Used 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Sedan Consumer Reviews

Much more fun than expected...

After reading various car magazine reviews on the CLA250 4Matic, I was a little nervous about taking delivery of my Mountain Gray/Brown leather specially ordered vehicle. After almost two years I still love driving this car every day! The power is great especially in sports mode, but driving in the city, I don't need to gun it from stop light to stop light. Mileage on the road is close to 35mpg! Comfortable, safe and a blast to drive. I'll get another after this lease ends!

Best Compact Luxary Car in its Class.

A lot of what you read out there is this car versus another car that is not in its class. You cannot fairly compare this car to, say, a BMW 320 or a Mercedes C300. This is a compact luxury coupe that happens to have 4 doors. It is not a closer to mid-sized sedan like the ones mentioned above. Keep that in mind when you read peoples reviews. The CLA250 is in a niche (test) market. The only real direct competitors at this time are the Acura ILX, BMW 228, and Audi A3. The BMW 228 is a 2 door, so that isn't exactly the same class. Nevertheless, these cars are aimed at people that want a lower price point luxury vehicle with great fuel economy and smaller dimensions. Lexus, Infiniti, etc., don't make a competitor vehicle. Maybe you could throw in maxed out Altima's, Camry's, and Accord's, but that would be a stretch to call those luxury vehicles. Having said all that, the CLA 250 is a fantastic car in its class. The interior feels very premium at this price point. The console layout is great and feels like modern premium. Its well thought out and has all the right touches one would expect in a luxury vehicle. The BMW feels antiquated by comparison, while the Audi is just plain terrible. The Acura ILX actually has the next best console/cockpit layout and feel after the CLA250. The front seating on all four cars are what one would expect in a compact luxury car. If you are much taller than average, you will feel cramped. For people of average height and lower, there is plenty of comfort and room to be had. None are the clear winner in this respect. You will just have to experience each of them and judge for yourself. In our opinion, the MB power seating controls, seat heating, and other minor nuances, are what place it at the top. The rear seating on all four cars is cramped, even for a compact car. Again, there isn't a clear winner here. Taller adults will struggle to get comfortable back there. MB does give the back seating some nice touches, though, that are absent or just not as nice on others. Overall, MB gives the rear seating more of the premium treatment than others. Performance is best on the BMW. It is the sportiest, quickest, turns the best, and so on. This may not be supported by test reports, but that is how it feels compared to the others. MB has the best ride, although, it is not great by any measure. Your best bet is the get the 17 inch wheels if comfort is on your mind, and then just deflate them a little bit to the mid-upper 30's. The 18 inch wheels do make it sportier and handle better, but you get more road feedback and slight deflation is not as effective. The CLA 250 gets top marks in the economy battle outside of the Audi A3 Diesel (which is a $3000 option). Nothing much to say here. 26 city / 38 highway is just outstanding for a gas, non-hybrid car that also can do 0-60mph in about 6 or so seconds. "Pro" reviews seem to largely overlook the fact that the CLA250 is ground-breaking in this respect. The MSRP price of the CLA250 was the second best after the Acura ILX when compared to similarly equipped vehicles. We found that MB was the most willing to negotiate savings off the MSRP (during the Summer), though, and also gave the most for our trade. Acura and BMW wouldn't budge below 4% under MSRP, and that was on their loaner cars. Audi wasn't willing to go more than 6% under MSRP. MB was offering 10% off MSRP without even trying on any in stock brand new car. MB offered us at least $1000 more for the trade, too. The overall deal was clearly the best amongst these four cars. Overall, you just cant beat what Mercedes put together on the CLA250. It really comes down to preference, though. Some would rather sacrifice the premium for more sport. Some would rather sacrifice economy for more rear seat room. It really is in the eye of the beholder. For everything we valued, the CLA250 was the runaway winner, with no real close second. If we had to rank them, it would be MB CLA250 in front, followed by Acura ILX, BMW 228 and Audi A3. The Acura is perhaps the bang for your buck leader after the CLA250. If you can find the right dealer at the right time, you may be able to get a better deal on it versus the CLA250. BMW is the clear sport luxury leader, where the emphasis is on sport. The performance is outstanding for a vehicle in this class. Audi is dead last. It is not a very good vehicle at all. The console/cockpit is atrocious. That alone is enough to walk on by. The ride is bad, the economy is sub-par, and the list goes on. I would be happy to own the CLA250, ILX or 228, as they are all great vehicles in their own way. I would pass on the Audi A3.

