The 2027 Mercedes-Benz CLA Hybrid Isn’t as Good as the EV

Powertrain problems

Mercedes says you can tool around at city speeds solely under electric power, but driving through Austria’s many quaint little ski towns, the gas engine is eager to kick in. There’s no dedicated EV mode to lock the CLA into electric driving; you have to use a light touch on the throttle. In practice, the CLA only wants to behave like an EV under about 5 mph. Not ideal.

What’s worse, the handoff between electric power and gas assist is rough and abrupt. When the 1.5-liter turbo engine fires up, total system output increases to 208 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. But the CLA 220 isn’t exactly quick. Mercedes estimates a 0-to-60-mph time of 7.1 seconds, which is half a second slower than a Honda Civic hybrid. Efficiency estimates are still TBD, and while I do expect the CLA hybrid to return decent fuel economy, I doubt it’ll be able to match the aforementioned Civic’s impressive 49 mpg combined.

The eight-speed dual-clutch transmission could also stand to be refined. Across the CLA hybrid’s Eco, Comfort and Sport drive settings, gear changes are jerky and ill-timed; the transmission will abruptly upshift when you’re trying to make the most of the engine’s power, but then hold a gear and hang out at 4,000 rpm for extended periods of time for seemingly no reason. Want to shift gears yourself? OK, just don’t expect traditional steering wheel-mounted paddles. Instead, you toggle the column gear selector fore and aft, which is mega awkward.