Mercedes-Benz has just unveiled the 2019 CLA at CES in Las Vegas. While at first glance the CLA seems to be more evolution than revolution, there are a few notable changes.
The CLA, like most new cars, is larger than its predecessor. It’s 48 mm longer, 53 mm wider, and 2 mm lower. This size increase gives the CLA 17 mm more headroom up front and 3 mm more in the rear. Although leg room is virtually unchanged, elbow room jumps up by 35 mm in the front and 44 mm in the rear.
With a lower center of gravity and wider track, Mercedes says the CLA should be the sportiest of all its compact cars. An active adaptive damping suspension will be optional. 18-inch wheels are standard with optional 19-inch wheels available.
The big news is the inclusion of Mercedes-Benz’s new MBUX interior assistant. The system allows for gesture controls and indirect voice commands (creepy maybe?). One cool feature the new system allows is the personal favorites feature. It can be activated by horizontally stretching out your index and middle finger. The car is able to distinguish between the driver and passenger and customize commands for each while using this feature. There are a host of driving assist features from the S-Class such as emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control.
The CLA comes with standard LED headlights and optional Active LED headlights that allow quick adjustments for driving conditions.
The car that Mercedes has on the stand at CES is the CLA250, which has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-banger (rated at: 221 horsepower and 258 lb-ft) connected to a 7G-DCT dual-clutch transmission, and is available in front-wheel or 4MATIC all-wheel drive. The performance AMG CLA should be making its debut sometime later this year.
