New Mercedes CLA 2025 preview: pricing and specs for electric exec with nearly 500-mile range

The all-new Mercedes CLA with EQ Technology is among the most important new electric cars being launched in 2025. That’s because this cutting-edge, super-sleek executive saloon boasts a simply enormous range of up to 484 miles and it’s available to order now with prices starting from £45,615. 

Perhaps most importantly, it’s the entry-level Mercedes CLA 250+ with EQ Technology that offers nearly 500 miles of range, which is literally miles and miles ahead of the competition, namely the BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3. It does this not only by using a big 85kWh battery pack, but also a highly efficient e-motor set-up and ultra-slick aerodynamics that make the most of all the energy being stored within it. 

That’s all well and good, but we recently discovered that Mercedes hasn’t fitted the electric CLA with the 400-volt DC inverter needed to use the majority of rapid chargers in the UK. Meaning that if you’re caught short on the road and need to top up the battery, you’ll have to find a charger that uses 800V technology, of which there are very few in this country.

The important bit, though, is that Mercedes won’t be leaving its ICE customers behind, because it’ll also sell combustion-powered variants of the CLA alongside the EV, and apart from an open grille, these look exactly the same. We’ll get more information on these new petrol-powered models in a few months, but for now the EQ versions are in the limelight.

Specs and prices

If that doesn’t deter you, the CLA 250+ with EQ Technology is the only version on offer for now, but there are three specifications to choose from: Sport Edition, AMG Line Edition and AMG Line Premium Edition.

Standard equipment includes a 14-inch central touchscreen, 10.25-inch driver’s display, panoramic glass roof, an illuminated ‘iconic’ grille, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, an energy-saving heat pump, heated front seats and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The CLA even comes with facial recognition technology that allows drivers to easily access their unique profile for the car, plus plenty of advanced driver assistance tech and Mercedes ‘Guard 360-degree’ vehicle protection system. 

AMG Line Edition models cost from £49,375 and come with a sportier bodykit, pop-out door handles, keyless go, sports seats, Nappa leather steering wheel, upgraded headlights, ambient lighting and wireless device charging. Opting for AMG Line Premium Edition ups the starting price to £51,770, and adds 19-inch rims, ‘Multibeam’ matrix LED headlights with adaptive highbeam function and the ‘Night Package’, which is really just tinted rear windows.

Importantly, Mercedes isn’t forcing its customers to go electric, because it’ll also sell hybrid variants of the CLA very soon, featuring a brand-new highly efficient powertrain. Apart from an open grille, the ICE and EV versions of the CLA look exactly the same. We’ll get more information on the new petrol-powered models soon.

What powertrain options and performance can we expect?

In time, the CLA with EQ Technology will be offered with a choice of either single or dual-motor setups, and a smaller 58kWh battery that will lower the price but will naturally mean less range.

The CLA 250+ kicks off the line-up, with its single rear-mounted e-motor producing 268bhp that’ll get it from 0-62mph in just 6.7 seconds and onto a 130mph top speed. Above this will sit the CLA 350 that will add an additional e-motor to the front axle, therefore making it all-wheel drive. Power will rise to 348bhp as well, which should cut the 0-62mph time down to 4.9 seconds.

Both versions have a two-speed transmission on the rear motor, like the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT, and this will help to deliver punchier acceleration at low speeds and more effortless cruising at high speeds. 

Auto Express has yet to get behind the wheel of the new CLA with EQ Technology, however we were fortunate enough to go for a passenger ride in a late-stage prototype. Based on our time riding shotgun, the Merc seems more comfortable than the Polestar 2, and easily as quiet and refined as a Tesla Model 3. 

Specifics about the hybrid variants are still thin on the ground, but we do know they’ll feature a new, highly compact 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine matched to a 48V mild-hybrid system that uses an e-motor integrated directly into the car’s eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Front and all-wheel drive versions will be offered, with three different power outputs, too.

Mercedes says it opted for a four-cylinder motor rather than a naturally more compact three-cylinder unit for the superior refinement, and also added more covers and foam to further reduce noise. Meanwhile the e-motor will allow for pure-electric driving at low speeds and zero-emissions coasting up to 62mph.

What do we know about the efficiency and running costs? 

The CLA 250+ has been making headlines with its huge range of between 461 and 484 miles, depending on the exact specification. The all-wheel-drive, dual-motor CLA350 model will come with the same 85kWh battery pack, and range figures should reach up to 478 miles.

The CLA is able to achieve these figures thanks to a range of technical innovations, starting with the inclusion of an 800V electrical system for the first time in a Mercedes. As well as packaging in lighter and more compact hardware, it also allows for super-fast 320kW charging, which theoretically is capable of adding up to 200 miles in just 10 minutes. But as mentioned, that’s only if you locate an ultra-rapid charger that uses 800V technology. 

