Perfection is a state of absolute flawlessness. A state of utter completeness. A state no automobile has ever achieved.
You see, every vehicle to ever roll off a production line has been flawed in some way. Sometimes, such shortcomings are significant (or numerous) enough to define the car, consigning it to a stunted life of embarrassingly rare sales. Other times, weaknesses are seen as little more than foibles and end up simply adding to the vehicle's overall character, further endearing it to its fans.
The Mercedes-Benz CLA 220 CDI is, of course, not perfect, just like every other car. But its major shortcoming is, well, rather major — just like its strongest point. And this makes it rather difficult to formulate a solid opinion on the German manufacturer's sleek little sedan, with which Mercedes is clearly targetting a younger audience.
You see, every vehicle to ever roll off a production line has been flawed in some way. Sometimes, such shortcomings are significant (or numerous) enough to define the car, consigning it to a stunted life of embarrassingly rare sales. Other times, weaknesses are seen as little more than foibles and end up simply adding to the vehicle's overall character, further endearing it to its fans.
The Mercedes-Benz CLA 220 CDI is, of course, not perfect, just like every other car. But its major shortcoming is, well, rather major — just like its strongest point. And this makes it rather difficult to formulate a solid opinion on the German manufacturer's sleek little sedan, with which Mercedes is clearly targetting a younger audience.
Let's start with what is arguably its biggest asset: its looks. The CLA is achingly beautiful, particularly for a vehicle of its rather compact dimensions (while it is ever-so-slightly longer than a C-Class, it does have a shorter wheelbase). In fact, it is a touch prettier than the A-Class hatchback on which it is based.
The CLA clearly draws inspiration from the CLS, with its sloping roofline, frameless doors and coupe-like profile. It's attractive from virtually every angle, from the aggressive facial features to the flowing side-view and curvy rear-end. It's all sweeping lines and it's all very effective. And the stunning design serves more than just an aesthetic purpose, lending the CLA a drag coefficient of just 0.23 and making it the slipperiest high-volume production vehicle out there.
The vehicle I tested featured the optional AMG equipment line, which adds to the CLA's already sporty appearance with a not-so-subtle body-kit made up of chunky front and rear aprons and side-sill panels. This equipment level also includes tasty AMG 18-inch titanium-grey alloys, a diamond-pattern radiator grille and a twin-pipe exhaust system. Thus, out on the road, this CLA garners plenty of attention, with many wide-eyed, thumb-happy motorists seemingly mistaking it for the CLA 45 AMG (to be fair, this happened most when it was standing still, with its diesel engine at rest thanks to the stop/start system).
Source: Auto News in Hindi
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