Who is this MB CLA EV for?

[SergeyIndy]

I am interested in opinions of current or previous MB owners, who is this ugly and slow thing for. I thought it was pretty obvious that no one wants EV sedans, but here you go, and do not get me started on the interior design. The front literally tells you without words, I am just very ugly and unhappy. And the rear, is even worse with that all the way red light bar, saying we liked the old Kia/Hyundai. But wait a minute, those are now looking really good and modern, I bought my son a great looking Hyundai Sonata for $31k that is AWD with NA engine and it looks much more premium than this.

Dual wireless phone charger slots now is the center of attention design element.

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[Flying ace]

it's for Toyota Corolla owners whom want a premium EV. Toyota won't make one...

 

[Der-Schwabe]

I am interested in opinions of current or previous MB owners, who is this ugly and slow thing for. I thought it was pretty obvious that no one wants EV sedans, but here you go, and do not get me started on the interior design. The front literally tells you without words, I am just very ugly and unhappy. And the rear, is even worse with that all the way red light bar, saying we liked the old Kia/Hyundai. But wait a minute, those are now looking really good and modern, I bought my son a great looking Hyundai Sonata for $31k that is AWD with NA engine and it looks much more premium than this.

Dual wireless phone charger slots now is the center of attention design element.

Are you sure that "it was pretty obvious that no one wants EV sedans"? Reason I say that is that at present the very model is selling pretty well in Europe.

"According to Automotive News Europe, Mercedes-Benz sold so many CLAs in such a short period that it lifted the premium compact sales by a significant 13% over the same period in 2025. To put things into perspective, the model contributed to 22% of premium compact car sales in Europe. With 59,709 unit sales from January to February 2026, the segment had overtaken large premium SUV and midsize car sales on the continent."

https://www.autoblog.com/news/merce...s-it-takes-over-europes-compact-luxury-market

https://www.autonews.com/mercedes-benz/ane-compact-premium-segment-analysis-2026-0408/#:~:text=Mercedes-Benz has re-energized the compact premium segment,sedan and committing to replace the A-Class

 

[chun]

Sedans are loved in europe.

Cheap sedans? Even more so.

This is a cheap NEW sedan.

As for the interior, car ethusiasts hate it. But most people buying these cars seem to love it, otherwise mercedes would stop doing it - big unintrerupted display, very responsive and competent/capable software + mercedes quality level of materials and trim.

 

[SergeyIndy]

Makes sense. Sedans are loved in Europe. I guess as long as it is cheap then the ugly does not matter.

I was looking for a sedan in the US and you have to know what you are doing, as all now is small displacement turbos, that are unreliable with CVTs, and then top that with hybrid only choices - what a mess the market at least in the US has become. I thought I would just find what used to be bread and butter sedan powertrains, but I was wrong, so super thrilled to get my son really awesome looking Sonata with NA engine, 8-speed transmission, and then AWD was a huge bonus with just the right amount of tech.

 

[TehPenguin]

Makes sense. Sedans are loved in Europe. I guess as long as it is cheap then the ugly does not matter.

Ugly is a matter of perspective. Exterior design is one of the reasons that I choose an e-tron GT over a Taycan, just not a fan of Porsche's "everything is a 911" styling. I know a lot of folks love it, and certainly the Taycan is out selling the GT.

Mercedes is still chasing the Chinese market as well, where the rounder exterior design and tech-stuffed interior do well. When you compare the Audi Concept C or the VW ID.Every1 to the AUDI E5 you can see that VAG has realized that a single design language doesn't work in both markets and so is trying to split it's portfolio to cater to both.

 

[Vercingetorix]

It’s for countries that don’t know what good cars should like.

 

[SergeyIndy]

Ugly is a matter of perspective. Exterior design is one of the reasons that I choose an e-tron GT over a Taycan, just not a fan of Porsche's "everything is a 911" styling. I know a lot of folks love it, and certainly the Taycan is out selling the GT.

Mercedes is still chasing the Chinese market as well, where the rounder exterior design and tech-stuffed interior do well. When you compare the Audi Concept C or the VW ID.Every1 to the AUDI E5 you can see that VAG has realized that a single design language doesn't work in both markets and so is trying to split it's portfolio to cater to both.

e-tron GT is a looker and has been, but the latest Audi S5 is the ugly of next level (chunky all red bar with a thick chrome stripe and skinny chrome pipes, you gotta be kidding me, the 90s are back!) and seem to copy the CLA EV. You might be right, China dictates the exterior design. Not sure who in the US would look at this and say, this looks good in 2026 as a 2026 model that is also the sportiest kind.

This angle even worse:

 

[gnr3312]

The all new electric C class is a much better looking sedan. https://www.motortrend.com/news/first-look-2027-mercedes-benz-c-class-ev

 

[TehPenguin]

e-tron GT is a looker and has been, but the latest Audi S5 is the ugly of next level (chunky all red bar with a thick chrome stripe and skinny chrome pipes, you gotta be kidding me, the 90s are back!) and seem to copy the CLA EV. You might be right, China dictates the exterior design. Not sure who in the US would look at this and say, this looks good in 2026 as a 2026 model that is also the sportiest kind.