A Brilliant Car! We love it, but not for everyone. . .

Upon my initial drive of CLA 250, the cabin was smaller and less traditional than any benz I had driven or rode in before, so much that the wife and I could not fall in complete love with it at first test drive. If you think of this as a sporty coupe, you will be fine. Need a roomy sedan? Look elsewhere. Proceeded to drive the A3, & BMW 320i. Truly liked each of these cars for different reasons, A3 was very fun to drive, lacked many standard comforts, VW ride 320i was a great, more solid traditional sedan, but short on innovation and a stingy w/ add ons. More same old. Drives great imo. The CLA resonated with us more after driving others in the price. We bought the CLA. Very pleased!

4 YEARS GOING STRONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my CLA in launch day Sept 2013 I am very happy with this car. Dont mind all the negative reviews, The car is phenomanally quick, the 7 speed is pretty quick on the highway. I would highly reccomend this car to anyone who wants a fun sporty car to drive. The ride is very smooth at high speeds and it handles like a 911 on steroids lol :) 20K Miles Black on Black 17 Inch Rims Pano/ P1/ LED Package

Fun, beautiful, unreliable, overpriced car

The 2014 Cla-250 is beautiful, great road handling, effective brakes. Lots of low end torque, surprisingly great hwy mileage. I get 35-42 MPG depending on how I drive. The interior and controls are well laid out. The car is fun to drive and behaves in an intuitive way. E.g.: if you open the door while the transmission is not in "park" the car will warn you and put the shifter in "park". Rather nice Harmann Kardon stereo (but no flac or hi-res content support), useless factory Gps (some off-brand German "Becker"). Small, (non touch operated) awkward looking display, no backup camera. Overall, the car interior is not nearly as nice as a higher end Benz model e.g. a c300. Dislikes: 1) Incessant premature front rotor wear and warping. I had mine replaced 2x under warranty because of pulsating brake pedal. The 3rd time they wanted a ton of money, I swapped it out myself to Brembo rotors and ceramic pads, Total out of pocket for parts: $250, then again and again... Over 100K miles on the car, and rotors are a definite trouble spot. I found this the most annoying problem with the car. I get only 10 to 20K miles out of a set of rotors, and I have to replace them because of excessive brake pedal pulsation. More of a problem in the front. It was manageable because I did the brake work myself, but if I had to take it the dealer, this alone woudl have been a budget buster. 2) Water pump failure, engine overheat. Covered under warranty. I have a strange rattle ever since the water pump was replaced. Sounds like they failed to put some engine mount bolt back, but refuse to deal with it. " What ? We cant hear nuthing". 3) Radar sensor failures (multiple) (Covered under warranty) 4) Speaker failure (Bose,rear left) Covered under warranty, but seriously? 5) Run flat tire sidewall bubble. Not covered under warranty, Swapped out the tires to non-run flats. 6) Recent bizarre window behavior: the one-touch window up feature stopped working. I have to hold the button to make the window go all the way up. Once it does, it rolls down about 1/4" all by itself. I have to make it go up again, and then it stays up. Oh btw, it was doing this for a couple of days, and now it is working again as it is supposed to: one touch take it all the way up, no roll down. 7) Strange auto-transmission behavior: every now and then I experience jerky shifting at low speeds. It does this a few times, then it works fine for months. 8) Soft paint, and OEM glass. Within the past year (exactly 1 year apart) I had to replace my windshield 2x. First time a small pebble caused a palm size spiderweb crack. Replaced w genuine MB branded windshield. A year later I was replacing a wiper blade and the arm slipped out of my hands and hit the windshield, causing a huge 12 inch crack. The autoglass place installed Pilkington glass this time which seems to be holding up. Exterior paint scratches super easy. 9) Annoying sqeaks and rattles, e.g.: the cup holder insert makes a sort of squeegee-ish noise. 10) The warranty is meh, and non-warranty dealer service is robbery-expensive. 11) The car likes high-octane fuel and runs noticeably worse with "regular" gasoline. Parts are on the expensive side. E.g.: a new (AGM) battery is $300. I finally killed the car, hit a tree head on. The car was totaled but I walked away from it, so the crash safety features are apparently good. Frontal collision at 40mph, and the front airbag did not deploy, it should have. Overall impression: For the money you spend, you buy a lot more car and less trouble, if you went with different Luxury brand, e.g. a Genesys. Lexus, or Infinity. I see no rational reason to get one of these, if you care about saving money at all... You pay a premium up front, and you pay a premium on maintenance. The clever marketing promises you will be perceived as more successful, and envied by everybody because you are driving a Benz. In reality you will likely not bask in the warm glow of the admiration of your peers, more likely you will see negative feelings from your fellow motorists. If you are well-off enough to not care about the poor price/value proposition and high maintenance cost, go for it, but then you may consider one of the higher end Benz models. like the C class. The "entry level Benz" concept does not make much sense to me. I did not replace my CLA with another Benz, although in 2020 the new A class seems like a better built car. The MB dealers seem to assume you are either rich, or want to appear rich, and you are willing top pay for that appearance. I ended up getting a Hyundai Kona Limited EV (Fully electric) , which is not nearly as much fun to drive but, so far trouble free (and mostly maintenance free).

