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2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG First Drive

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited September 2014 in Mercedes-Benz

image2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG First Drive

We took a drive in the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG to see if 355 horsepower is enough to make buyers forget that it's a four-cylinder.

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    kyolmlkyolml Member Posts: 37
    3 inch exhaust? close deck, forged rod? it seems gets all the popular aftermarket turbo treatment at factory level with warranties and refinement. Sounds delicious, and i guess aftermarket power enhancement will be having a hard time in this application.
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    fortstringfortstring Member Posts: 111
    Holy frack. 355hp & 328lb/ft out of a four cylinder (let alone a 2.0L one)? First Benz to interest me, ever. Whoa. Hope it will be affordable though.
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    fortstringfortstring Member Posts: 111
    332 lb/ft. I stand corrected. o_o
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    joefrompajoefrompa Member Posts: 64
    I got to give it to Benz. Evo and othes have been churning out 2.0 liter turbo's puttng out ~270-310 crank hp for a awhile now. But they tended not to be smooth or described in terms like "plateau of torque".

    Let's see what this engine can do over the next few years.
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    karbuffkarbuff Member Posts: 34
    Sounds like a 190E 2.3-16 for the 21st century. Double the HP and double the price. You get what you pay for though.
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    darthbimmerdarthbimmer Member Posts: 606
    A compact with gobs of power harnessed to a balanced chassis? Sounds like my BMW 135. But with a 2.0T engine slightly edging out what BMW's 3.0T delivers, with better fuel economy, too! This car's going on my test-drive list.
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    jmarounjmaroun Member Posts: 151
    This car makes a 328xi look like a Mustang. Absolutely Beautiful aesthetics inside and out. Practical, and in the same ball park, price wise to a 328xi. A no brainier for anyone in this market segment.
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    cjasiscjasis Member Posts: 274
    I'd like to hear from the tester how bad (or good) visibility is. One of my biggest complaints with the big brother CLS is that you can't see jack diddly from inside the car and it has HUGE blindspost. Seems trivial but those are deal killers for me.
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    dudie7dudie7 Member Posts: 2
    "Its level of success will be a litmus test of younger buyers' perceptions." Are they kidding? How many young buyers have $45000 to spend on a car?
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    dudie7dudie7 Member Posts: 2
    Check that...$48000 base price!
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    jederinojederino Member Posts: 0
    Pricey, but it seems special and attractive in the intro luxury set. I wonder if an A4 isn't still sportier than this.
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    500rwhp500rwhp Member Posts: 99
    I have to hand it to M-B. That's an impressive engine.
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    gtrguy2012_gtrguy2012_ Member Posts: 11
    Too bad it's butt ugly. Jesus, why can't we get the much better looking hatchback? The performance numbers are insane though. M3 numbers almost.
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    AptSolecistAptSolecist Member Posts: 0
    want!
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    stovt001_stovt001_ Member Posts: 799
    The only disappointing thing is the front-biased AWD system. At least Audi sends more power rear-ward, where it belongs, in their sportier applications. That sounds like a pretty lame complaint considering how mind-blowing that engine output looks, but if I was spending that much money, I wouldn't quite care for it being for all practical purposes FWD.
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    travaitravai Member Posts: 14
    Umm, if you set that glorious engine aside . . .

    . . . you're still left with a car whose styling is a bizarre mix of cartoonish and elegant. The nose and the overall stance is nice. But from the rear 3/4 view, it looks like an athlete wearing a Victorian bonnet. Or an out-of-shape man wearing a pair of Jordans.

    The 5-door is, as someone else mentioned, much better looking -- because, I think, the design is more honest about its function as a small car.
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    sichin2000_sichin2000_ Member Posts: 3
    Maybe they should have gotten Dirty Harry to do another car commercial..
    "the CLA45 - the most powerful 4 cylinder in the world..
    from here it will blow your doors right off..
    feeling lucky punk?"
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    kkear3kkear3 Member Posts: 3
    I was just over on the review of the new S Class and I stated the new S Class didn't look "special" enough to be at the top of the range. I also don't care for the new E Class front end either. On this car, the new Mercedes "eye liner" headlights look perfect. The more I see pictures of the CLA, the more I like the car, with the emphasis on pictures because Mercedes' often look different in photographs than in person.
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    tfiliptfilip Member Posts: 1
    what's not to like? looks good but I'll reserve further comments until after I drive it.
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