FEATURE
The Mercedes CLA Begins to Appear in This Teaser: What Can We Expect?
Mercedes-Benz offered an early glimpse of the next CLA through a teaser released ahead of the car’s planned world premiere at CES 2019. The model was expected to become the next addition to the renewed compact-car family following the A-Class hatchback and A-Class Sedan.
A familiar four-door coupé shape
The teaser revealed part of the CLA’s side profile. Its roof appeared to follow a smooth curve from the front pillar toward the rear, preserving the four-door coupé character of the preceding model.
Although the image concealed most exterior details, the overall silhouette suggested that Mercedes intended to evolve the established CLA design rather than abandon it.
Why Mercedes chose CES
Mercedes planned to present the CLA at the Consumer Electronics Show to highlight its technology, particularly the MBUX infotainment system introduced with the A-Class.
MBUX was promoted as an intelligent interface capable of learning a user’s habits and preferences. Its emphasis on artificial intelligence made CES a fitting venue for the CLA’s debut. Further appearances at major international motor shows were expected afterward.
Expected engines
At the time of the teaser, Mercedes had not published a complete engine range. Likely options included CLA 200 and CLA 250 gasoline variants, alongside one or more diesel models.
The article anticipated the following possibilities:
- CLA 200: a gasoline version expected to produce approximately 163 hp.
- CLA 250: a more powerful gasoline model expected to offer around 225 hp.
- Diesel variants: possible CLA 200 d and CLA 220 d versions.
These specifications were expectations based on the wider compact Mercedes range rather than confirmed details from the teaser.
AMG versions expected later
Performance derivatives were also anticipated, including Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 and CLA 45 models. These higher-performance versions were expected to arrive after the standard CLA range rather than at the initial unveiling.