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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