2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 Long-Term Road Test

Saving space in a small interior is a big deal in a car like this, and Mercedes uses an interesting feature in the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 to open up more storage space.

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mercedesfan

I've run into a lot of people over the years who talk about how much they hate this setup, and then it turns out that they have never actually used it. My old S550 had this and so does the E-Class my wife currently has. I love it in both situations. It is so convenient to just give a quick flick with two fingers to change to R or D. Console-mounted gear levers rarely connect directly to a transmission these days anyway and pretty much all cars come with shift paddles. This is a nice way to leverage electronic gear levers to maximize usability.

throwback

I love this set up. As more cars move to electronic transmissions it makes no sense to have a bulky center console shifter.

misterfusion

So we've come all the way back to three-on-the-tree. Hmm... (OK, I guess it's really seven-on-the-tree, but that's not as poetic.)

bankerdanny

A shift lever on the column, where do those brilliant Germans come up with these ideas?

greenpony

I like it.