2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA driven in Copenhagen | First drive review

There are cities that whisper luxury — Paris, Milan, Vienna. And then there’s Copenhagen, the quiet overachiever. Understated, effortlessly cool, and scarily punctual. Much like the new 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA I drove through its bike-laden streets and postcard-perfect canals. Because if you're going to drive a car that looks like it belongs on a runway, you might as well take it to Europe’s most stylish living room. Not because the CLA is the most gorgeous car from the house of Mercedes — some of its siblings are way hotter and bolder. The G, I mean the “Grand”-pa, for instance.

Now, I know what you're thinking. The CLA? Isn’t that the baby Benz with a coupe-ish silhouette trying to punch above its class? Well, not anymore. Because the 2025 update is not just cosmetic surgery — it’s a full-blown personality transformation. It’s an answer to Tesla, and to the cool Chinese electric cars with tons of features. And the real twist? It’s not trying to be an A-Class with heels anymore. It’s grown into its own, confidently claiming space between the A-Class saloon and the C-Class. The CLA is done being the middle child. It’s matured and got its driving licence on full merits.

Styling, interior and features

Let’s start with the design, because that’s still the CLA’s biggest flex. It wears a bolder, meaner face. The grille gets an AMG-lite treatment with a starlit pattern made up of 142 illuminated three-pointed stars, inspired by the Vision EQXX. The new LED DRLs and the reworked front bumper give it a sharper jawline. The profile still screams ‘four-door coupé’ — low, stretched, and sexy — but now the 19-inch alloys, flush door handles, and revised rear give it proper Euro flair. It’s the kind of car that’ll get you double takes outside Soho House, Mumbai, and polite nods from NIFT design students.
Step in, and it’s a whole vibe. You’re greeted by a floating superscreen that runs across the dashboard, comprising a 10.25-inch driver display, a 14-inch central hub, and an optional 14-inch passenger screen. Want more? There’s a 12.2-inch head-up display too. All encased in a stunning glass surface.
Mercedes has decluttered the cabin — out go the old touchpad and excess buttons, in comes a slicker, more intuitive MB.OS infotainment system with ChatGPT + Bing integration. Yes, your car now has conversational skills and mood-sensing ambient lighting that shifts colours depending on how you're feeling. Green for happiness, red for rage — just don’t let it judge your playlist. Other key interior bits include a panoramic glass roof as standard, a wireless phone charging pad, four additional USB slots, and an optional 850-watt Burmester surround sound system. Lots of fancy trim elements in there too, including uses of open-pore wood and brushed aluminium, with decorative paper surfaces used for the first time in the automotive industry, says Mercedes. The pearl-effect seats come in five colour choices and two styles: standard or sport, with the latter gaining side bolsters and slimmer headrests for a racier look. Can’t forget MB’s fabulous blower fans either, though we’d be unsure about picking red from the 64-colour ambient lighting — it makes them look a bit like the Eye of Sauron. Spooky, we know.

Also Read: Mercedes Benz EQA 250+: A luxury urban EV bargain?

This is also the first Mercedes car in ninety years to feature a frunk (the last being the 130), and it offers an extra 101 litres of space to complement the 405 litres at the rear. Plenty, for the sort of car this is.
Moving on to the really clever tech-based stuff, the CLA gains the new fourth-gen MBUX operating system — creatively called… the MB.OS. It’s fed by a supercomputer linked directly to Merc’s Intelligent Cloud, which means over-the-air updates for features like driver assistance can be carried out easily, effectively, and regularly to maintain the car’s longevity. This is also the first car to integrate AI from both Microsoft and Google, and features a funky new Maps-based 3D navigation unit from the latter. It not only shows drivers their car and the road ahead but also nearby objects, like other road users and pedestrians, to help with situational awareness.
The other big addition is the MBUX Virtual Assistant, which uses the most recent version of ChatGPT combined with the Bing search engine to answer your questions. Apparently, a lot of work has gone into ensuring conversations feel less robotised and more natural, avoiding the need to repeat questions in full thanks to its short-term memory function. It also ‘recognises’ emotions and responds accordingly, changing colours to reflect your mood. That’s green for happiness, and red for the disdain that comes from stopping at a service station with no flapjacks.
Its safety suite uses a combination of five radars, eight cameras, and 12 sensors, and gets SAE Level 2-rated features like distance and steering assist, plus the conventional lane change and park assist, among others.

Under the hood

The rear-drive CLA 250+ and all-wheel-drive CLA 350+ are the stars of the line-up. Both ride on a brand-new 800V architecture pulled from the Vision EQXX, paired with an 85kWh battery.
The CLA 250+ gets a single motor on the rear axle delivering 268bhp and 335Nm of torque. It does 0 to 100kmph in 6.7 seconds and boasts a whopping 791km of WLTP-claimed range. The CLA 350+ is propelled by a dual-motor setup — one motor on each axle — giving it all-wheel drive. Together, this system churns out 349bhp and 515Nm of torque, enabling a 0 to 100kmph time of 4.9 seconds. Yet, it still boasts a healthy 771km of claimed range.
Both variants use a two-speed auto gearbox — first for urban finesse, second for Autobahn aggression. Standard setup includes comfort-oriented suspension with a three-link front and multi-link rear axle. The revised steering knuckle adds camber stiffness, improving steering feedback and reducing road noise. Regenerative braking has four levels of adjustment.
India, for now, will get the 250+ version, but in the future — if it’s a smashing hit — the 350+ may get the Indian visa too.
How is it to drive? Driving through Copenhagen: quiet cobblestones, whirring bicycles, and me tiptoeing a fiery red and black CLA through Nyhavn with not so much discretion. The CLA glides through city streets with no stress. Steering is light but precise, visibility is surprisingly good for a four-door coupe, and the Level 2 ADAS features make motorway cruising an absolute dream. It even shows objects around you in real-time via Google-powered 3D navigation, changing shapes to reflect trucks, buses, or rogue cyclists. Tesla owners, you’ll get the reference. Everyone else — prepare to be amused. Silence is golden here. While not S-Class-level quiet, the double-glazed windows, refined drivetrain, and creamy gearbox deliver a serene cabin experience. Until, of course, the dogs bark or the tyre hum creeps in on coarse tarmac. It’s electric. You’ll hear things you never used to notice. 

What’s it up against?

The CLA’s competition includes the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé, which remains fun and agile but now feels dated in comparison to the fresher, more tech-forward CLA. The upcoming Audi A3 might be a strong contender, but it still lags behind in cabin sophistication. Larger rivals like the Skoda Superb and Toyota Camry offer more space, yet fall short when it comes to design flair and brand appeal. The Tesla Model Y stands as the only real electric alternative, but it lacks the CLA’s distinct character, premium finish, and attention to design detail.

Verdict: Mercedes’ new moodboard

The 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA isn’t trying to please everyone. It’s not a practical SUV. It’s not a sensible saloon. It’s a rolling style statement for those who want to be seen and remembered. It’s for the design buff in Delhi who collects sneakers and NFTs. It’s for the fashion-forward entrepreneur in Bengaluru who doesn’t want another white Fortuner. And after my time in Copenhagen — watching the sun set over the canals, sipping overpriced espresso, and driving the CLA past buildings older than most Bollywood dynasties — I can say this: The CLA has finally grown into its own. It’s not trying to be anything else. It’s just confidently, unapologetically CLA. And for once, style doesn’t come with compromise. Just attitude.

To watch our review of the CLA, click here!