MERCEDES-BENZ CLA HYBRID

New saloon has changed the EV game. Is the ICE version as impressive?

- FELIX PAGE

Fresh from shaking up the executive EV market with its 500-mile range, lightning-fast charging and commendable dynamics, the new Mercedes CLA has gained a hybrid version to broaden its appeal in a market that’s still more than a little wary of electric propulsion.

Mercedes hasn’t retrofitted an ICE powertrain into an EV platform, rather it developed the two options in parallel, because the new MMA platform underneath the CLA was engineered from the start to accept both – which is said to have kept any mechanical or packaging compromises to a minimum.

That means that, aside from the mechanicals, some subtle exterior cues and the obvious absence of a frunk, the hybrid CLA is exactly the same as the electric CLA, inside and out – so what we’ve said about the car’s cabin remains true here.

It’s still comfortable, spacious, well specified and technically impressive, if short on real premium appeal and sorely lacking in physical controls, with the vast Superscreen serving as the primary interface for driver and passenger, assisted by voice control. It’s all fine, but switches and buttons are nicer.

With that said, we will focus here on the differences in performance, usability and dynamics of the hybrid compared with the EV.

The hybrid uses a new 1.5-litre turbo petrol four that runs 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.

I tried the mid-rung 161bhp CLA 200 and the range-topping 187bhp CLA 220. Both had 4Matic four-wheel drive, but the former will be exclusively front-driven in the UK, as will the CLA 180, which opens the model range at £38,700.