It’s barely hours before the C118 Mercedes-Benz CLA is to be revealed in all its glory, but on the 11th hour an Australian portal, Redline, broke the embargo and gave us a good look at the new four-door coupé just before its big unveiling. The original article was taken down, but not before Jalopnik got a hold of it published the photos and details that were there.

Based on the new Modular Front Architecture (MFA2) that also underpins the W177 A-Class, the CLA gets a more subdued makeover than its hatch sibling. At the front, the headlights retains much of the current car’s curvaceous shape, rather than the five-door’s slim, tapered units. They frame a trapezoidal grille that has become part of Stuttgart’s design direction as late.

Along the sides, the usual sweeping roofline has been retained, but the door mirrors have been moved from the base of the A-pillars to the tops of the front doors, and the long, curved shoulder line of the outgoing model has been banished for a cleaner bodyside akin to the latest CLS.

Although we don’t get a proper glimpse of the new rear end, past teasers and spyshots have already revealed a fascia that is again fairly similar to the CLS. This includes wider two-piece tail lights and a number plate that has moved from the bootlid to the rear bumper.

The car you see here appears to be an Edition 1 unit, adding orange highlights to the front splitter, wheel flanges and rear diffuser on this AMG Line variant – similar to the OrangeArt Edition versions of the GLE Coupé and first-generation CLA. There are also marmalade touches to the interior, including the stitching and the “Edition” stripe on the dashboard decor.

Speaking of which, the dash has been lifted almost wholesale from the A-Class, complete with the large flatscreen display panel, horizontal design and turbine-style air vents. Overall, the dimensions have reportedly grown by 48 mm in length and 53 mm in width, but with a two millimetre reduction in height – these adjustments should provide increased legroom, especially at the rear.

The CLA will introduce an upgraded version of the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) infotainment system that debuted at last year’s show, incorporating features borrowed from the new GLE. These include a gesture control system called Interior Assistant that activates a range of functions, such as turning on the map light when the driver moves over to grab an item on the passenger’s seat.

The car that will be on display at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will apparently be the CLA 250, which will likely utilise the A 250’s in-house M260 2.0 litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine making 224 hp at 5,500 rpm and 350 Nm between 1,800 to 4,000 rpm.

Other engines in the lineup should also be borrowed from the A-Class, including a Renault-derived M282 1.33 litre petrol and a 1.5 litre diesel. There will also likely be up to three high-performance AMG versions, such as a 306 hp CLA 35 and a CLA 45 offered in either base 387 hp trim or a pumped-up 421 hp S variant.


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