Autocar UK – 31 July 2019

FIRST DRIVES

3 1 JULY 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 29

Saloon-cum-coupé take on the A-Class gets the hardcore ‘45’ treatment

Price  £52,000 (est)

Engine 4 cyls in line, 1991cc,

turbocharged, petrol

Power 4 1 6 b h p a t 67 5 0 r p m 

Torque 3 69 l b f t a t 5 0 0 0 - 5 2 5 0 r p m 

Gearbox 8-spd dual-clutch

Kerb weight 1 67 5 kg 

Top speed 168mph (limited)

0-62mph 4. 0 s e c 

Fuel economy  3 4. 0 m p g 

CO 2 , tax band  189g/km, 37%

RIVALS A u d i R S 3 , B M W M 2

Competition

MERCEDES-AMG CLA45 S

T

he CLA is the four-door saloon

version of the A-Class, although

Me r c e de s l i k e s t o c a l l it a c oup é

because, y’know, marketing.

It has the same 2729mm wheelbase

as the hatchback and the same body

stiffening, so fundamentally it is the

same thing – so AMG wants the two

to give the same experience.

There are, though, some subtle

differences. The standard CLA

already runs marginally wider tracks

than the A, so its wings don’t have

t o b e r e pr of i le d a s muc h a s t he A’s t o

accommodate the 45’s wider front

rack, while its rear track remains a

few millimetres wider on the AMG

too, because the A’s five-door body

can’t be pushed any wider.

T he CL A a l s o r u n s 10 m m w ide r

rubber, so 255/35 ZR19s front and

rear rather than the A’s 245s, and

with wheels that are 9.0in wide

rather than 8.5in. More metalwork

• this is 4693mm long while the A is

4445mm – means the kerb weight is

50kg more, at 1675kg, and the extra

is all located low and to the back.

I suspect, although Mercedes hasn’t

said, that torsional rigidity is a touch

higher on the CLA, too.

So there are differences, but

they’re pretty subtle. The driving

environment feels the same – the

CL A’s ov e r a l l he i g ht i s on l y 5m m

lower than the A’s – so there’s the

same overwhelming interior and

no difference in the powertrain. My

go in the CLA on a circuit was brief

and they were sighting laps behind

a pace car, so I can’t tell you what

the extreme handling differences

between the two are like.

But if you hop straight from an

A45 and into a CLA45 on the very

same stretch of twisting road, the

differences can be spotted. The ride

i s a t ouc h le s s de f t a nd fe lt l i k e it w a s

a tiny bit more affected by camber

and road surface changes and more

i nc l i ne d t o hu nt a t r a m l i ne.

But we’re talking nths of degrees.

The 0-62mph time falls by 0.1sec

but economy improves (less drag,

presumably), but it’s the same thing.

On a circuit, have three laps at

f a s t-i sh pa c e i n one , w a it t w o hou r s

and do the same again in the other,

and I doubt you’ll tell them apart.

With a direct back-to-back

comparison on the road I suspect the

d i f fe r e nc e s a r e a s mor e t o do w it h t he

increase in tyre and wheel width as

the extra weight, which, given that

it’s sited low and rearward, should

actually be no great hindrance to

cornering balance.

In fact, given that it’s a bit lower,

probably a bit more rigid and has a bit

more rear weight bias, the CLA ought

i n s ome w ay s t o fe e l l i k e t he b e t t e r

platform than the hatch from which

t o c r e at e a p e r for m a nc e c a r. It i sn’t

one, though. If anything, the A feels

like the original, from which all of the

other styles will be drawn.

I’d like to have tried the CLA on

the A’s narrower wheels and tyres,

and vice versa. But then you’d want

the same stretch of road, empty, and

to run through both with both tyre

sets in all different modes until you

found the optimum fast A. But it’d

take quite a long time and, ultimately,

I don’t think you’d smile more or less

in one than in the other, and that’s

what matters.

The short of it is, then, that you’ll

have the CLA if you prefer the look

of it , or l i k e h av i n g a 470 -l it r e b o ot

separated from the rest of the cabin

rather than a 455-litre one that’s

more versatile, and are prepared

to spend an extra two grand for it,

because the CLA will be around

£52,000. You can imagine similar

increases again when the Shooting

Brake and crossover versions follow

on. They’ll be heavier again and taller

again, and I although I wouldn’t

judge a car before I’ve driven it,

something weird will have happened

if they’re more capable than the A45.

MATT PRIOR

MERCEDES-AMG CLA45 S

Saloon, or coupé if you prefer, feels

much the same as the A-Class

hatchback AMG variant

AAAAC

It’s a touch longer and a touch heavier than the hatch; cabin is a well-executed tech-fest

@matty_prior

TESTED 24.7.19, SPA IN ON SALE SEPTEMBER