Being a BMW guy and as excited as I am to see the M235i, were I in the market for a weekend fun/track car, I'd choose the M235i. However, I really do like the CLA45 AMG.
I love the feel of the BMW I6.
I prefer the interior of BMW to Mercedes.
The CLA interior looks very nice, the CF trim is gorgeous, the seats are amazing, and I like the sort of retro look. As others, though, it's just too busy with all the buttons. BMW wins this one for me.
Until the new Benzes, BMW was technologically more advanced. Now, I'm not sure. Benz looks like they just made some light-years leaps with their tech offerings. Google with street view, etc. So tech wise with the newest cars I'd say it's almost a wash.
Engine wise, the CLA45 is pretty revolutionary. When I saw it's a 4-banger I did 2 double takes -- wow! So I hope that in life it is as exciting as it is on paper.
A buddy of mine has a CLA45 on order, should be seeing it in less than 2 months, so I will have to convince him to let me drive it, hehe.
I've seen quite a few CLA's now on the street and that little car has a ton of road presence. Particularly in white. Very classy and nice looking car that defies it's $29k entry point price tag. The AMG, of course, will look that much better!
However I still prefer the new 2-series looks, hands down.
So all in all, while I cant fault the CLA45 really for anything except a busy interior, my vote would go to the M235i (or M2 if one comes out) because I'm a BMW guy at heart and I miss my E46 every time I see one on the roads, which is often
And the new 2-series generally reminds me of the E46 and gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling about BMW.