Fantastic Car

Just got the CLA a couple of weeks ago - sticker price of 42K for the 4matic, premium package, multimedia package, driver assist, moon roof, light package, ..., jupiter red. Lots of features for that price. Car feels very luxurious and is fantastic to drive. Very fast and smooth, feels very secure to drive. Just love everything about it. Also is the first car where when I park it, I often get comments like "wow, awesome care". Definitely a head turner Definitely not a family care (or for people over 6 ft) - but still big enough to pickup the kids from time to time from school - for other family events we still have an SUV. Trunk in the CLA is surprisingly big and gas milage is great

Great Car

Fun to drive, love the car. The tires make the ride a little bit bumpy, but the rest of the car is great. Handles great and I love the power. It is a sports sedan so don't expect a roomy back seat even though at 6'1 I can sit in the back seat just fine. The gas mileage is better than the govt. ratings. I get 39 on the why and 33 in combined driving. I highly recommend this car.

Beautiful on the outside, junk on the inside!

We sold our beloved 2010 Toyota Camry SE V6 ( Awesome Car!) to purchase the CLA because of the design and what we thought was an upgrade and entry in to the luxury market. We received lots of compliments at stop lights and parking lots and such (felt good). Having owned the car for approximately 1.5 years, we started to get the not so good feeling of multiple trips to the dealer. It began with the rattles in the interior, the console, the driver side visor, airbag lights, electrical shortages etc. It was embarrassing to have my co-workers in the car with rattles coming from all parts of the interior. I would recommend purchasing the maintenance package, which we found to be a good value if you so decide to purchase this lawnmower of a car. The CLA is a poor performing car, sluggish acceleration and extremely noisy. Mercedes attempt to enter the Eco friendly engine world is less than refined in this farm tractor sounding engine. The CLA lacks character on the inside unless you upgrade to a higher package for a lot more money. Compared to less expensive compact brands ( Corolla, Honda Civic) the CLA's interior seems that it was made out of plastic milk jugs and lacks basic standard amenities such as back up camera. Why pay 30K to drive a Mercedes emblem? the annoyance with the car as well as the dealership experience became vile hate, where no one wanted to drive the car, instead opting to drive our other non luxury cars. Finally, we gave up and broke the lease took the 3K hit and leased a Lexus GS350 oh what a difference, even the ES 250 was a better driving car and you get luxury and finesse. In closing the CLA is a genuine junk and the Mercedes product manager who decided to enter this category, with this poor quality of a product should be taken out to pasture and put to sleep. Good riddance Mercedes CLA never again anything Mercedes.. Don't do it!

