ArcaMax

It's a little weird that Mercedes is selling subcompact front-wheel-drive sedans with four-cylinder engines. Those attributes used to describe economy cars.

But the Mercedes CLA 250 -- which is FWD and comes standard with a small four-cylinder engine -- does not come with an economy car's price tag.

It is, however, available with the most powerful four-cylinder engine ever put into a production car.

What It Is

The CLA is Mercedes' smallest, lowest-priced sedan -- starting at $44,400 for the CLA250. It is also the first FWD Mercedes sedan, a major departure from the rear-wheel-drive-based layout of every other Mercedes vehicle.

Opting for the optional all-wheel-drive system (Mercedes calls it 4Matic) raises the sticker price to $46,400.

Both of these iterations of the CLA250 come standard with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, paired up with a mild-hybrid system that is chiefly there to power the vehicle's accessories (such as the air conditioning) when the engine is cycled off to reduce fuel consumption when the car isn't moving, or coasting/decelerating.

The result is highway mileage approaching 40 mpg -- making it the most fuel-efficient vehicle in Mercedes' U.S. model lineup.

But that's not what makes this Mercedes so unusual. Other luxury-car brands such as Audi and Lexus also sell small, FWD-based sedans with small four-cylinder engines, such as the A3 and ES250, respectively.

What raises one's eyebrows is how much more power Mercedes offers out of its small four-cylinder engine.

The $56,100 CLA 35 has the same-sized 2.0-liter four cylinder as the CLA 250, but instead of 221 horsepower -- already strong for the class -- the output increases to 302 horsepower.

As impressive as that it is -- coming from just 2.0 liters and four cylinders -- there's more, from the same.

The $65,400 CLA 45 S also comes standard with a 2.0-liter four -- but this version makes 416 horsepower. And that makes it the most powerful 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine currently available in a production car.

What's New for 2025

The CLA Class carries over into the new model year essentially the same as last year, with a few minor trim/color option changes.

What's Good

-- CLA 45 S is a kind of pocket battleship on wheels: small -- with big guns.

-- Standard CLA 250 is a small luxury car that delivers almost economy-car gas mileage.

-- Though small (and FWD) like many economy cars, it doesn't look like an economy car.

What's Not So Good

-- Much more expensive to start than other small, entry-luxury sedans like the Audi A3 and the Lexus ES250.

-- Backseat leg- and headroom are much less than up front due to compact dimensions and sloping roofline.

-- Tiny (11.6-cubic-foot) trunk.

Under the Hood

Every version of the CLA comes with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, which makes it a lot like a lot of other vehicles currently on the market -- including non-luxury vehicles that also have 2.0-liter fours.

In the CLA 250, the 2.0-liter engine produces 221 horsepower -- significantly more power than you get out of the Audi A3's standard 2.0-liter four, which makes 201 horsepower. The Mercedes also uses very little gas for a luxury car. The standard FWD version rates 26 mpg city, 36 mpg highway -- which for some perspective is nearly as good as the 31 mpg city, 40 mpg highway you'd get out of a Honda Civic sedan, which is almost exactly the same size and also comes standard with a 2.0-liter four.

The CLA 35 comes standard with a higher-performance version of the same 2.0-liter four, with higher boost pressure and related upgrades that increase the engine's output to 302 horsepower.

4Matic AWD is standard.

But the really big news -- as Ed Sullivan said a long time ago -- is the version of the 2.0-liter four that comes standard in the CLA 45 S. It makes an astounding 416 horsepower, enough to get this little Benz to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.

On the Road

This is not a subtle car -- and you'll know it the first time you hear it. At first, you might think someone crawled under the thing overnight with a Sawzall and made off with the catalytic converter. Then you remember you left it in Sport Plus mode -- which results in sounds like that erupting from the quad exhaust tips out back.

Good sounds.

And good feels too.

The CLA 45 S is -- in concept -- a lot like the Admiral Graf Spee, the famous pocket battleship of World War II. The ship was much smaller than a battleship but carried battleship-sized guns. The idea was to create something more powerful than anything its own size that could outrun anything with guns its own size.

That's what you've got here, on four wheels.

Though this is a FWD-based car, Mercedes' 4Matic system (standard with the CLA 45 S) is unusual in that it is capable of sending all the engine's power to the rear wheels, to simulate the driving feel of a rear-drive car.

The CLA 45 S's 4Matic system also has a driver-selectable drift mode that allows tail-out powerslides. The suspension, brakes and cooling system are upgraded to complement all this, of course.

At the Curb

While there is big-car space up front -- including almost 42 inches of driver and front-seat-passenger legroom and nearly 39 inches of headroom for both -- more than the space available up front in a Mercedes E-Class sedan -- the backseats are really tight for both legs and heads. Legroom is just 32.9 inches -- and headroom goes down to 35.7 inches, the latter due to the car's sexy, sloping roofline.

There's also not much space in the 11.6-cubic-foot trunk. On the other hand, there are backseats that can make up for the space you don't have available in the trunk.

Provided no one's sitting back there.

The Rest

This non-AMG CLA's chief negative isn't so much that it's FWD but that it is really expensive for a small, front-drive sedan -- even if it has the big Mercedes star in its grille. The generally similar Audi A3 stickers for $35,800 to start -- nearly $10,000 less than the base trim CLA 250 lists for.

On the other hand, there is literally nothing else like the CLA 45 S -- and that's hard to put a price on.

The Bottom Line

The Graf Spee will be remembered for scaring the crap out of the entire Royal Navy. This little Benz with big guns is a lot like that.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

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