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New Mercedes-Benz CLA is the longest-range electric car EVER!
Mercedes-Benz releases an all-new CLA, boasting a record-breaking electric range of almost 500 miles and a stunning interior
Words by: Mark Nichol
Published on 14 March 2025 | 0 min read
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the brand new CLA, in doing so bringing us the longest-range production electric car in the world. Yep, when it arrives towards the end of this year, the CLA 250+ will have a claimed battery range of 492 miles, meaning Mercedes takes the range record from itself, because the Mercedes EQS 450+ is currently the longest-range EV on sale, with 481 miles.
Even more impressive, Mercedes hasn’t achieved this by just whacking an apartment-sized battery pack under the floor and redesigning the CLA as a monster truck. The 85kWh battery is significantly smaller than the 118kWh unit in the EQS. It will be less than half the price of the EQS too; the CLA range is expected to start somewhere close to £40,000, whereas an EQS450+ will cost you in excess of £110,000.
Even more impressive, Mercedes hasn’t achieved this by just whacking an apartment-sized battery pack under the floor and redesigning the CLA as a monster truck. The 85kWh battery is significantly smaller than the 118kWh unit in the EQS. It will be less than half the price of the EQS too; the CLA range is expected to start somewhere close to £40,000, whereas an EQS450+ will cost you in excess of £110,000.
Five is the magic number. Five miles per kWh, specifically. That’s how much efficiency Mercedes claims you can extract from the CLA’s battery, at very least. If true that’s an amazing achievement, and basically the equivalent of getting a petrol engine to do 100mpg in real life.
It’s taken a whole lot of effort to get the electric CLA to a battery range that should comfortably get the car from York to London and back again without having to charge. The closed front grille (complete with 142 illuminated Mercedes emblems, called the “radiant face”) helps make the car more slippery than Dr Richard Kimble in The Fugitive. For the same reason, the alloy wheels are flat so they don’t disrupt the air flowing across the sides of the car.
It’s taken a whole lot of effort to get the electric CLA to a battery range that should comfortably get the car from York to London and back again without having to charge. The closed front grille (complete with 142 illuminated Mercedes emblems, called the “radiant face”) helps make the car more slippery than Dr Richard Kimble in The Fugitive. For the same reason, the alloy wheels are flat so they don’t disrupt the air flowing across the sides of the car.
The electric motor itself is an all-new unit, designed to be as light and efficient as possible and linked to a two-speed gearbox. That itself is unusual. The vast majority of EVs have a one-speed transmission, and to date only the Porsche Taycan, the (related) Audi e-tron GT and the Lotus Eletre have a two-speed unit. All of those are, of course, very high-priced, high-performance EVs. The aim of the gearbox in the CLA is efficiency, allowing it to use less ‘leccy at motorway speed.
A new heat pump has been developed for the car too, which comes as standard and uses around a third of the energy of an average EV heat pump.
A new heat pump has been developed for the car too, which comes as standard and uses around a third of the energy of an average EV heat pump.
The new CLA isn’t electric-only, though. And nor is the 250+ the only electric version. A 350+ model will have an additional electric motor and four-wheel drive, good for 349 horsepower and a 0-62mph time lower than five seconds. Amazingly, it’s still set to post a 478-mile WLTP range, because one of its party tricks is the ability to disengage the second motor when it’s not in use, improving efficiency. The CLA 250+ has 268 horsepower and does the 62mph job in 6.7 seconds.
A version with a smaller battery will come in 2026, aimed at lowering the entry price and with a range of a mere 300 miles. But like the bigger-batteried model, it will charge up at a maximum 320kW speed – that’s seven times the max rate of a Nissan Leaf, for context.
A version with a smaller battery will come in 2026, aimed at lowering the entry price and with a range of a mere 300 miles. But like the bigger-batteried model, it will charge up at a maximum 320kW speed – that’s seven times the max rate of a Nissan Leaf, for context.
A trio of petrol models will be available too, all mild hybrids linking a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine to a small electric motor. No electric-only mileage is quoted, but instead these versions will be able to coast at up to 62mph for reasonable distances without the petrol engine running. As a result, they should return 50-60mpg efficiency.
Of course, there’s a whole new car surrounding all this fuel-efficiency technology. And although it stays with the same basic formula of the old CLA – it’s still a ‘coupe’ of sorts, but with four doors – the interior in particular has moved MILES forward.
Of course, there’s a whole new car surrounding all this fuel-efficiency technology. And although it stays with the same basic formula of the old CLA – it’s still a ‘coupe’ of sorts, but with four doors – the interior in particular has moved MILES forward.
The new CLA’s cabin is dominated by the latest version of the Mercedes ‘Superscreen”, stretching the width of the cabin and allowing passengers to watch Netflix, play games, and ask stupid questions to AI. It’s not standard, sadly, but all versions use the newest Mercedes-Benz operating system called, predictably, ‘MB.OS’. It should be far more intuitive than its current, slightly clunky system.
All cars get the high-set, twin-level centre console, which brings plenty of storage while making the driver and front passenger feel cocooned. And on storage, the CLA has never been a particularly spacious car, and that remains the case. It’s a little longer and wider this time around, so rear legroom should be improved, but boot space goes down, from 460 litres to 405. The electric ones get a 101-litre frunk though.
All cars get the high-set, twin-level centre console, which brings plenty of storage while making the driver and front passenger feel cocooned. And on storage, the CLA has never been a particularly spacious car, and that remains the case. It’s a little longer and wider this time around, so rear legroom should be improved, but boot space goes down, from 460 litres to 405. The electric ones get a 101-litre frunk though.
There won’t any separation between the electric and the petrol versions of the CLA either, which is a new orthodoxy for Mercedes; currently, Mercedes treats its EQ electric models as separate, so there’s an S-Class and an EQS, an E-Class and an EQC, and so on. They're roughly the same size, but they feel very distinct. The CLA represents a shift in that sense. Plus “Mercedes-Benz EQCLA” sounds a bit clunky, right?
You’ll be able to buy a new CLA before 2025 is done. A shooting Brake estate will arrive in 2026 too, probably a couple of grand more expensive than the regular CLA like-for-like
You’ll be able to buy a new CLA before 2025 is done. A shooting Brake estate will arrive in 2026 too, probably a couple of grand more expensive than the regular CLA like-for-like
