2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 Review and Test Drive

The German luxury automaker's least-expensive car offers sleek styling and advanced tech, but don't call it a sedan.

Ron Sessions | 

Jul 5, 2024 | 10 min read

Ron Sessions

Luxury automakers commonly search for new and often younger buyers looking to move up from mainstream brands as their economic status improves. On the car side of the Mercedes-Benz lineup, the siren call takes the form of the CLA-Class four-door coupe, the lowest-priced car the automaker sells. But whatever you do, don't call it a sedan.

Last updated for the 2020 model year, the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA gets a well-deserved freshening with a new mild-hybrid powertrain and an upgraded infotainment system. Aside from minor tweaks to the grille, headlamps, and lower fascias, the automaker wisely left the CLA's attractive design alone.

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The Stylish Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 Starts at Less Than $45,000

The 2024 CLA is available in CLA 250 and CLA 250 4Matic models equipped with standard, Exclusive, or Pinnacle trim. Two high-performance variants, the Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 4Matic and the CLA 45 S 4Matic+, are also available. Prices across the lineup range from the mid-$40,000s to the mid-$60,000s, including the destination charge to ship the car from the Kecskemet, Hungary, factory that builds it to your local dealership.

For this CLA 250 review, I test-drove the CLA 250 4Matic in southern Arizona. The optional equipment highlights included Pinnacle trim, premium paint, leather seating, the AMG Night package, 19-inch wheels, a Burmester surround-sound audio system, and the Driver Assistance package. The manufacturer's suggested retail price of the test vehicle came to $61,370, including the $1,150 destination charge. Mercedes-Benz provided the car for this CLA 250 4Matic review.

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The Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 Is Sleek and Sporty

Just because the CLA is the brand's smallest and least-expensive car doesn't mean it lacks pizzazz. Far from dull, the swoopy CLA is what Mercedes-Benz calls a four-door coupe. The overall design and sporty shape incorporate elements of the now-discontinued full-size CLS four-door coupe and newly minted midsize CLE two-door coupe.

Mercedes-Benz refers to the CLA as a four-door coupe because its expressive styling incorporates frameless door windows and a sporty roofline that tapers off in a coupe-like fashion at the rear. The front end features an SL Roadster-style grille with hundreds of small three-pointed stars. Around the back, sporty touches include a kickup rear spoiler on the trunklid and dual rectangular exhaust outlets.

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In the cabin, a pair of newly standard 10.3-inch displays provides a bright and colorful data presentation occupying nearly half the dashboard's width. Five circular air vents and 64-color ambient lighting enhance the dash design.

Most interior materials meet traditional Mercedes-Benz standards, but some hard plastic is evident. The switchgear is well-placed and easy to use. However, the bright metallic-look physical buttons for the climate control are tiny with small icons, making them difficult to see against their reflective gloss-black background and challenging to use on the fly, especially in bright sunlight.

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Comfort Is Suitable up Front, Not So Much in the Back

The CLA 250 features firm but comfortable standard power front seats with adjustable lumbar and driver-seat memory. They include ample lateral backrest bolstering that hugs your lower torso. Larger adults may find the front seats narrow, but they're suitable for long slogs behind the wheel. Heated front seats and leather upholstery are options, but seat ventilation and massage functions are not on the menu.

A standard moonroof cheers the cabin but steals headroom. In addition, adults taller than 6 feet will experience tight back-seat accommodations with limited headroom and legroom. However, the rear passengers get their own air vents, a fold-down center armrest with a pair of cupholders, and a USB-C charge port.

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The CLA 250 Is a Luxurious Four-Door Sedan With Limited Coupe-Like Utility

Storage could be better. Aside from a modest glovebox and pockets at the bottom of the doors, there are few places to stash things.

However, for 2024, a new non-slip tray atop the center console replaces the console-mounted remote touch infotainment interface used in previous years. It is big enough to keep a smartphone or other small items close at hand. The revised console also includes a standard wireless charger and a pair of adjustable cupholders. Beneath the center armrest is a deep bin offering a small concealed storage space.

The 11.6 cubic-foot trunk could be more generous, but the opening is wide. It can handle several airport roll-aboard bags, and a pair of levers inside the trunk folds the rear seats, adding room for longer and larger cargo.

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2024 Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) Review: An Intuitive Interface

The CLA's previously optional 10.3-inch infotainment display is standard this year. With the clumsy console-mounted infotainment controls gone, you'll use the touchscreen, steering wheel buttons, or natural language voice controls to operate it. Included in the Exclusive and Pinnacle trim packages, the system adds navigation with brilliantly detailed maps and real-time updates.

Alternatively, you can use the newly wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity and skip MBUX altogether. But then you'd miss out on one of the best native infotainment systems in a modern automobile.

The MBUX voice recognition and digital assistant technology is excellent. After speaking "Hey Mercedes" or pushing the steering wheel voice control button, you can ask the system to find a point of interest, navigate to a location, call a contact, or even adjust the cabin temperature using simple conversational language.

