Just a few weeks ago, we were left feeling pretty impressed with some time behind the wheel of the new electric Mercedes CLA. Offering a genuinely liveable range with a rather pleasant to drive package, there was little to criticise.
What if you’re not ready to make that electric switch, though? Well, good news if you wanted a CLA anyway, as hybrid versions are now on sale.
Mercedes CLA Hybrid, rear
Given a general industry trend towards slimming down internal combustion offerings, there’s a surprisingly wide range of choice of engine output on offer for the Mercedes CLA. It’s available in front-drive 180 and 200 forms, both using a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor integrated within the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
The 180 offers up 134bhp, which can send it from 0-62mph in 8.8 seconds, while the 200 raises output to 161bhp and cuts that sprint to eight seconds flat. Want something quicker? The all-wheel drive 220 uses the same core engine puts ups output to 187bhp. That’ll crack 0-62mph in 7.1 seconds.
All three powertrains can call upon a 1.3kWh battery for short periods of electric assistance. While there’s no quoted EV-only range, Mercedes says it can run on EV power alone when less than 30bhp is required, so most likely in stop-start traffic and slow crawls around town.
Mercedes CLA Hybrid, front
If you want to be an anorak and pick a hybrid CLA out from an electric one, the big giveaway is the grille, opened up, unlike the closed panel on the EV. Both feature an absurd number of three-pointed starts, though.
Order books for the hybrid versions of the Mercedes CLA are now open, priced from £38,700 for a 180 and rising to £43,500 for a 220. For a bit of context, that starting price is around £7000 less than the EV.
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