Mercedes is also quoting very impressive efficiency ratings for the motors, ranging between 4.4 and 5.1mi/kWh, which is helped by a relatively sensible 2,050kg kerb weight and that slippery body. The complex design is an efficient one with a coefficient of drag that’s best in class at 0.21. This comes as no surprise considering Merc’s expertise in aero management, and with the new CLA’s mandate of being the brand’s most efficient EV, it was also essential to reach those challenging range targets. A heat pump is also standard across the range. 

What is the exterior and interior design like?

All this new technology has been packaged in a body that doesn’t look quite as revolutionary as you might expect. Mercedes tried a ‘shock and awe’ design strategy with the EQS and EQE EVs, but was faced with something of a backlash. This time it’s aiming for a ‘hidden in plain sight’ approach, with this new EV taking the form of a more familiar CLA saloon. 

Though fans of the current CLA will be happy to see the new model’s look is a natural evolution from the previous model, but there are lots of new design details that we’ll also see across Merc’s future products. The swooping roofline, sleek windows and frameless doors all draw from previous CLA models, although everything sits a little higher on this new car, due to a thick floor designed to contain the batteries. Mercedes has tried to hide this with the use of black sills, but on most AMG Line cars the designers have added a chrome sill strip, which reverses this effect.

For all this, it’s the new CLA’s lighting that will grab more attention. This includes a complex front lighting arrangement that sees the main headlight units connected by a lightbar stretching across the car’s nose.  

It’s not a single unbroken light as you’ll find on some new cars, rather it’s split into three pieces and joined at either end by two three-pointed star motifs that also act as the car’s daytime running lights and indicators. 

Below that is a gloss black grille insert peppered with tiny three-pointed stars and a much larger one in the centre. All of those individual stars are illuminated and can show things such as the charge status. These sit above more familiar Mercedes design elements such as fake intakes and plastic strakes. The models in these pictures are the AMG Line version, which will almost certainly be the most popular option in the UK, but a less sporty base trim will be available, too.

The rear end also draws lots from the previous CLA, but with more three-pointed star motifs inside the now-connected rear lamps. In place of a standard light bar there’s a row of notches that stretch right across the bootlid. AMG Line models add a small rear lip spoiler, but there are no fake exhaust outlets. Wheel sizes vary between 17 and 19-inches, and most feature some level of aero optimisation that help eke out extra range.

The cabin, on the other hand, is completely new and diverges from the current generation by offering an even more digital experience. Dominating the whole cabin is what looks like one huge pane of glass, which houses a driver’s display, the main touchscreen and an optional passenger screen. It’s so big that there’s not much room for many design flourishes, but there are a few touches, such as the round illuminated outer air vents and door cards. 

What do we know about the infotainment system? 

The infotainment system is brand new, and there’s a lot of it. Starting with the driver’s display, it still runs on a 10.25-inch screen and is controlled through a new and slightly simplified set of controls on the steering wheel. These are haptic, but there are significantly less of them now, making the steering wheel easier to navigate.  

The main 14-inch touchscreen is the more dramatic new arrival, because not only is it big, but it also houses a brand-new operating system. Now called MB OS, the system looks similar to that used in larger Mercedes models, but the whole thing is now much more responsive and can be updated through over-the-air updates.

Its navigation system is much smarter than before and uses Google intelligence to add in further search functions and more accurate traffic and weather information. Mercedes will also offer the option of a second 14-inch passenger screen with the same interface, but the screen is visible from the driver’s seat and doesn’t offer any picture-obscuring tech.

The ‘zero-layer’ system is still in place, with most main controls available on the home screen including a section at the base for climate functions with a few shortcut tiles in the centre. For deeper functionality there is a comprehensive menu system, including embedded apps Tesla-style that have Spotify, Apple Music or any podcast apps placed right into the system. We’ll have to wait to use it while on the road to get a sense of whether it feels like a step in the right direction in terms of usability, but it felt responsive and fairly easy to get your head around at first glance.

How practical is the Mercedes CLA and how big is the boot space?

Fitting the CLA’s sleek body over a package designed to fit batteries under the floor has been a tricky exercise, though, leading to some strange proportions. The result is that while the new cabin looks similar to the last car’s, it feels quite different thanks to a high floor. Merc’s engineers have tried to salvage some headroom over the previous generation with a little less of an inward curve to the windows, so there’s more space for three passengers across the back seat – but there’s not a huge amount of legroom, although the floor is flat. However, there is a glass roof fitted as standard, helping keep the cabin light.

The boot is a reasonable size at 405 litres and there is some underfloor storage, but there’s another very useful 101 litres under the bonnet, with the frunk both weathertight and carpeted. This makes for a particularly useful space to keep the charge cable without getting anything in the main boot dirty.

What safety tech does the Mercedes CLA have?

Like all new Mercedes models, there’s a proverbial kitchen sink of driver assistance and passive safety tech on the new CLA including MB.Drive assist that brings with it level 2 autonomous driving functions. This includes a lane change function, but an optional MB.Drive Plus system will integrate automatic overtaking in later models. 

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