New Mercedes CLA EV Starts At £45,615, Does 484 Miles

A new small electric car isn’t often a huge cause of excitement here at Car Throttle Towers, but we sat up and took notice when the new Mercedes CLA was unveiled a couple of months ago. That’s because it packed an official range figure that made it the longest-range EV available in Britain.

Now we know how much all that sweet, sweet range will cost – from £45,615. We can’t quite believe we’ve reached a point where we’re commending that for being decent value for a small family car, but next to the other long-range electric champions, like the Polestar 3, Audi A6 E-Tron and Merc’s own EQS, it’s a rather impressive price-to-range ratio.

That £45,615 figure gets you the entry-level CLA250+ with EQ Technology Sport Edition (seriously, that’s its real name). If you want a bit more kit, you’ll need the £49,375 AMG Line Edition or £51,770 AMG Line Premium Edition.

It’s the basic car you’ll need for peak range, though, with an official figure of 484 miles. That’s a little down from the originally announced 492 miles, but still enough to dislodge the EQS as Britain’s longest-range EV, and to make a real-world 400-plus miles on a charge a seemingly very real possibility.

That’s predominantly down to a new nickel manganese cobalt (or NMC, as journalists will forever refer to it with no context in future reviews) battery. The 85kWh pack, Mercedes says, is more energy dense than conventional packs and also reduces emissions from its production by about 30 per cent. 320kW charging capabilities should add a touch over 200 miles in 10 minutes, too.

There’s also a two-speed gearbox on the CLA to help efficiency, similar to that seen on the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT. The first gear is designed for low-speed and towing use, while the second kicks in to improve efficiency at motorway speeds.

Go for the 250+, and you’ll have 268bhp and 247lb ft on tap, allowing the CLA to crack 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds.

Not bad, but if you want more, there’s the dual-motor 350 with 256bhp and 380lb ft of torque. Mercedes says that’ll do 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds, although will see total range drop to 479 miles. More to the point, only the single-motor 250 has been confirmed for the UK market so far.

Good news if you really want a new Mercedes CLA but don’t want an electric one, though. A hybrid version is set to arrive later with a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder linked up to a tiny 1.3kWh battery pack. It’ll also look practically identical to the EV, according to Mercedes.

That means no matter your choice of powertrain, you’ll have 142 LED stars in a grille to flex on everyone passing you by. Why 142 specifically? We don’t know why, we just know that’s what it is.

Inside, the new Mercedes CLA is the first car to get the manufacturer’s new MBUX infotainment system with *sighs at notes* AI integration. This’ll work across a 14-inch central screen and 10.25-inch driver’s display.

Available to order in the UK now, deliveries are set for Q3 this year.