Beautiful Styling, Great Safety Features, Moderate Performance

My wife and I have owned many cars. This is the best looking of the entire lot. We opted for just about every safety and appearance feature, and we got terrific safety, and head-turning style. The engine, however, is the standard 208 horse turbo four, and that's where things get less spectacular. Rated acceleration is good on paper, but you can feel the tiny powerplant revving hard to yield reasonably brisk results. Compared to a 350E that I drove recently, the CLA feels like an underpowered toy. No surprise given the price difference. Handling is good. The feel is "light", but nonetheless stable and precise. A tiny gas tank requires frequent refills.Mileage is fair--with Econ mode OFF.

Mercedes-Benz hits a home run with the CLA

I got my CLA250 about 1.5 month ago and after driving it for about 1500 miles I absolutely love the car. The sticker price was $40,025 ($38,700 negotiated) with Premium/Multimedia/Sports packages, Bi-Xenon head lights with LED tail lights, and Panorama roof. I love the driving dynamics of the car and the fuel economy is amazing. Being able to choose between Econ, Sport, and Manual mode is a plus. The Stop/Go feature took a little getting use to but now it doesn't bother me. You can always turn that feature off if you want. I get a lot of looks and double takes when I'm driving around and people have even asked me about it. I got a set of winter tires/wheels so I can drive it all year round.

Sporty Glammobile

Awesome sporty look/feel without the sport car cost! Just right for a single, young Glammother with an occasional car seat riding passenger! Downgrade in size and other luxuries from my C300 but, great on looks and gas economy. Buying with Edmunds' incentives made the deal even better! The $200 gift card looks good in my "new to me" car!!!!

Thoughts after six months.

Purchased with 35k, and put 20k on in six months. Car is hands down the sportiest, best driving 4 cyl. vehicle I've driven. Turbo makes a big difference. Engine rumbles like a performance vehicle even at rest. Car is stiff and ride is not near as comfy as my cruiser class E350. There is a vibration at the seat belt adjuster on rougher roads. Paddle shifters make driving more fun and interactive. In sport mode car is lots of fun to drive. In economy mode still fun but geared lower. With supreme gas in economy mode I am getting 42 mpg on the freeway. I like the simpler trim on the CLA - less to chip or peel off (as in E350). Seats have dynamic lumbar support. Plenty of room in the back seat for two average sized passengers. Lots of headroom. Most of the complaints I have seen about this car strike me as written by people who have not taken the time to learn how to drive this car. It is a novel car with greater opportunity to control your driving experience than typical sedans. I'm a fan of the ride and I love the mileage! Biggest complaint - stiff ride. Biggest surprise - high speed performance.

Danger! Danger!

I bought my Red 2014 CLA 250 in November 2014. I loved it in spite of the fact that it was a low-end luxury vehicle that sounded like a tractor. I always have head turns and compliments. Now, not so much. A few weeks ago it just stopped on one of the major intersections. The warning said something like" "Inoperable, pull over when able and consult the owner's manual" If the traffic had been as busy as usual I could have been killed or seriously injured. I rolled across the intersection into a parking lot. Cut the car off and back on. It started back up like nothing had happened. I took the car into the dealership and was told that they had to update the software. What?! They gave me some additional "cockamamy" excuses but nothing that mattered to me. After the last tire rotation my car roars like a lion. The tech said that it will get better after driving a while or they can change the tires back. Really?

