2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG Full Test

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2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG Full Test

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG delivers stunning performance, but suffers in everyday driving. Read our Full Road Test.

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cbrandi_

Interesting, this review makes the CLA250 seem like an even more desirable car, sportiness, comfort and practicality for a decent price. The three pointed star can even be used for bragging rights when faced with friends in A4s or BMWs.

vroom2

$55K seems steep for what is ultimately an economy car with a more powerful engines and some suspension changes. For those wanting this I would opt for the inevitable subsidized lease in order to avoid nosebleed depreciation any buyer of this car would encounter.

ne_blackshirts

Reading the review about stop and go driving hiccups sounds exactly a lot like my wife's 2013 GLI w/DSG. It's slow to take off and downshifts when stopping can be a little harsh. Traffic stop and go gets on your nerves at times, but when pushed it responds perfect and the DSG really shines.

desmolicious

26 mpg from 335hp in normal driving?
That is about the same as my 2013 Miata CS with half the hp!

noburgers

I bit of refinement from the drivetrain too much to ask for my $50K?

dfelix70

Look forward to test driving this car. I'm glad that Mercedes took an almost exclusively sporting approach with it. Basically, no room for wimps to drive this car. If you want a comfortable car with decent performance for the same money, there's the C350 for you.

linard76_

It looks like much more than just a warmed over "economy" car as another commenter has stated.

The A45 has been quite well received and appears to be a serious drivers car.

http://www.carscoops.com/2013/06/mercedes-a45-amg-easily-beats-bmw-m135i.html

http://motoring.ninemsn.com.au/cars/motor/reviews/2013/09/audi-s3-vs-bmw-m135i-vs-mercedes-a45-amg-comparison/

dfelix70

@linard76. Agreed. "Entry level luxury car" and "economy car" should not be confused. This is not Honda Fit or Nissan Versa.

themandarin

"Triple round vents mounted smack-dab in the middle of the dash are a nod to Mercedes' heritage" and standard vent placement

vvk

>It's as rewarding and lively as the SLK55 AMG roadster.

I don't believe this for a second.

akasaka

I've had mine since late December and really I have very few complaints. It's the most fun I've ever had driving. I would highly recommend it.

kruglova

.

thetabeecat

Great car. There is some truth to the jankiness of the DSG but otherwise it's a monster car that performs and looks beautiful. The frame is the CLA250 but that's about the only similarity. In and out it's a completely different car - not an upgrade to a CLA 250.

strokeu

So you are deciding to buy your AMG. I've done it almost 3 years ago and have a lot of fun. CLA45 is almost the same price as regular E model, which is a true luxury car, and AMG CLA45 is not even close to MB luxury standards. But boy, it is fast fast. This little buggy still brings me a lot of joy on a road.
But I have to give you some advice to save you some nerve cells and money. As soon as I've got on highway on my new shiny CLA45 I've started noticing vibration. Especially when you hit a sweet spot between 70-80 mph the vibration is horrible. My driver's mirror is shaking so much I couldn't see clearly who is behind me.
I've posted this problem on MB forum, they asked me to get back to the dealer to fix it. They've made several attempts, nothing helped. At some point they just told me - it is what it is, nothing could be done.
Well, I thought would it worth it to call a lemon lawyer, but decided not to.
Winter came, and I've got another surprise - it was first frost, and I was backing up from my driveway slightly turning and the car started skipping. I thought I hit something. Nop, same happened next time the temperature dropped bellow 33F, there was no snow even. Iv'e talked to the dealer next time I visited him, and he told me, that after snow, they were moving cars on their parking lot to clean it up, and noticed the same thing - all CLA45 were skipping on a turn while the tires are still cold. They started explaining me how powerful sport cars are and this just too much power. Well, I said - to me it looks like a design flow. It was clear that they will not do anything about this problem as well.
One year passed, I've got "Service A" message on the display, and I had to visit the dealer again. They called me back and said that I had to replace tires ASAP!!! I was shocked, specially after the price for the tires they announced me - around $1,700 for the set. WOW, just WOW. I asked, why I need to replace the tires after the first year? They say that the car is so powerful it just eats the rubber, and they see the cord already. Well, what can I do? Right? I agreed to replace tires, asked them to make all proper alignments and balancing.
In another year I've got flat trie, called the tow track because there is no spare tire, and the liquid tire sealer MB included with the air pump didn't work. The dealer called me and told the same story - the tire flat because cords are out, and I need to replace the whole set!! I was pissed off! Another $1,700, 3rd set of tires in less than 3 years of driving the car. Told them not to put that garbage on, bought a set of tires online for about $800. Well that made the trick. Almost no vibration now, no skipping on the frozen driveway, better handling.
I don't know who was that "smart" manager in MB who decided to put those garbage tires as OEM tires on and save maybe a few bucks on a $60K car, but this "good" man deserves firing for bringing down the MB reputation and first impression of such a nice and fun car.
So, do yourself a favor, as soon as you can, just replace those OEM tires with anything else, and you'll have full experience, and you are going to have even more fun.