Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBingoBalls
While the CLA45 is a full fledged AMG, reviews weren't the best. I think Car and Driver said "When you pay for half a Mercedes, you get half a Mercedes." That's pretty harsh. But coming from the Canadian auto show, as a volume seller, everybody went crazy for the CLA.
It's going to come down to, do you want to spend $50k on a potentially better driving car, or do you want to spend $50k for the AMG badge?
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Reviews for the CLA45 have been quite good. Reviews for the A45 have been even better (hopefully we end up getting that in the States).
The quote you referred to was attributed to the standard CLA (a CLA250).
The CLA45 isn't a CLA250 with an AMG badge (I don't think you were trying to assert otherwise). As you know, it gets a vastly different treatment with respect to driving dynamics. It also benefits from better (i.e., premium) materials (e.g., two-tone Recaro perforated leather seats, Nappa leather/alcantara steering wheel, MB-Tex-covered dash with contrast stitching) and additional technological features.
Eventually, I think the M235i will end up being a great value. I just was surprised when after building a few of them the estimated payments weren't far off of what I was paying for a nearly fully loaded F30 M Sport 335i.
Of course the same could be said about the CLA45. If you tick every box the payments swell to silly amounts.