2025 Mercedes CLA EV and petrol models major on efficiency
New Mercedes CLA will rival the Tesla Model 3, with a range of up to 600 miles between charges and class-leading efficiency...
On sale Spring 2025 | Price from £45,000 (est)
When Usain Bolt broke the world record for the 100m sprint at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he changed the face of sprinting forever – and the new Mercedes CLA will aim to have a similar effect on the car industry, thanks to brand-new record-breaking technology that focuses on sheer efficiency.
Due to be revealed in the coming months before going on sale shortly after, the new CLA will be offered first as an electric car, followed by a combustion-engined mild hybrid model that will arrive a few months later.
For the EV, buyers will be able to choose between a 58kWh and a 85kWh (both usable capacity) battery, which will power an electric motor on the rear axle, with a delivery of up to 268bhp.
Top-of-the-range 4Matic models will get even more power, with an extra electric motor on the front axle pumping out an additional 107bhp when needed, for a total of up to 375bhp. For reference, that’s more than what both the Long Range version of the Tesla Model 3 and the AWD Hyundai Ioniq 6 put out.
The new CLA takes some technical inspiration from Mercedes’ EQXX concept, which recorded an average of 8.4 miles per kWh when it travelled more than 600 miles across the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year. That makes it – currently – the world’s longest-range EV.
It’s expected the CLA will be a class leader in efficiency, especially after a prototype model broke another record for the longest distance covered in 24 hours by an EV, when it drove 2410 miles around Italy’s Nardò Ring test track in November.
Mercedes has said that the new battery could be able to achieve a huge real-world efficiency figure of 5.18miles/kWh, which is even more impressive than the 4.4miles/kWh the Model 3 delivered when it topped the leaderboard in our summer range test.
If the CLA can manage this, then the larger battery should be able to deliver around 440 miles of range – showing some extremely competitive potential. The Long Range Model 3, for instance, manages an official 390 miles between charges.
As standard, an 800V architecture allows for charging speeds of up to 320kW, so a 10-80% top-up could take as little as 10 minutes. The rear motor should also be able to recharge at up to 200kW under deceleration.
Following the EV, a mild hybrid model will arrive in late 2025, combining a 1.5-litre four cylinder petrol engine with a 27bhp electric motor, which should be able to recharge at 25kW under deceleration.
Depending on the version, the total output will be 134bhp or 161bhp through the front wheels, or, on range-topping 4Matic versions, 188bhp through all four wheels.
The electric versions of the new CLA are due to arrive in the Spring, with the mild hybrid version following around six months later. Prices are yet to be confirmed, but we’d imagine the EV will start at around £45,000, which is slightly more expensive than the Tesla Model 3.
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