Red Ryder rides off into the Sunset

April 2019 The CLA is sold at the behest of my wife, for whom it was purchased. Price paid incl tax tag and $899 prepaid 4 year maintenance $35000 Sale to Carmax $15,500 they marked it up to $20,998. 27,000 miles, no other costs of ownership for 5 years. one battery (free) one dirty electrical plug repair (threw a cel) free. MB plan to wow us to buy a more expensive Benz: fail. Will never buy another. It's not that MB is bad, it's just every other car maker has upped their game, and provides more car for less money. Example: We bought a new Z06: $83k for a car that MB wants twice as much for, to provide the same performance. Der Preis ist zu Teuer. December 2018 I recently bought a new 2018 RAV4 Adventure on 20% clearance pricing. Cheap, yet it has sound deadening front windshield glass, passenger standing height chair seating, plenty of sound deadening material inside so the rear hatch does not sound like a bass drum, gearing which gives it zip for interstate passing, a real sunroof that opens/closes inside the roof, and, most importantly for crazy mean streets driving: it has a rearview camera, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance warning, blind spot monitoring, and reversing sonar warning for idjits that pay no attention to your reverse lights. It is quieter than the CLA250, music sounds better. It has AWD with locking center differential for real 4wd capability. The RAV4 has a port injection motor, which cleans the valves in the engine; the CLA250 has a direct injection (DI) motor, which does NOT clean the valves in the engine. DI will start degrading performance due to crud buildup on the back of the valves starting around 60,000 miles (out of warranty), and it is expensive to clean the valves by the dealer. The RAV4 is not as sporty handling as the CLA, but I now have a C7 Vette replacing the C6 Z06 for the twisty bits anyhow. The RAV4 is simply a better car than the CLA, and cheaper. Fit and Finish from this Canadian built Toyota is better than the Hungarian built CLA250. The CLA gets better real mileage, 33 mpg vice 25 mpg for the RAV4 (a heavier car with full-time AWD.) The CLA will soldier on, it is my wife's car, but even she prefers the RAV4 for our many trips between FL and Va. Sorry MB, you rested too long on ancient laurels. Ratings moved from Outstanding to average for the CLA 250; I've now seen better for less money. Didn't intend to diss the CLA, but Edmunds asked me to update my review. June 2018. Took me four years to realize the rear seats folded, more convenience, ha ha. December 2017 Had some laps this period, 2 one thousand mile in a day trips round-tripping between va and fl. Big Red, its stablemate, (a Tundra which only gets 14-15 mpg) was not needed for hauling so we used the CLA. 37 mpg whoo hoo! scoots along i95 at 77mph just a sippin that gas. no scheduled or unexpected service visits. I see the car is still dissed by the press. I won't pretend my words will change anyone's opinion. But a smart feller might look through the press fog of FUD and see a bargain in a used CLA 250, especially with the MB extended used car warranty and maintenance deal! We are keeping ours. June 2017 It's a Benz, as reliable as all the other 3 pointed stars our family has owned since 1962. It is the only Benz i've ever wanted to take to a track and toss it around. Just feels like a go-kart, close to the road and one with it. We love it! Cons: Turbo lag causes slingshot effect. push the accelerator, nothing, then thuwack! color me gone. Tire of having to switch off the auto engine turnoff feature at stoplights. Just another form of lag from a start. Manual hood strut is really chintzy on a $30K+ car. Proximity sensor too sensitive - Goes off too often when I am driving - My wife says "what was that?" I say it is just the car bitching at my driving. I don't need both a wife and a car criticizing my driving! Ate a battery after 1.5 years, replaced with free MB roadside assistance under warranty. Have to turn off the auto wipers...in Fort Lauderdale you get a coating on the car from a combination of sea air and near 100% humidity. At night when it gets cooler you get condensation on the car, which the sensor interprets as rain and activates the wipers: big streaks of goo on the windshield until you use the washers to clean. And whats up with that screen? It is like Mercedes engineers said "Ve haf to have a screen like all other cars, but ve don't know vat to do with it!" I get more information from the DIC between the instrument pods. Radio is a PIA to program or even search/scan for HD stations. Missing? Rearview camera which was only a part of an expensive upgrade option in 2014. But it's a small car so no expanse of sheet metal unseen without a camera. Are these game changing complaints? No, these are simply nits I'm picking in a near perfect car for us.

I no longer own any MBZ!!

Is not comfortable for large people! Car llines and looks are spectacular, looking more like a high priced high performance car. I have had more positive comments regarding the look of this car than car I have have ever owned! Best Buy for your buck!! Thanks

cla 250 4matic

bought the car in march and put 10,000 miles to date. the car is fun to drive, love the looks and the attention you get while driving it. we have had zero problem to date. The ride is smooth on the high way but little firm on rough pavement. I have driven the Porsche 911 and I am not comparing to two but I love driving the CLA much more than 2013 Porsche 911. its just seam to have a sportier feel on the road than the 911. it does not have a lot of room in the back for people 6ft but it is still comfortable. must get the sport body style with moon roof. I rate this car a 10. would highly recommend this car to any one. Wish there was a convertible CLA so I get one

Great buy-looks, and it's a Benz

Just picked up a CLA-250. Only $33,500 including freight. Great performance, a comfortable ride, and unbelievable mpg. I'm getting 35 mpg on the highway and 25 mpg around town. Driving on the interstate, people just stare at the car. Imagine heated seats, auto air, auto wipers, a deluxe sound system, seats that look/feel like leather without the extra cost. There is no high engine sound at 75 mph as some expert reviews claim. Who could believe a car that looks/feels like $50,000 to $60,000 for only $33,500. I love my Benz.

