Mercedes Cla 2025: preview, autonomy, batteries

First official appearance on the Austrian snow for the Mercedes Cla 2025, destined to be the new gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand. The evidence on board the still camouflaged car is from the passenger seat, with the dashboard “secreted” by a large black sheet. A taste of next year’s most anticipated model, designed on the new MMA platform – Mercedes-Benz Modular ArchitectureMercedes-Benz modular architecture – basis of all future compact electric Mercedes. We start from the Top Mountain Museum, just rebuilt after the fire, to climb along the alpine route of the Passo del Rombo, which with its 60 hairpin bends is the highest mountain pass road in the eastern Alps.

coming soon

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The freezing wind and intermittent snowfall give no respite. The Austrian ski resort of Hochgurgl is located at 2,150 meters above sea level: on the road leading to the Timmelsjoch Pass, usually closed for the winter but opened especially for us, temperatures dropped below -10 degrees. We enjoy all the shades of white of this landscape stained only by the brilliant red of the new Cla, still camouflaged, brought to these mountains to reveal all its potential to us in preview. Arriving in early 2025, it will be the first of a future family of cars designed to set new standards in terms of autonomy, efficiency and charging speed. And thanks to the new platform, it will be possible to choose between an advanced electric transmission and a high-tech electrified combustion engine.

mercedes cla 2025, electric and hybrid

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The top of the range model electric four-wheel drive, Mercedes-Benz Cla 4Matic with EQ technology, is equipped with a 272 horsepower engine on the rear axle and another 110 horsepower on the front, with a total power of approximately 375 HP, and a battery pack of 85 kWh. This electric engine will be joined by one that will do without the front engine, will mount a smaller 58 kWh battery and will consequently have a lower list price. There will also be a version with a combustion engine hybrid Newly developed high-tech with 48V technology, developed by Mercedes in collaboration with Geely and produced in China, but designed entirely in Stuttgart. An engine that satisfies those who are not ready for Full electricand pairs a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a small electric motor in the gearbox, promising “diesel levels of efficiency”.

mercedes cla 2025, passenger test

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The top-of-the-range electric Mercedes-Benz Cla that accompanies us on this excursion through the snow has excellent roadholding even on the iciest hairpin bends, with brilliant but very fluid acceleration, without jerks. Even by pressing on the accelerator at low speeds, the car does not skid and maintains its trajectory, overcoming the long straight that climbs up to the Passo del Rombo with unexpected speed. The person in charge of the project destined to act as our “driver” points out to us how it is possible to avoid mechanical braking, using only the engine, to proceed with a smooth and gradual recovery and very relaxed driving despite the type of route to be tackled. This electric version of the new Cla integrates the technology of the Eqxx concept into series production, with the new generation electric drive unit developed by Mercedes-Benz specifically to guarantee high performance and efficiency. The 4Matic version of the model we are on, thanks to intelligent traction management that simulates the effectiveness of the classic Mercedes center differential, guarantees excellent control and stability of the car at all times even in these truly prohibitive weather conditions.

digital ecosystem

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The new MB.OS operating system will also debut on this third generation of Mercedes Cla, which will change the way you “dialogue” with the car, transforming it into the most intelligent car ever built by the Mercedes-Benz company. For example, the MB.OS system will include the Mbux virtual assistant, equipped with artificial intelligence, improving the self-driver relationship with a natural and intuitive interaction. And this is considered to all intents and purposes the first car of the “EV 2.0” era for Mercedes, the one that will open a new chapter in the history of the Mercedes-Benz company.

batteries and autonomy mercedes cla 2025

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Mercedes-Benz is using an 800-volt electrical architecture for the first time. The system maximizes efficiency and performance and, in combination with the new generation of available batteries – 58 kWh with LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) chemistry or 85 kWh with NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) technology – in this new Cla, charging times are significantly reduced. The autonomy declared by Mercedes for the future compact car from the Star exceeds 750 kmand above all in ten minutes you can reach 300 kilometers of autonomy with fast direct current charging. Progress has also been made on the sustainability front: to achieve these objectives, the use of raw materials has been optimized and reduced and in particular, the percentage of cobalt has been further lowered.