The third-generation C178 Mercedes-Benz CLA has officially arrived!
Over the past decade, Mercedes’ entry-level CLA has been a popular option for folks looking to make their way into the brand. Now, the automaker is taking a different approach with the all-new CLA, launching it as a fully electric model, though there is a hybrid version in the works that should officially launch in early 2026.
Two versions will be available when the CLA EV officially goes on sale this fall: a single-motor CLA250+ and an all-wheel drive CLA350 4Matic. If you’re looking for the full technical name, you’ll have to bolt “with EQ Technology” onto the end of the main model designations, but I won’t continue to do that below (“CLA350 4Matic with EQ Technology” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it?). Both use the brand’s “MMA” platform, an architecture designed to accommodate the automaker’s smaller electric and hybrid vehicles.
This 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA lineup is the culmination of the concept we first saw all the way back in September 2023, then showed in prototype form a few months ago. Overall, this car gets sleeker front and rear fascias (as has been Mercedes’ MO in recent generations), and it’s a bit larger overall than the second-gen CLA.
At the front, you get a smooth grille with three-pointed star-shaped DRLs linked by a horizontal light bar. That theme continues around back, where you also get star-shaped taillights an LED element running across the rear decklid. Overall, the new CLA’s wheelbase grows by 2.4 inches, while this CLA also gets 1.3 inches longer and 1.1 inches taller overall.
The new CLA promises to be MB’s most advanced EV yet
Like the existing EQ-branded models, though the 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA lineup leans into screens, screens and more screens. The “Superscreen” (not quite “Hyperscreen”, as we saw on the EQS sedan and SUV), spans a 10.25-inch digital cluster and two 14-inch infotainment displays — one in the center and one specifically for the passenger. There’s nothing new about car companies making that move, although as a result you don’t get conventional volume or tuning adjustments, not even with Mercedes’ past dials/touchpads on the center console. You have to use touch-sensitive sliders and switches on the steering wheel or the actual touchscreen, for better or worse.
That said, because you don’t have a ton of conventional controls on the center console, the floating design allows for cupholders while accommodating a bit more storage below, in addition to the usual armrest/console storage affair between the front seats.
As is the way with new car design moving forward, the fourth generation of the company’s MBUX software features AI integration, this time from both Microsoft and Google. Mercedes said it’s “set new standards” in the process, and allowed third-party developers to “seamlessly” integrate their apps using either company’s AI solution. In essence, MB.OS uses both ChatGPT4o and Bing for searches, and Google Gemini for the virtual assistant’s navigation-related questions. Mercedes itself says, “[the MBUX virtual assistant] enables the kinds of complex, multi-turn dialogues one might have with a friend and has short-term memory.” Take that for what you will, but we’ll test that out when we get our hands on the new CLA in the coming months.
What about performance, range and charging?
The new electric CLA-Class uses an 800-volt electrical architecture — the first Mercedes to do so — that will provide far better charging capability to go with considerable range estimates. Onboard, both EV models use an 85-kWh nickel-manganest-cobalt (NMC) chemistry battery pack. Mercedes says that offers between 694 and 792 kilometers (431 and 492 miles) for the CLA250+, though that is using the European WLTP cycle. EPA figures aren’t available yet, but if we want to stay optimistic, then we could expect around 375 miles for the base, single-motor version. The CLA350, being a dual-motor model, will naturally lose a bit of range in exchange for extra power and all-wheel drive capability. For that model, we might see range in the 325-350 mile ballpark, which puts it more or less on par with the Tesla Model 3.
As far as DC fast-charging capability, Mercedes says both models will be able to replenish their battery packs at up to 320 kW, at least under ideal conditions. That allows up to 186 miles of range in 10 minutes for road trips, while owners can expect up to 11 kilowatts of Level 2 AC charging capability at home (again, provided your house’s electrical system and charging station are able to handle that sort of output).
Both CLA models get a host of updates from Mercedes’ past EVs to make them more flexible and efficient. There’s a two-speed transmission rather than being a straight direct-drive setup, and the automaker’s bringing in a multi-source heat pump as standard to funnel waste heat into the cabin to save energy, rather than using a far more power-hungry auxiliary heater.
The CLA250+, as mentioned before, only gets a single electric motor feeding the rear wheels. Power output is decent, but not blistering, at 268 horsepower and 247 lb-ft of torque. The CLA350 4Matic, on the other hand, gets an additional 107-horsepower motor on the front axle, while the combined output increases to 349 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque. The extra motor brings the 0-60 time down from 6.6 seconds on the base model to 4.8 seconds for the CLA350, though both are electronically limited to a top speed of 130 mph.
There’s a hybrid model, you say?
If this whole owning and driving an electric car business doesn’t tickle your fancy, there is a hybrid version coming — but you’ll have to wait for it. The hybrid CLA will bring in a 1.5-liter Miller cycle engine under the hood, eliminating the frunk and offering a gas-burning option. To that, there’s a 27-horspower electric motor and starter-generator built in, as well as a 1.3-kWh battery that will allow electric coasting at speeds up to 60 mph.
Hybrid models will be available in both front- and all-wheel drive variants, both with an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission yoked to the engine-electric motor combo. The automaker says gas-hybrid CLA will launch with two available power outputs, but did not mention exactly what those outputs would be just yet, nor is there any information about fuel economy.
If you’re interested in the 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA, the electric versions will hit showrooms this fall. Pricing isn’t available this early on, but I’d expect it to land somewhere in the $50,000 to $60,000 range, at least for the CLA250+. It needs to be priced competitively to the Tesla Model 3 as well as the BMW i4, both of which start right around $50K before available incentives.
On the subject of incentives, Mercedes-Benz plans to build CLAs for the North American market in Germany, so these likely won’t be eligible for the existing $7,500 federal tax credit (and they may be above the MSRP cap anyway, if they start above $55,000).
