2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA hybrid review: Australian first drive

We all know we’re living in the age of the SUV, but if anyone is making sure sedans don’t disappear off the face of the Earth, it’s Mercedes-Benz.

It has just launched the new CLA four-door coupe in Australia in mild-hybrid form, with an electric version due in July and a sleek shooting brake to follow later this year.

It also rides on a new, more comfort-focused platform, and features high-tech infotainment and an upgraded interior.

This CLA, the first new model in seven years, makes a very compelling case for why passenger cars should be back in fashion.

As a compact car, the CLA is one of the more affordable members of Mercedes-Benz’s portfolio.

The hybrid comes in three flavours: an entry-level 180, mid-spec 200, and flagship 220.

The electric version will add two more grades: a base 200 electric and a higher-spec 350 electric.

Pricing for the hybrid 180 starts at $66,500 before on-road costs, rising to $68,100 for the 200 and $84,300 for the 220.

As standard, the model includes features such as a 14-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, a 10.25-inch instrument display, and a wireless phone charger.

It also features heated front seats with four-way adjustable lumbar support, ambient lighting, a fixed panoramic sunroof, front and rear parking sensors, and a 360-degree camera.

The 180 shares 18‑inch AMG five-spoke glossy black wheels with the 200, but has an ‘Artico’ synthetic leather-look upholstery with Anthracite trim elements, compared with the latter’s Artico and microfibre seats with carbon‑grain aluminium interior accents.

The 200 adds AMG Line exterior styling, floor mats, and sports seats as standard, as well as tri-zone climate control, a nappa leather steering wheel, and a lower ride height, to name but a few.

The 220 is the all-singing-all-dancing version, riding on 19-inch five-twin-spoke wheels, and comes with additional features such as Multibeam LED headlights with adaptive high-beam, a 14-inch front passenger display, a 16-speaker Burmester 3D surround-sound system, rear privacy glass, and more.

A Premium Package can be added to the 200 for $1800, which includes things such as a head-up display, the high-tech LEDs, the top-notch Burmester audio, and the 14-inch passenger screen.

The 200 can also have the 19-inch wheels for an extra $1200, and two special Manufaktur paint colours cost between $500 and $650, depending on the variant.

There’s a lot that’s new about the CLA, inside, outside, and underneath, but the design will largely feel quite familiar. At launch, we only had the opportunity to test the top-spec 220, so keep that in mind as you read on.

It’s still a compact coupe, but it’s bigger than before. It’s 43mm longer, 25mm wider, and 17mm taller. Perhaps most importantly, though, its wheelbase has grown by 61mm, creating more room inside. It also fits new headlights and wheels.

As well as a GT-inspired rear end, it also takes design cues from other family members, such as frameless doors, retractable door handles, and a higher centre console from the EQE and EQS models, all of which making their debut in the compact class.

Its illuminated front grille surround is a highlight, while its enormous panoramic roof, which blocks 99.9 per cent of UV rays, is impressive as well.

The laminated glass is designed to protect the interior from sun damage and overheating, but it still lets in a lot of light, which is good, because otherwise it would feel too dark with all the black and grey upholstery. Except on a very grey Melbourne day, in which case you could forget there was a sunroof at all.

The centre console revamp is well executed. It helps the cabin feel more sporty while still providing some space underneath to store small items, offering practicality. There’s also a thin elastic strap, which would be useful for holding things down to stop them rolling around.

Aside from this, though, there’s not much useful space in the front, with limited room in the doors for more than a slim bottle.

Overall, the space is quite good, with decent leg room and head room in the front and back, and the boot is larger than the 405 litres suggests. 

The seats are very comfortable, offering good support, but they are not overly bolstered, and the microfibre material is lovely and soft.

Button fans – yes, they are out there, and if you’re one of them, I’m with you – will rejoice in knowing Mercedes has reintroduced some physical controls back into the CLA after customer feedback suggested people were unhappy.

The haptic touch strip in the centre is gone, as are the turbine air vents. In their place are some more discreet individual buttons, as well as a rocker on the steering wheel to access cruise control and a roller for the volume.

One of the CLA’s big headlines is its new in-house-developed infotainment operating system.

The interior now features one massive, long glass panel broken up into three separate screens. In the 220, or, if added via the Premium Package to the 200, this includes the 14-inch passenger display alongside the 14-inch main screen and the 10.25-inch driver’s cluster.

The scale of it is impressive, but I’m not sure I like the look. And although a passenger display can be useful, not being able to access any video or game apps while on the move kind of feels like it defeats the purpose. 

That means catching a TV show or movie on Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime or YouTube, even as a passenger, can only be done while the car is parked. 

I understand the logic behind this, as these things can distract the driver, but dual-view technology has been around for a while now and certainly isn’t outside Mercedes’ wheelhouse.

Aside from this very First World Problem, the infotainment system works very well. It’s simple to use, quick and bright.

You can also customise the colours, profiles and even the sound experience to your taste. And it can use facial recognition to detect who’s driving and set it all to their profile accordingly. This feature, however, doesn’t play any role in locking or unlocking the vehicle or starting it.

Given the hype around the new operating system integrating Google and Microsoft AI, I expected a bit more in terms of capabilities.

The CLA is the first car to incorporate Google AI within its Google Maps-based satellite navigation.

However, full Google Gemini AI, just rolled out in Volvo’s cars, for example, is more impressive because you can use it to ask questions you’d normally search in your browser.

This doesn’t feel much more advanced than Merc’s voice command was before, because it is ‘Automotive AI’, therefore limited.

You can ask it to find you a restaurant nearby, and it will tell you what’s available, how many stars it has on Google, and why. But if you asked it, for example, ‘what should I wear today?’, it wouldn’t tell you, it would just direct you to what the weather is like.