Augmented Video for Navigation is another cool feature included with the uplevel Exclusive and Pinnacle trim packages. It uses a front camera to display a live video feed on the MBUX screen, overlaying the names of upcoming streets and showing approaching turns in real time.

The CLA test car also had the optional Burmester surround-sound audio system. Enhanced with new-for-2024 Dolby Atmos technology, it offers an immersive listening experience in a three-dimensional soundscape.

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Smart Tech for the Everyday Drive

The 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA includes a car wash mode that offers peace of mind when using an automated car wash. It folds in the side mirrors, closes the windows and moonroof (if open), turns off the parking sensors, and deactivates the rain sensor for the automatic windshield wipers. You can access this feature through the MBUX display screen.

In addition, the CLA added a standard Parktronic self-parking system this year, accessible via the infotainment screen. When I spotted an open space on a side street, I pushed the Parktronic button, and the technology measured the opening as I slowly passed by. Then, after I followed the prompts, the Mercedes successfully shifted into reverse, steered into the spot, and braked with room to spare.

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The CLA 250's Driver Assistance Package Is a Pleasing Upgrade

The 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 is available with a wide array of advanced driver-assistance systems. However, the more sophisticated stuff costs extra because of the CLA's entry-level price point.

Standard features include forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, automatic high-beam headlamps, and a driver-attention monitor. An adaptive cruise control system is available as a stand-alone option.

If you want more advanced technology, get the optional Driver Assistance package. It includes active blind-spot assist, which helps steer you away from danger, and active rear cross-traffic alert, which applies the brakes if necessary. Active speed-limit assist automatically adjusts the vehicle's speed to help avoid a ticket.

Another feature of the Driver Assistance package is the active emergency-stop-assist system. When using the adaptive cruise control, it can bring the CLA to a safe stop if it detects an unresponsive driver. However, when I had a light grip on the steering wheel, it issued frequent warnings that got annoying. A quick squeeze of the rim extinguishes the warning, but it becomes a tiresome exercise.

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The CLA 250's Mild-Hybrid Powertrain Makes Its Debut

The 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 has a new mild-hybrid powertrain based on last year's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The mild-hybrid system includes a 48-volt starter/generator that improves engine response and drive quality, allows fuel-free coasting, and ensures smoother restarts of the fuel-saving Eco engine stop-start system.

Output measures 221 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. In addition, Mercedes swaps the previous seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) for an eight-speed DCT. As was true before, versions of the CLA with 4Matic in their name have an all-wheel-drive system.

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Incremental Changes Make the CLA 250 Driving Experience More Mercedes-Like

Previous iterations of the CLA felt less polished due to their ample but often sudden acceleration while moving with the ebb and flow of traffic. The 2024 CLA 250's mild-hybrid technology improves the car's overall driveability, making it feel more worthy of wearing the three-pointed star.

Initial throttle applications feel more responsive, and acceleration is more linear overall. In addition, the new eight-speed transmission handles gear changes smoothly, quickly, and precisely. The differences are subtle, but the mild-hybrid system helps fill in the dips in power delivery after each transmission shift.

The 2024 CLA doesn't feel any quicker than before; it just feels smoother and more dignified while getting up to speed. Mercedes estimates that the 2024 CLA 250 can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds. That aligns with the 6.5-second zero-to-60 performance I measured with the 4Matic-equipped test car.

For 2024, EPA fuel-economy estimates improve slightly to 26/36/30 mpg in city/highway/combined driving with front-wheel drive and 25/35/28 mpg with 4Matic. Compared with last year, those numbers are up by around 1 to 2 mpg. After 190 miles of driving on interstates, rural two-lane highways, and city streets, the CLA 250 4Matic test car had averaged 31.5 mpg.

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Speaking of 4Matic, on Arizona's smooth, dry roads, it supplied good traction when launching the car from a stop, with no front wheelspin or torque steer. The 4Matic system can send up to 50% of the drive torque to the rear wheels to maintain traction, which is also nice to have where snow and ice are a thing.

The test car's MacPherson strut front and multilink coil rear suspension delivered a balance of control and comfort fitting of the Mercedes-Benz badge. With the optional 19-inch wheels and meatier Bridgestone Turanza 225/40R-19 tires, the test car's variable-effort electric-boosted steering proved well weighted at highway speeds, and in corners, the turn-in response was reasonably crisp. Standard brake-induced torque vectoring also helped minimize understeer in turns.

My test vehicle had the optional AMG Night package, which includes drilled and ventilated front brake rotors. The top-of-pedal brake response could have been a tad better, but the overall stopping power from high speeds was autobahn-worthy, with no discernable fade or vibration.

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Big Style in a Small Package

These days, people generally see that crossover SUVs are far more numerous on the roads than small sedans, especially four-door cars wearing a premium brand. Yet, for people who don't need the space and utility of an SUV, the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 makes a convincing case for a value-priced small luxury car with an eye-catching design.

However, the CLA is not alone in its quest for these car buyers. Rivals include the Acura Integra, Audi A3, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, and Cadillac CT4. So, if the Mercedes CLA isn't suitable for you, there are alternatives.