2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA EV Sets a New Standard for Small Luxury EVs

To date, we have driven the new CLA three times, beginning in Copenhagen for the first media drive. Then we took the CLA EV on an exclusive Edmunds EV Range Test, where the entry-level CLA 250+ traveled 434 miles on a single charge, effortlessly beating the EPA’s estimate of 374 miles. We also just got our first spin in the gas-powered CLA 220 hybrid (it bows for the 2027 model year). But we jumped at the chance to get back into the CLA EV during the U.S. press launch in San Francisco. It gave us the opportunity to talk shop with Mercedes product experts, who shed new light on all aspects of the small sedan, including the new MB.Drive Assist Pro suite of driving aids.

The mean streets of San Francisco

The drive route was simple: Start at my hotel within walking distance of the Ferry Building, travel north across the Golden Gate Bridge, hook east across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge once I hit San Quentin, and head south until I crossed the Bay Bridge and returned. All in all, it was a shortish one-hour loop that nevertheless revealed a lot about the car. 

Full disclosure: It’s been over a decade, but I remember everything about the first-generation CLA that Edmunds bought. The memory of a stiff ride — a combination of the sporty suspension tune and low-profile tires — loomed large enough that when I crossed into a Pacific Heights construction zone in the new CLA, I braced for impact.

There was no need. The CLA EV traversed the torn-up pavement effortlessly. I felt the suspension working below me and the body jostling slightly, but the sharp punches to the spine that I expected were absent. On regular roads and highways, the CLA absolutely glides over small imperfections. After two generations of refinement, the CLA now exhibits the comfortable, controlled ride characteristic of other, more expensive Mercedes models. It’s also quiet. Aside from some buffeting during a particularly windy crossing over the Golden Gate, the serene interior illustrated how well insulated the CLA EV is from road noise.