It is activated by saying the words ‘Hey Mercedes…’ as previously, and it takes a very long time to think about its answer, if indeed it can offer one at all. So much so, you’ll think it has given up.

My favourite feature has to be the 16-speaker Burmester sound system, which is exquisite. It’s incredibly clever, too, using sensors to detect which seats occupants are sitting in and directing sound to those seats accordingly.

It has four ‘Worlds’ (or six in the EV grades), offering different ways of experiencing sound. I like ‘Intense’ the most because it feels the most complete and immersive.

The 48-volt mild-hybrid tech has made a tangible difference to the CLA’s fuel economy, helping this beautiful coupe to live on in a world of tightening emissions standards.

In fairness, the prior fuel use wasn’t exactly sky-high at between 6.7 and 7.3 litres per 100 kilometres, but it’s now better. The front-wheel-drive 180 and 200 are claimed to sip just 5.4L/100km, while the all-wheel-drive 220’s claim is a little higher at 5.8L/100km.

At launch, I found the CLA220 used between 5.9L and 6.5L/100km, but conditions were wet, and the route included a mix of freeways and twisty country roads, with a lot of time spent in Sport mode, so you could easily do better in everyday driving.

What is quite impressive is how often you can drive the CLA on electric power only. Unlike some mild-hybrid systems, which only allow you to use electric at very low speeds or with almost no throttle input, you can use up to 22kW before the engine kicks in, including up to 100km/h. 

For instance, it’s available from a standstill or on the go if you’ve come off the accelerator for a short time but maintained a relatively high speed.

As you would probably expect of a Mercedes-Benz, the CLA doesn’t disappoint when it comes to safety.

The electric CLA has been recognised as the best-performing vehicle in the 2025 Euro NCAP tests, achieving a five-star rating and the highest overall results across all categories.

The safety body said the results were “a testament to Merc’s long-standing commitment to safety”.

Additionally, for the first time in the compact segment, a centre airbag is fitted as standard, deploying between the driver and front passenger in the event of a severe side impact.

The CLA ticks all the usual boxes: front and rear parking sensors, a 360‑degree camera, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, traffic-sign recognition, and more.

More importantly, it does most of its hard work without ever making a peep.

Sure, the lane-departure warning lets you know you’re straying by vibrating the wheel to give you a telling off, but the lane-keep assist seamlessly slips you back in without making a big fuss.

The only slight smudge on its perfect record is that the traffic sign recognition regularly gets the speed limit wrong. However, I’m yet to find a car that nails it 100 per cent of the time.

Powering the new hybrid CLA is a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor integrated into the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which drives the front wheels in the 180 and 200, and all four wheels in the 220.

It replaces the 1.3-litre turbo-four in the previous 200, and the 2.0-litre in the old 250.

Mild-hybrid assistance is provided by the motor and a 1.3kWh battery.

It’s light on its feet and swifter than its relatively low power outputs might suggest. From a standstill, there’s a slight hesitancy while the turbo takes a second to wake up and kick the engine into action, but once it’s going, it’s confident in its stride.

The 180 offers 100kW/200Nm, the 200 a touch more with 120kW/250Nm, and the 220 has 140kW/300Nm. All that shakes out to a 0–100km/h sprint time of between 7.1 and 8.8 seconds and an engine note that evokes pleasure without feeling overbaked.

The CLA has steel-sprung comfort suspension, featuring a newly developed three-link front axle with forged aluminium components for reduced weight and enhanced rigidity.

It’s a concept typically found in larger Mercedes models, but the brand has introduced it to the compact class to help the CLA not only handle beautifully but also offer a more comfortable ride, as it was previously known for being quite firm.

Despite the suspension being lowered by 15mm, as is standard in the 200 and 220 to create a sportier driving experience, the ride is still very good, with large and small impacts dealt with easily, even in Sport mode.

The CLA is deft at gliding through corners, aided by a relatively petite frame with just enough body flexibility to allow a little movement and some very intuitive steering.

The latter is a little lighter than anticipated in Comfort mode, presumably for ease of parking and navigating city streets in day-to-day life, but sharpens in Sport, helping the driver feel more connected to the road for those cruisy weekend jaunts.

Grip from the skinny Bridgestone Turanza tyres is excellent, even in the wet, but the rumble kicked up by the rubber from the road is fairly invasive, even in the cabin, which is otherwise well protected from all the noises of the outside world.

Hot tip – whack up the top-notch Burmester and you’ll never hear it.

The new Mercedes-Benz CLA hybrid offers the perfect balance of comfort and sportiness, making it a joy to cruise around town in or take out for a blast out into the country once in a while.

I’d normally err towards an electric version for the instant burst of torque and near silence, but in this case the hybrid is very tempting as it provides the best of both worlds – low fuel and a satisfying performance soundtrack that isn’t pretending to be something it’s not.

The car is more fuel-efficient than before and offers more space, and it’s hard to look past the fact that it earned the highest marks in safety testing of any car put through the wringer by Euro NCAP last year.

It’s sporty not just in its driving manners but in its design too. Mercedes has kept coupes going in an SUV world, not just the super-expensive ones most people can’t afford. That is a good thing. 

Now, where’s that shooting brake?

A born-and-bred newshound, after graduating from a Bachelor of Journalism at the University of Kent, Kathryn worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two award-winning regional newspapers, before joining the UK's biggest newspaper, The Sun. More recently, she has served as News Editor for Wheels, MOTOR, Street Machine, and 4x4 Australia magazines, and is one of only a few women to have served as a Wheels Car of the Year judge. Winner of the Newspress award for Scoop of the Year in 2025, Kathryn is best known at Drive for her powerful investigative feature writing, although she can also be found putting new cars through their paces and breaking news.

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