Mercedes Benz India has started accepting bookings for its CLA sedan which would be launched on 22nd January 2015. The Prospect buyers can book CLA sedan at Mercedes dealership across India at the token amount of Rs. 2 lakh. Mercedes CLA sedan is a most important car for Mercedes as it is the least priced offering by the German giant in India and Mercedes will assemble it locally at the Chakan plant in Pune, Maharashtra to keep it cost competitive against it chief competitor Audi A3 sedan.
Mercedes CLA sedan will become the third vehicle after A and B class to get front wheel drive architecture in the country and it will be positioned below recently launched new C class. Mercedes will launch CLA sedan in both petrol and diesel engines- Diesel trim christened as CLA 200 CDI and Petrol named as CLA 200.
Mercedes CLA 200 CDI will be powered to a 2.2L four cylinder diesel engine producing 134bhp power@3600-4000rpm and peak torque of 300Nm@1600-3000rpm, paired to a seven speed dual clutch transmission. This engine can achieve 0-100 km in just 9.8 seconds with the top speed of 220 km/hr and it has efficient fuel economy of 17.4 km/l (ARAI certified).
CLA 200 on the other hand gets 2.0L turbocharged petrol engine that offers 181bhp power@5500rpm and 300Nm peak torque@1200-1400rpm. This four cylinder petrol engine is also mated to 7 speed dual clutch automatic gearbox and it is ted quicker than the diesel one which can sprint 100 km mark in 7.8 seconds with the electronically limited speed of 235 km/hr and fuel efficiency of 15.04 km/l.
Mercedes CLA sedan borrows design cues from both A class and CLS coupe; front fascia looks similar to A class and overall profile a bit like a Mercedes four door coupe CLS. CLA sedan gets Bi-xenon headlights with DRLs and neat LED tail lights which makes overall profile of CLA dazzling.
On the inside CLA has very similar dashboard like Merc’s A class with Sporty gauges and dual tone wide dashboard. CLA is equipped with top-quality material and premium seats, touchscreen display with command system and navigation. Apart from interior and exterior features CLA gets various safety features like 7 airbags, anti-skid system and many more features to ensure maximum safety to the occupants.
Mercedes might launch CLA sedan around 30-35 lakh price bracket in order to go head to head with Audi A3 sedan which starts at 22.95 lakhs and go up to 32.66 lakhs.
