2014 Mercedes CLA Class combines pleasure and efficiency perfectly

Is there a perfect car on the planet? When a car only has emissions of 109 g CO2 per kilometer and offers the kind of driving pleasure the new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA Class does, it might be close. Mercedes designed the new CLA to compete in the highly competitive luxury compact class to appeal to a new generation of buyers. What they came up with was a new car that will attract new buyers who never purchased a Mercedes before. They did it by producing a car that offers both driving pleasure and ultra-efficiency.

With todays buyers looking for optimal fuel consumption, and low emissions, they can find it in a car, but it usually ends up being slow and boring. The new Mercedes CLA Class combines driving pleasure and efficiency about as perfectly as you can get. "Driving pleasure and efficiency need not be mutually exclusive. The same is equally true of breathtaking design and world-class aerodynamic drag values. In all four areas the CLA-Class sets the benchmark in the medium-size category", explains Professor Dr Herbert Kohler, Chief Environmental Officer at Daimler AG.

As good as it gets in environmental efficiency

Mercedes-Benz is on the right path when it comes to building a car that is both green and fun to drive. The high environmental compatibility of the CLA CLass is confirmed by Mercedes being awarded the Environmental Certificate in accordance with the ISO TR 14062 standard for the new four-door coupe. What this means is the car is environmentally compatible throughout its entire life cycle from production, through the years of service, to recycling at the end of its life.

A new generation of buyers want to know their cars are not polluting the environment. And the new CLA Class is one of the least polluting cars on the planet. It starts on the outside with the CLA Class leading the field in wind resistance. The new four-door coupe has a Cd value of 0.23, making it the most aerodynamic vehicle in the world. The CLA 180 BlueEFFICIENCY Edition, which is due to hit the streets in September, even manages to better this value with a Cd value of 0.22, and when it comes to the drag area the four-door coupe crosses a magical line with a figure of just 0.49.

Optimizing every component

Mercedes engineers designed the new CLA Class with other key features and designs that make it highly efficient. The engines are “friction-optimized” and use turbocharging, direct injection and thermal management to reduce consumption. The new CLA also gets a stop/start system, ultra low resistant tires, uses weight saving materials, a highly efficient air conditioner and an “intelligent generator” that saves and recuperates energy and feeds it back to the battery.

Engaging driving dynamics

And did we tell you the new 2014 Mercedes CLA CLass is fun to drive? The standard four-door coupe is engaging, and Mercedes offers the new CLA45 AMG for those who want even better performance.The new 2014 CLA45 AMG comes equipped with an AMG four-cylinder engine that pumps out 355 hp and 332 lb.-ft. of torque.

This gives the new performance four-door coupe the world's most powerful four-cylinder engine built in series production. The AMG power and torque give the CLA45 AMG superb driving performance. The powerful coupe sprints from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds with an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. That will excite even the most ardent performance fan.

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA Class establishes a new segment for the German automaker and they expect to attract a new generation of buyers who want both efficiency and performance from their cars. It looks like Mercedes has succeeded in a big way.

Watch Mercedes-Benz CLA -Class - Aerodynamics Animation video.