The compact
luxury car segment is gaining momentum. First it was Audi which launched A3
sedan in India and now Mercedes Benz is planning to launch CLA sedan in India
which will be the most affordable sedan in Merc’s line up. Earlier this year
Mercedes had launched a performance oriented CLA 45 AMG which is priced around
70 lakh.
The CLA sedan
without AMG is likely to be priced around Rs. 40 lakh for petrol and Rs. 42-43
lakh for diesel. Mercedes CLA is based on MFA platform which is front wheel
drive and underpins the A Class, B Class, GLA, GLA 45 AMG and CLA 45 AMG. The
CLA sedan will take on Audi A3 in Indian market.
Mercedes Benz
CLA sedan will not be as spacious and practical as that of its elder sibling C
and E Class. The strength of CLA sedan will be its design with coupe like
roofline and low slung stance making it a very attractive looking car. In fact
the designers have focussed on young buyers who look for beauty than
practicality. Mercedes plans to localise all vehicles based on MFA platform and
hopefully this will bring down the costs of Mercedes cars in India.
The CLA sedan is powered by a 2.2 liter diesel and 2.0 liter
petrol engine. The diesel engine makes 135 Bhp and 30.5 Kgm of torque while its
petrol counterpart does 181 Bhp and 30.59 Kg of torque. Both engines are
coupled to a seven speed dual clutch automatic transmission sending power to
front wheels. Both these engines have been used in Mercedes GLA compact SUV as
well.
