2027 Mercedes-Benz CLA EV Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The 2027 Mercedes-Benz CLA gives off a high-tech and modern vibe even before drivers get behind the wheel. The illuminated star-pattern grille sparkles with 142 individually illuminated stars and performs an animated welcome sequence when the driver walks up to the vehicle. Some may think it gauche, but we thought it was more fun and futuristic than tacky. Unfortunately, anyone who doesn't like the exterior will probably hate the interior. It's a swath of screens that extends halfway across the dashboard, and opting for the so-called Superscreen adds an extra 14 inches of screen that covers the dash in front of the passenger.

Look beyond the modernity and the screens, and there's a well-appointed and well-finished vehicle that befits the Mercedes moniker. From the etched aluminum or real wood accents to the solid metal touch points for the gearshift, air vents, and seat adjustments, the quality of the materials can be seen as well as felt. Our test vehicle had the AMG Line package, which added red and black sport seats with impeccable stitching, attractive brushed metal sport pedals, and silver dash vent trim, all of which scrub up an already attractive interior.

Though the CLA is Mercedes’ entry-level model, there is a lot of room for customization with nine wheel options, nine color options for the seats, six options for trim accents, and various feature packages, all of which make it feel more special than its price tag would imply. We also like that the CLA goes beyond the boring gray, black, and white exterior options with a couple of vibrant paints: Sky Blue metallic and MANUFAKTUR Patagonia Red metallic.

One of the best things about an EV is the instantaneous torque, and while the CLA 250+ specs may not look all that impressive on paper at 268 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque, there's a nice burst of immediate speed when depressing the accelerator to aid with highway merges or passing maneuvers. We didn’t feel the need for extra power, though if we’d done a back-to-back with the 349-hp CLA 350 4Matic, we might have a different opinion. The CLA 350 4Matic adds a front motor for all-wheel drive (AWD), while the 250+ has a single motor and rear-wheel drive (RWD).

Both the 250 and 350 variants are equipped with an 85-kilowatt-hour battery pack and an 800-volt electrical architecture. This means both are designed for high-speed DC fast charging and can accept charging speeds up to 320 kilowatts. The EPA rates the CLA 250+ at up to 374 miles of range, and the CLA 350 4Matic at up to 312 miles. However, EPA range varies based on wheel size. With 19-inch wheels, our test car was rated at 317 miles, for example.

Our real-world testing, however, far exceeded that rating, as we drove 192 miles and still had about 200 miles of indicated range left when we arrived at our destination—and we weren’t driving at a consistent 55 mph, either. Speed limits on our route averaged 70 mph, so we went with the flow of traffic and averaged between 70 mph and 80 mph for most of the drive.

In another real-world note, we’d like to point out that when we charged up at a Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging station on our road trip, we did not get anywhere near the promised 320 kW charging speed, even though the charge station said it could deliver up to 400 kW. The maximum speed was 165 kW, and it took us 27 minutes to go from 48% to 99% state of charge. When we plugged into a regular wall jack in our home garage, it took two and a half days to go from 50% to 100%.

We did plenty of urban driving in our test vehicle as well as seven hours at highway speeds during our road trip. Overall, we found this RWD compact sedan nimble in tight spaces and very comfortable for the long highway drive. It absorbed the worst of the road’s imperfections fairly well, but we found the cabin could be a bit noisy at highway speeds. It wasn’t something we noticed particularly while listening to music or podcasts, but we did find ourselves speaking a little louder during phone calls. And after a prolonged time on the highway, the increased silence was noticeable after exiting onto surface streets.

The CLA’s coupe-like styling and low-slung design mean the word practicality has to be considered within its compact-car status. As an EV, it has both a conventional trunk and a front trunk or frunk, but the latter is only suited to small items such as a charging cord, and at 10.3 cubic feet, the trunk is tiny even for the compact car class. The good news, however, is that unlike the rival Lexus ES EV, the rear seats fold flat to create greater load flexibility for larger items.

We liked the interior storage spaces, including the open space under the console between the driver and the passenger seats, which is great for storing things like a small purse or a carton of eggs after grocery shopping. Plus, the bottle holders in the door are actually large enough to hold an 18-ounce bottle, which is helpful because putting one of those in the cup holders can block the touchscreen. Speaking of, we’ll touch on this more in the tech section, but we wish there were more buttons and dials or other ways to control the touchscreen other than actually touching it.

The CLA 250+ is technically a five-passenger vehicle, but we’d say it’s better suited to four, and the two in the back should not be tall because of the sharply raked roofline. The driving position is highly adjustable, and small- to average-sized drivers will find the space comfortable, but taller or larger drivers might feel a little cramped.

