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.
Ryan serves as Editor of Car Throttle, having joined in 2023. On top of making sure everything is ticking over, you can read his takes on the latest new cars, some ways to spend your hard-earned cash in the used market, as well as the occasional JDM deep cut feature.
