Mercedes-Benz CLA Hybrid review

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This smart new saloon has changed the EV game – but can the petrol version prove as significant?

Fresh from shaking up the executive electric car market with its lofty 500-mile range, lightning-fast charging times and commendable dynamics, the new Mercedes-Benz CLA has now gained a petrol-engined hybrid version to broaden its appeal in a market that’s still more than a little wary of pure-electric propulsion. 

Like its forthcoming GLB and GLA platform-mates, the new Mercedes CLA hybrid uses a new 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder running on the Miller cycle, supported by a 30bhp electric motor within an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

It’s a pretty conventional ‘mild’ hybrid arrangement that uses the electric component for a power boost under load and for engine-off running at low speeds over short distances.  

We've tried the mid-rung 161bhp CLA 200 and range-topping 181bhp CLA 220, both with four-wheel drive, although the former will be FWD exclusively in the UK – as will the CLA 180, which opens the range at £38,700.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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Rather than retrofitting a combustion engine into an EV-oriented architecture, Mercedes developed the two powertrain options in parallel, because the new MMA platform underneath the CLA was engineered from the off to accept both - which is said to have kept any mechanical or packaging compromises to a minimum.

That means that, aside from the mechanicals, some subtle exterior cues and the obvious absence of a frunk, the CLA Hybrid is the same as the CLA EQ, inside and out - right down to the wraparound light bars, star-spattered front grille and mammoth Superscreen. 

Because the new CLA is slightly larger than its predecessor, it's slightly easier to pigeonhole in the sense that it's a closer match for the likes of the BMW 3 Series and Alfa Romeo Giulia than it was before - but slightly confusingly that means it's also just a hair smaller than the C-Class. However, in pricing and positioning terms it's more likely to be cross-shopped with boot-backed hatches like the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé and Audi A3 Saloon. 

INTERIOR

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What we’ve said about the electric CLA's cabin remains true here. It’s still comfortable, relatively spacious, well-specified and technically impressive - if short on real premium appeal and sorely lacking in physical controls, with the gargantuan 'Superscreen' serving as the primary interface for driver and passenger, assisted by voice control. It’s all fine, but switches and buttons are nice. 

Being a passenger for a good few hours gave me the opportunity to actually test the real-world functionality and utility of the secondary 14in touchscreen, and while it is impressively well-endowed with apps and controls, it never stopped feeling like a novelty. Once I'd taken a few pictures on the inbuilt camera and tried Mercedes' own definitely-not-Mario-Kart arcade racing game, I fell back to looking out the window and speaking to the driver - like you do as a passenger. 

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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Mercedes went with a four-cylinder arrangement for this new entry-level engine because of the smoother and quieter characteristics that come from its inherent better balance compared with a three-pot - and that decision is largely vindicated by its composure in normal running.

When the petrol engine takes over from the electric motor, it does so quietly and subtly, with no perceptible driveline shunt and only the faintest increase in noise. So too is the accelerative response at low speeds essentially the same irrespective of whether it’s consuming petrol or electrons. Power take-up is smooth, progressive and predictable either way, and there’s no tiresome jabbiness or step-off recoil to contend with. 

Probe a bit harder, though, and it’s not hard to uncover some of the new engine's rougher edges.       

The lower-powered CLA 200 felt short on pep under heavy loads, working a bit harder than you would expect to reach motorway speeds and needing to drop several cogs to maintain a decent lick up a steep hill - which meant that the engine note did become a bit strained and thrashy at times, denting the premium sheen.

No petrol CLA comes with paddle shifters, but you can manually shift up and down by pulling and pushing the drive selector stalk, which feels contrived and unnatural but does at least give you some control over the ratios - which is a boon when the auto 'box is unwilling to shift up and the engine starts sounding particularly aggravated.

The CLA 220 brings a slight but tangible increase in grunt, which helped to make the CLA feel more like the downsized executive mile-muncher it wants to be, but all the same it feels like there’s plenty of head room for Mercedes to add some pokier variants that feel a bit more relaxed and effortless when you wind them up.

Happily, the engineers quietly admit that while the MMA platform can’t take anything larger than the new 1.5 (whose compact, square footprint makes it not much heftier than the CLA EQ’s electric motors), there is scope to squeeze more power out of it. 

RIDE & HANDLING

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The swap to a combustion engine also flips the drivetrain configuration, with the CLA hybrid running a natively front-driven arrangement. We’ve so far only driven 4Matic variants, which lit up their rear wheels in high-demand situations (which were frequent on our snowy Alpine test route), so it remains to be seen whether the RWD EV’s secure and pleasantly uncorrupted dynamics translate to a FWD format. 

The 4WD car was largely untroubled by what we threw at it, though. It felt planted and manoeuvrable on the tighter, faster stretches; stable and sure-footed at a high-speed cruise; and spritely off the mark.

That said, the combination of a slightly underpowered engine and a hint of lethargy in the 'box made for a hesitant response on kickdown when exiting a fast corner. This isn't a powertrain that lends itself especially well to exuberant driving. 

The chassis also better suits daily drudgery than flamboyance, with steering that’s precise and weighty but none too feelsome and a commendably cushioned suspension set-up that gives way to a touch of body roll in sharper bends. 

Austria’s roads are far better than ours, so the CLA hybrid is yet to face Trial by a Thousand Potholes, but it put in a good shift over the rougher stretches we faced, nicely muffling cracks and bumps through the steering column and seat base.

It was quiet on the motorway too.

VERDICT

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You might be attracted to the CLA on the basis that, on paper, it’s an already-acclaimed new car shorn of the perceived utility constraints that come with its electric powertrain. But when the EV goes so far on a charge, tops up so quickly and generally makes electric motoring as palatable as possible, you do have to question what you’re saving yourself from in specifying your CLA with an ICE powertrain - not least because there’s not even that much between the two in terms of list price. 

Also of note is that whereas the electric CLA is one of the longest-range electric cars on sale, the CLA hybrid’s low-to-mid-50s MPG figures don’t feel especially awesome. 

Indeed, the CLA EQ has changed the mainstream EV game in so many ways that this petrol version can’t help but feel a little familiar by comparison - more like an evolution of the previous CLA than a revolution. 

It’s perfectly pleasant and thoroughly recommendable, make no mistake (comfortable, sure-footed, stylish, well-equipped), but it’s more difficult here to identify any true wow factor that knocks the alternatives into the weeds. 

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: Deputy editor

Felix is Autocar's deputy editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years.