Defaults to Weak-O - 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Defaults to Weak-O - 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 Long-Term Road Test

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 defaults to Eco mode every time you start it, and although it only requires two presses of a button to make the car come alive, it's an annoying feature that you can't modify.

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legacygt

No doubt this car is popular. But your observations are not uncommon. The compromises aren't hurting sales now but what will they do for the long term opinion of the brand?

mrryte

"No doubt this car is popular. But your observations are not uncommon. The compromises aren't hurting sales now but what will they do for the long term opinion of the brand?"

They probably won't hurt the long-term opinion of the brand; but they'll definately be unkind to the CLA. It's clear that MB went as cheap as they possibly could in order to create the illusion (or DELUSION) of an "affordable" Mercedes.

mercedesfan

Not disagreeing with most of your points, but I would like to point out that EVERY car for sale in the US defaults to its Eco setting (assuming it has one) because the EPA demands it. When they do a fuel economy test for a car they test whatever is the default at startup so automakers always make their weak-sauce setting the baseline.

agentorange

The ECO button thing is a minor detail compared to the fact that the car is over-tired and under suspended. There is no way I would buy most cars with the "sports" package these days. I have to pay for my own wheel and tyre repairs, and the ultra low profile boots and wheels are simply incompatible with most of Americas roads. Anyone who has traveled I-10 between San Bernadino and Palm Springs or I40 in Arizona after a hard winter will know what I mean.

chol92594

I agree with a lot of others as far as the appeal of an "affordable" Mercedes. Plenty of people are probably buying these just because it's the cheapest way to get into a new Mercedes. I've seen a couple in the wild and most of them have the base rims and no lighting package (bi-xenons, LED tail lights, etc.), which makes me think that plenty of people are buying these with few/no options just so that they can own a car with the three-pointed star. Personally, I think an A3 is a much better value. More standard equipment, better ride, and when equipped with AWD and the 2.0T engine, it's a bit faster and more capable in bad weather than the CLA. Plus, there's also a TDI option. Mercedes really needs to do a heavy facelift/revision of the CLA to keep it competitive with the A3 so that it has a wider customer base than just those who want to get into a cheap Mercedes for the sake of flaunting it.