Yeah, the new A5 (and, to a lesser extent, A6) are both misses for Audi's design. They tried to pull it back with the RS5, but there's a reason that the lead designer for those cars is no longer at Audi and the new lead designer has been trying to make a splash with the Concept C and saying that big screens everywhere suck. That interview is a good read to understand how VAG is thinking about the future of their design - look at the ID.3 Neo, the exterior looks like a Golf and the interior is simple but filled with nice materials and physical buttons. There's a recognition that folks buy German cars because of German engineering and design ascetics and that trying to out-Chinese the Chinese will never work, from that interview:

> Solid visual simplicity is a very German thing. I mention the way other German cars have become more ornate in a fruitless attempt to sell more in China. "I'm glad you say Germanic. Audi is global but by nature German, it's part of the identity. When brands try to appeal to everyone they lose the essence of what they are."

 

[SergeyIndy]

The all new electric C class is a much better looking sedan. https://www.motortrend.com/news/first-look-2027-mercedes-benz-c-class-ev

My point is that it is ugly. These are press shots, but my first post is how it really looks.

 

[gamueller]

My point is that it is ugly.

It's the maw that really puts it over the top.

 

[kern417]

i mentioned in other threads that we have almost no Taycans (or even Panameras) here, but the only thing competing with BMWs is MBs. They are everywhere and while i'm not a fan, the EVs are popping up more and more.

I said the same thing when they started selling the A-class here because i thought it was so ugly and awkward looking, but it is doing well. I'd expect this to do the same. I've learned a lot of people don't put that much thought into how the exterior of a car looks when buying it, other than maybe the color.

 

[Der-Schwabe]

The all new electric C class is a much better looking sedan. https://www.motortrend.com/news/first-look-2027-mercedes-benz-c-class-ev

I was quite surprised that there are some similarities between the new electric C Class and the Taycan (1.2). Let me also say that the C Class competes in a different segment and primarily against the "Neue Klasse" BMW i3, not the Taycan. But looking at the spec sheet, these two are reasonably close.

The new electric C Class is 4.88 meters long, the Taycan is 4.96 meters long. The "C" in the Class stands for "Compact". I think we'd be stretching the term "compact" for anything that is 4.88 meters long. Be that as it may.

" Under the fresh bodywork are a whole lot of features that will be fresh to the C-Class. Airmatic air suspension will be an option; it lowers the car in Sport mode, but also for highway driving to improve efficiency. (...) The air suspension comes as part of the Agility & Comfort package that also includes rear-wheel steering, which allows for up to 4.5 degrees of rear-wheel steering angle, bringing the turning radius down to 36.7 feet—similar to a Honda Civic. The rear wheels can also turn with the fronts up to 2.5 degrees, to aid stability at high speeds."

And I did a double-take on this feature: a 2-speed transmission!

" The C400 4Matic has two electric motors, one on each axle for all-wheel drive, that supply a combined output of 482 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Mercedes claims a 0-60 miles-per-hour time of just 3.9 seconds, and a top speed of 130 mph. One wrinkle in this dual-motor setup is that the rear uses a two-speed transmission; first gear is for low-speed efficiency and better acceleration, while second gear provides more efficient highway cruising. Shifting is always done automatically, and how it operates is tied to the drive mode. (...) A 94-kilowatt-hour battery pack is fitted, and according to the optimistic WLTP rating, supplies a range of 473 miles. (EPA-estimated range is not available yet, but expect it to be lower.) Charging the C-Class Electric, which uses 800-volt technology, should prove rapid, thanks to a peak charging power of 330 kilowatts. Mercedes claims you can gain 202 miles of range from just 10 minutes on a charger—again, using WLTP range ratings. (...) Mercedes says the screen setup is powered by a water-cooled high-performance supercomputer and graphics by Unity Game Engine. It has fourth-generation MBUX software that makes use of AI from ChatGPT 4.o, Google Gemini, and Microsoft’s Bing, depending on what’s being asked of it. "

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a71055107/2027-mercedes-benz-c-class-electric-reveal/

Considering (according to the Motortrend article) that the C400 4 Matic version may be offered at a price tag of $ 67,000...the competition is hotting up...

Here is a good review (dubbed in English):

 

[SergeyIndy]

^ All of this is expected but not the ugly exterior with useless embellishments and double down on more screen designs (3 varieties) at least for the US market. I can only assume this goes really well in China, so maybe the next screen is the entire interior surface of the roof to project whatever.

Hard to believe with all the screen overload, some focus group said, we do not have enough, just make the front from side to side ALL screen and call it a day!

I would like to find out from anyone understanding MB brand, who is this for in the US? Small, ugly, wall to wall screens, giant dual wireless phone chargers, and a sedan, to drive where? We live in a community with a lot of seniors who love MB, but I just cannot see them getting into this and say, well that's nice and easy to use to go to a dog grooming appointment.

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