybrid drivetrain and the latest MBUX infotainment system, the shapely Mercedes-Benz CLA is a stylish four-door coupe that's fun to drive and easy on the eyes. It's the second least-expensive offering wearing a Mercedes-Benz star in the company's U.S. lineup. While its cabin may be too cozy for some buyers, others will likely appreciate its bargain pricing relative to other Mercedes-Benz models.
Mercedes CLA competitors include the Acura Integra, Audi A3, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, and Cadillac CT4, all of which offer varying degrees of style and performance, though at a lower price.
Ron Sessions is a seasoned vehicle evaluator with more than four decades of experience. In addition to his contributions to jdpower.com, he has penned hundreds of road tests and buyer's guide reviews for Road & Track, MotorTrend, Car and Driver, and AutoTrader.