Hyped

Lags on low gears... salesman says "it's normal for a turbo small engine.." I've been driving volvo for over a decade now and never had a lad on their small engine. Test drove this CLA 2.0 and i had to stop on U-turn because could not get into gear... normal? Pretty dangerous if it lags like it is. You figure...

Excellent Car, exceeds my expectations!

I bought this car last week with about a 46k sticker price, fully loaded. I absolutely love the car. Great ride, handling, and overall a solid car. This car has exceeded my expectations. Interior quality is above par, the lighting both inside and outside is sophisticated. Very quick for a 4 cyl. The only thing I am getting used to is the ECO start stop feature, and the fact that I seem to be getting about 22mpg city right now, but have been told it just needs to break in first. Anybody who seems to review this car in a negative way is just holding standards too high. I mean, the car does start at 30k, so what do you expect....its clearly not an 85k car. But I couldn't be happier.

Wouldn't buy again!

Base model FWD with 57K miles made from Miami to Anchorage AK in December. After about a week, I was warming it up and cleaning snow and I've noticed how MB is moving back and forward while parked, about 2 inch. Scary symptoms if dealers' charging $180 for diagnostics. Okay. After about 3 weeks, the clear coat started pealing (rear bumper first, them roof and sides). Car looked like crap. A month and 1/2 later, the window won't go all the way up and stayed open about 1 inch. It fixed itself later (you can push it up with your bare hands). In February (2-nd month in Alaska), the check engine light came off! I took it to a dealer (there's only one dealer in Alaska) and they told me that "it's going to be around $1,500 to remove the light". I can remove the light with black electric tape, this is how I removed it in my E320. Snow gets in the engine , since there is no engine cover in the middle and you can loose your O2 sensor. Dealer said, he can tell me the problem after I pay $180. Idle was okay (not O2 obviously), gas cap? There are a few ways to clear Check Engine light but I was tired of dealer's bs. Decided not to buy another Mercedes younger than myself. Dealer knows about weather issues. Mercedes probably didn't test it in cold hangar. Advice? I don't have it for you because you will buy it regardless.

Regret!!!!

I bought this car when I was 25,(the car was 3 years old at the time), and recently had driven/owned other brands before. This by far has the crappiest quality of any car I have financed. The interior sometimes rattles from who knows where, the Harman Kardon speakers need replacing again, I don’t even play music THAT loud, and the 18” run flat tires on their thin profile make for a harsh ride! The transmission is jerky at times and frustrating and the car is slow af in its regular economy mode, but yet in sport, while it is fast, just doesn’t seem consistent. The eco start/stop feature stopped working at 50k miles and started working again once the battery got replaced...at only 4 years old. Sigh

Cla 250 is My Dream Car!

This car is perfect if you love riding in style! I bought my cla 250 used with 98,000 miles on it for a reasonable price. I get compliments everywhere I go even though the car is four years old! The previous owner kept the car in great shape! no damage to the body or interior. The rims could be replaced but other then that it drives perfect. The only down fall to me is that it doesn't seem like its good on gas. Seems like I'm filling up my tank every 4 to 5 days. Also the sensors seem to be out of wack.. It will say my tires need air but my tires are usually fine. The traction sensor will go off from time to time and its loud and distracting, but these are the only issues I'm having so far and I've had the car for 3 months. Overall I love this car and dont regret purchasing it!

Little Mr. Reliable

I’ve had this car since new. Great little car and worth every penny.

good looks are not everything

not worth this bottom of the line Mercedes I traded it for a 2016 Honda Touring, know this is a real ride Comfort all the way!!!!!!!

MB CLA250 AWD