The dual charging port situation that houses both a North American Charging Standard port for DC fast charging as well as a J1772 port for Level 1 and Level 2 AC at-home and public charging is also helpful.

The 2027 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250+ is packed with standard tech, including wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and an MBUX infotainment system with built-in Google Maps, a selfie camera, facial recognition, and multiple USB-C ports. Optional tech features we appreciated included the four-color head-up display complete with map directions and the Burmester surround sound system. We also liked the optional wireless charger that consistently charged our phone for three hours while using CarPlay without overheating it.

The CLA was the first vehicle in the Mercedes-Benz lineup to get the new fourth-generation MBUX interface, and in many ways it’s easier to use and more intuitive than before, with easy access to common functions. It moves between CarPlay or Auto and the native MBUX interface with one tap, and most of the icons are big enough to touch while driving without being distracting.

We loved the Google Maps integration, which accounts for charging needs, traffic, topography, and temperature when route planning. To allay range anxiety, it also provides a conservative representation of how much battery will be left when drivers arrive at their destination. On one leg of our road trip, it said we would have a 45% charge upon arrival, and we got there with 50% remaining. On the other leg, it said we would arrive with 47%, and we got there with 49%. It's worth noting that the Google navigation is only free for seven years.

The one thing we miss with this new generation of MBUX is the ability to operate the center screen via controls on the steering wheel. This made fast-forwarding through a podcast or switching from CarPlay to the maps easier, and for the OCD among us, it also kept fingerprints off the screen. Now, the only way to interact with the screen is to touch it. Mercedes offers a premium touchscreen cleaning cloth for $30.

Because we didn’t have a front passenger for most of our driving, our test vehicle’s optional Superscreen was largely lost on us. When we did have a front passenger for one of our short city drives, he initially scoffed at it. Then, much to his delight but our dismay, he quickly discovered he could control the radio through the screen and assumed command of the music choices. That’s a downside Mercedes’ engineers apparently didn’t consider.

One final wow tech feature is the available Sky Control roof, which changes the transparency of the standard fixed panoramic glass. In addition to a simple clear versus opaque, it offers standard and customizable patterned combinations. Like everything else, it’s controlled through the central touchscreen.

Anything beyond basic safety features such as automatic emergency braking is often an option on an entry-level German luxury vehicle, so we were pleased to see that adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, evasive-steer assist, and blind-spot monitors are standard on the 2027 Mercedes-Benz CLA EV.

Available safety tech includes parking sensors, dash cams, parallel- and perpendicular-park assist, active LED headlights, a head-up display, a surround-view camera system, and lane-change assist. The one safety feature we thought was odd as an option was the rear-seat side-impact airbags.

Our test vehicle came in the Pinnacle trim, so had all the safety goodies. While we, thankfully, didn’t need to test things like automatic emergency braking, we took advantage of the high-definition surround-view camera system when backing into our tight city garage, and played around with the park-assist functionality. While the former was truly helpful, the latter is more of a gimmick for anyone who parallel parks on the regular. It’s a little slow and requires the driver to use the brakes rather than having the system steer and brake, but we could see how this feature would be helpful for someone who just barely passed the parallel parking test on their driver exam and has never parallel parked since.

At the time of writing, neither the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) nor the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had published safety ratings for the current CLA.

We have to admit, when we looked at the starting price of the 2027 CLA 250+, we experienced a bit of sticker shock—in a good way, because for a Mercedes-Benz and an EV, we expected a higher price. With a starting price of $49,400, it costs slightly less than the new Lexus ES EV ($51,200), and significantly less than the BMW i4 ($59,250). While the ES has more interior and cargo space, and the i4 more power, the CLA has a lot going for it, including a high level of standard features, interesting technology, and more range than either the ES or the i4.

Even with pricey options such as the Pinnacle trim, Burmester sound system, Sky Control roof, and bougie MANUFACTUR Alpine Gray paint, our test vehicle topped out at $63,880, which still feels like a pretty good deal. A comparably equipped i4 would cost upwards of $68,000.

We’d probably forgo some of the pricier options, including the MANUFAKTUR paint, but we would shell out for the Sky Blue metallic paint, and piecemeal the options. Namely, we’d add the Exclusive trim for the dual-zone automatic climate controls, the Winter Package for the heated steering wheel, and the MB.Drive Parking Assist for the surround-view camera system, which would take the price to $54,220. With standard 17-inch wheels, buyers would also get up to 374 miles of EPA-rated range, which would likely be far higher in real life if our test is anything to go by.