Mercedes CLA 250 Aims To Attract Younger Buyers

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
It looks unique, sort of like a car that got bent downward at the front and the rear, but it looks good in some way like a Picasso drawing with all the curves.

At $30k it will sell well and may take some sales away from Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Audi, etc.



And it looks like it may price out a bit cheaper than the IS250, which is super-popular with the "young professional" crowd in our area.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
At $30k it will sell well and may take some sales away from Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Audi, etc.

Yup. It'll also allow MB to further jack up the price of the upcoming new C-Class. And if a potential C-Class buyer complains that it's too expensive yet still wants that famous star on the hood, they can point him to the CLA instead of showing him the door.

 

[P20565R16]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Mercedes, despite them having a bunch of high-performance cars, will always have a bit of "old rich person's (luxury) car" stigma attached to the name, like with Cadillac...

I am not seeing a lot of younger buyers going for this one...and I don't think it will take much away from BMW and Audi...


Also, Lincoln has that problem too.

They did away with Mercury but Lincoln will probably NEVER resonate with the young crowd as well as, let's just say it, ACURA. The Legend was such a hit it is ridiculous. Sure they are playing catchup with the TL, the RL never caught on and good riddance and it's not good enough even as a rare car to be special, but.. Lexus and Acura have that market really well, some know about BMW and Audi some dont, this one I feel lukewarm about, it looks like a weird car and it MAY catch on, with all the Fiats running around, since Smart will never catch on and will die off, a la Hummer and Daewoo. And Saab. And Pontiac, and Saturn. All DOA. I left out a couple, I am sure.

 

[97tbird]

^^ well said -
I still like to look at pics of Legend Coupes from 92 to 95 or so...They were nice cars with the GS-II engine...
So were the 92 to 2001 Lexus SC300/400

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Don't forget the AMG version, which is rumored to be well over 300 hp and all wheel drive.

Anybody going to the New York Auto Show?

MB now confirmed HP figures and pricing for the CLA45 AMG:

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/03/27/2014-mercedes-benz-cla45-amg-video-new-york-2013/

It's basically the same price as a well equipped ATS 3.6, but obviously the CLA45 is a lot quicker.

I like the CLA exterior, but the interior looks too busy/gaudy/flashy to me.

 

[cchase]

When is MB going to figure out that no one wants a number pad on the center stack?

They ought to just go all the way with that look and put a rotary phone dial.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Ford Fusion/90s Taurus?

 

[hattaresguy]

Meh its FWD the 135I is a better car. FWD sucks the engine is installed the wrong way.

Perfect car for anyone who can't afford a CLS. But I'm sure it won't stop them from putting CLS badges on them.