Mercedes Benz CLA class

You see, people likes to relates things with something. 'Japan'? A modern and hi-tech country. That, is how I perceive the auto maker. For me, the brand BMW just screams 'youth, wild, and rich' all in one go. Buy a decent BMW 318i , tune up a bit, and it still does looks badass. You can go even backward, buy an older version of 5 series, tune it up, and believe me, it still does look badass. Wanna go more badass? You can just buy BMW S1000RR superbike, tell your friend you bought a BMW and laugh when your friend ask 'how much does the car cost' .On the other side of it is, oh well…Mercedes Benz. 'The uncle's car'. Rich, but already old. Cheaper version of Rolls Royce, where luxury appeal is the only thing that matters. Any attempt to tune up older version of Benz is like trying to force old folks to to play rugby. Even to set up a complete team is far from possible, and even if it does, the possibility of winning any match is miles distant away. Every time I see a Merc on the road I just go 'meh'.

Well.I've been enjoying myself writing about car recently, so why not give Mercedes chance? And that's how I came up with the CLA class. Be reminded that this IS the only model that appeals to me, while other models does not, AT ALL. If Merc is owning shoes brand, other line up will most probably be Armani or Prada, while for CLA class, it will be Converse.

Why? Lets start with the looks. Okay, lets say you're in the middle of a quiz. The instructor give you a bunch of cards with photo of cars, and he want you to group together photos of cars that looks 'sporty'. You've collected BMW M4 series, lexus RC350 so far, and all of a sudden you see a card of the CLA. Well, since there aren't any other photos of car that looks sporty, and although Merc brand doesn't really resonate to the sporty end, you pick the card anyway. Because that's what it is designed for, to lure young buyers to move up to their brand.

At the front, you'll see this massive bonnet hood with bulging  parallel line that looks more like the bodybuilder's muscle veins in flex. This time they just use the emblem instead of the standard hood ornament, and another big circular 3 point star at the front of the grille. And the dotted shaped grille, in my eyes, is absolutely, stunningly, gorgeous. The 3 separated wedged shaped air intake just add charm to its look. And the light is made up of matrix LED, with eyebrow that flashes into turning signal.  While the front really looks aggressive, the back end, with stylized rear light and curved hood looks more like a fashion statement. It is as if the Ford Mustang engineer had their hands designing the front, while they let Jimmy Choo handle the rear. Or maybe Jimmy designed the grille, too. Viewing the front from the side, its as if someone had cut off the remaining reclining shape. Refer to the Saber fighter jet's nose.

Getting in aboard, there are no such thing as luxury insufficient.  Your eyes will be attracted to the big Merc logo on the steering wheel, and it starts to flow to other instruments and panel. You'll get the decent speedometer and rev counter with smaller fuel and heat indicator in the respective circle. Tesla model S owner would notice something similar with this one, especially the drive selector and seat control button at the door, as it is know that Merc actually supply those to Tesla. While the air cond and button configuration does look well arranged, the Becker®LCD monitor panel just look like someone bought carozzeria navi panel and use 3M to stick it right.. there. With a size of 8.5 inch, it looks very much isolated, try see LCD panel in BMW i8 , you'll get what I mean.

 

Comfort wise, the front row does looks and feel spacious. A person of 170cm tall like wouldn't have any problem at all driving in a long distance with this. But the rear seat just feel cranked and squeezed up. It's easy to get your head rubbed by the roof sometimes. Merc guys maybe thinking people who bought their cars likes to read, so they have a separated rear reading light attached. While I thought most who sits at the back sleep most of the time.

The second major reason I choose this model is what lies in the engine room. Get this folks; an inline, 4 cylinder, inter-cooled turbo premium 2 liter 208 horsepower engine. Yup, 4 cylinders. That's something you wouldn't have in a typical Merc,

 

, but they did it anyway. Since its an I-4,  transversely mounted , saves in transmission friction when you already have the crankshaft in the same line as the drive shafts. Reminds me of the good old MINI. By default it's in FF configuration, but you can have the optional 4MATIC® all-wheel drive system for better stability.

Most recent germany car nowadays are equipped with idling stop function, and this one is also included. Transmission is more of a 7 speed dual clutch transmission, that gives ample torque configuration in any given speed. Plus a pair of paddles strategically positioned behind the upper steering-wheel spokes allows you to manually upshift and downshift the 7-speed DCT transmission with just a flick of your fingers. There you go, luxuriness overload.

Since it's a 4cyliner, I'm not sure if you're exited about how fast this CLA goes in 0-60. Ok, for about 6.7 seconds. For comparison, Tesla Model S goes in about 4.Urm.. I think its not fair to compare with the battery-powered zombie. Its quite hard to say that this sporty look sedan have the power of Ford Focus or Honda Civic. And if you want the best of both world, CLA 45 AMG version option is always on the table. But before that, bear in mind that the even the fuel consumption of the standard one is 8.4 km per liter.

Remember what I mentioned about the engine? The small size of it does partly contribute to the overall price of this model, as it is the most affordable sedan ever available. The most basic one cost around 3 million yen and upward. If you want the looks of a sporty looking merc sedan without sacrificing too much money, this is the one to go with.