This month I’ll have entered over 40 2014 models into TrueDelta’s car prices and features database, for a total of over 50. (This is well ahead of where I usually am this time of year.) When a model is new, I’ll try to comment on it here, using our comparison tool’s unique ability to equip two cars similarly then adjust for remaining feature differences.
Today, the Mercedes-Benz CLA. Though essentially a sedan version of Mercedes-Benz’s smallest model, never previously offered in North America, the CLA isn’t all that small. In fact, with a 182-inch length it’s a bit longer than the more expensive C-Class. Interior space is roughly the same, with perhaps a touch more rear legroom in the CLA (no official spec yet) but an inch more rear headroom and a couple inches more rear shoulder room in the less sleekly styled C-Class.
So why offer both?
Well, the CLA (in a departure from all Mercedes offered here to date) is front-wheel-drive rather than rear-wheel-drive. It’s also being marketed as a “coupe” though it has four doors, on the basis of CLS-inspired bodywork. The standard engine is a 208-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four, a similar spec to other European compact sedans. The AMG version will have a 355-horsepower variant of this engine–a huge amount of power for a 2.0-liter–driving all four wheels.
Though on paper the CLA has the makings of a Jaguar X-Type flop, initial buzz has been widely positive. People like the idea of a $30,825 Mercedes with coupe-ish styling, no matter which set of wheels are driven. I personally don’t care for the proportions, with a bulky nose and drooping tail, but seem alone in this opinion.
How well does the price actually compare? Of course, few cars will be sold with no options, and even metallic paint adds $720. Still, add the sparkly paint and a $1,480 panoramic sunroof to both cars (because the C-Class has a conventional sunroof as standard), and the 2014 CLA250 checks in just over $5,000 lower than a 2013 C250, $32,305 vs. $37,345. Features differences are a wash, so no significant adjustment for these. $5,000 is real money.
BUT the C-Class does have a standard sport package. Add one to the CLA, and 18-inch wheels to the C250 to keep things fair (18s are part of the CLA’s sport package), and the gap contracts to $4,080 before adjusting for feature differences, $34,305 vs. $38,385, and about $4,550 afterwards. Still real money.
Maybe you actually want some luxury features like heated leather seats, automatic climate control, and premium audio and some tech like xenon headlamps and nav in your upscale sedan. (MB-Tex leatherette, a.k.a. vinyl, lines the cabins of a surprisingly high percentage of Mercedes.) Add these options to both cars, and the CLA piles on the dollars to a lesser extent, with a bottom line of $38,855 (still comfortably under $40,000) vs. $46,715. We’ve now got a $7,860 difference before the adjustment, and nearly $7,300 afterwards.
If the CLA drives about as well as the C (or better), Mercedes dealers could find it tough to peddle the old mainstay.
Hard-charging Audi has been selling front-wheel-drive luxury sedans with turbocharged four-cylinder engines for years. Equip a CLA250 and A4 2.0T similarly (metallic paint–a mere $500 on the Audi–heated front seats, split folding rear seat, and sunroof), and the CLA is only $720 lower. But even lacking leather (adding it further requires the extensive Premium 1 Package) the new starter Mercedes has nearly $1,900 in additional features compared to the Audi, yielding an adjusted difference of nearly $2,600. Features are packaged so differently in these cars that it’s hard to equip them similarly without loading both up.
And if you do load them both up? Well, then an interesting thing happens: their prices end up virtually identical, $43,770 for the CLA and $43,795 for the A4. But you simply can’t get many of the features offered on the CLA on the A4 2.0T. Adjusting for feature differences returns the gap to about $2,500.
Maybe you’re not feeling the need for something German. How about an Acura TSX, while it’s still with us? Leather, xenons, sunroof, and metallic paint are standard on the Acura. Adding these to the CLA punts its price from $30,825, $600 below the 2013 TSX’s, to $37,275, nearly $6,000 higher. Adjusting for the CLA’s additional features cuts this in half. How many people will pay $3,000 more for the three-pointed star? Quite a few, most likely.
Detroit isn’t yet offering a car quite like the CLA. The Lincoln MKZ is far larger, while the Cadillac ATS seeks to go toe-to-toe with the considerably more expensive BMW 3-Series. Its pricing is in C-Class territory.
Maybe a Buick Verano, which is offered with a 250-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter engine? The 2013 lists for $29,990. Add a few things standard on the Buick (but not leather) to the Mercedes, and it’s nearly $3,000 more. Adjust for feature differences (e.g. the Buick’s standard leather) and this advantage grows to about $4,500. Enough of a difference to warrant a trip to a Buick dealer?
Overall, the new Mercedes-Benz CLA seems attractively priced, though not quite a screaming deal. The car that likely has the most to fear from it can be found at the same dealerships. Audi’s response, the A3 sedan, should arrive early next year. With a 176-inch length, it’s a half-foot shorter than the CLA. But I’m expecting similar pricing.
To see how the prices and features of the Mercedes-Benz CLA compare: