Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 Coupe

The car to buy, if what annoys you most about the Mercedes A-Class is that you can in fact fit fully grown adults in the second row of seats.

It complements the A-Class the way a CLS does the E-Class, the CLA being for people who are prepared to sacrifice a bit of practicality in the name of style. Style that, in this case, comes from four pillarless doors and a swept-back, coupe-like roofline.

Take it from us, this is a much better looking car in real life than it is in pics. We might even prefer it to the CLS - it’s just better proportioned. And all jokes aside, you can actually fit people in the back. Just about.

The CLA is based on the same platform as the A-Class and B-Class. Soon there will be new GLA and GLB SUVs that share this platform too, as well as a Shooting Brake estate version of the CLA itself. Confusingly, there will also be an A-Class saloon. And, of course, obligatory fast versions of each.

That means it gets the same tech-heavy interior as the hatchback - sit in the driver’s seat and look forwards, and you could just as easily be sitting in an A-Class - with two widescreen displays instead of a conventional instrument binnacle, and all the same driver assistance systems.

The pair ought to drive alike too, though Mercedes claims the CLA is the most fun of all its compact cars. Not because it’s any faster - it uses all the same four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines as the A-Class - but because of changes to the suspension. Changes like a multi-link rear-axle for all models - only 2.0-litre A-Classes get it, others have to make do with a cheaper torsion beam and are worse for it - a wider track and beefier anti-roll bars.

There isn’t another car like the CLA on sale right now - no four-door coupes quite so small - save for the Hyundai i30 Fastback. But while similar in size, shape and theory, it’s not really in the same league as the little Mercedes. So until BMW does a 2-Series Gran Coupe and Audi squashes an A3 Sportback, we reckon the CLA’s closest competitors are the BMW 2-Series Coupe and Audi TT if you’re here for the coupe-ness, or the bigger Peugeot 508 and VW Arteon if it’s a svelte saloon you’re after.

There are many CLAs to choose from. Things start with the 180 and 200, which both use a 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol with cylinder shut-off for better fuel economy. The former has 134bhp, and the latter 161bhp.

We tried the 200, and while it provides enough motive force - 0-62mph in 8.2 seconds and 142mph - when you put your foot down it sounds a bit thrashy. More annoying is the gearbox, though, which is a seven-speed DCT carried over from the last generation. While it feels better here than in some A- and B-Classes we’ve tried, it remains dim-witted around town and hesitant when you’re pulling away.

The 187bhp CLA 220 and 221bhp 250, which both get a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol, use this gearbox too. Of these two we tried the 250 - the most powerful, fastest CLA until the AMG 35 arrives in a few months. It doesn’t feel as quick as the numbers would have you believe, but generally it’s a smooth, refined thing. A better pairing with that gearbox, and the petrol drivetrain you should go for if you have the means.

Diesels come later, which is a shame. Because of the CLAs we’ve driven so far, our favourite is the 220d. It borrows the 2.0-litre from the C- And E-Class, an engine diesel naysayers should note is already compliant with emissions standards that don’t come into force until 2020. It’s very smooth, quiet and even though it’s down on outright power, almost 300lb ft of torque means it doesn’t feel any less punchy than the 250 petrol. But crucially, it gets a new eight-speed DCT that’s way, way better than the petrol cars’ seven. (In time, some engines will be available with a six-speed manual gearbox, which isn’t a cracker in the A-Class, but it neatly sidesteps our quibbles with the auto.)

The big diesel suits the CLA’s character best. Because though Mercedes claims the four-door coupe is the most “dynamic” of its compact cars, it’s not an especially sporting thing - more laid back, like a mini GT. Even though none of the cars we drove was in a spec available in the UK - they were all fitted with adaptive suspension, which isn’t even an option over here - the CLA seems surefooted and capable, if not much fun. It may, like the A-Class, prove more unsettled using simpler suspension on UK roads.

The CLA is quiet on the motorway, with minimal wind noise, though bigger wheels and tyres add road roar. The optional panoramic sunroof adds more ambient noise, too, but there’s never any rustle from around the tops of the pillarless doors.

Lane Keep Assist and Speed Limit Assist are standard. A £1,495 pack adds the rest of Merc’s latest active safety and driver assistance tech. You should probably get it.

Surprisingly you can fit real people in the CLA’s rear seats. Not tall ones, admittedly, but actual people all the same. I’m 6ft, and I had certainly had enough legroom to sit behind a driver of similar height. Not so much headroom though - as indeed you’d expect from a car with so much rake. Kids will be fine back there, but with adults you’re better off treating it as a 2+2 instead of a proper four-seater.

Meanwhile up front, the driving position and seats are comfortable enough, and for the most part everything looks and feels nice and expensive. A notable exception is the indicator stalk, which feels cheap and poorly damped. Probe deeper and you will find more cheap-feeling and looking plastics, but mostly they’re in places you seldom have cause to look at our touch.

The CLA’s dashboard is shared with the A-Class hatch, which means two glossy displays and a very un-car-like look and feel. As standard the driver’s display is 7in wide, and the passenger’s 10.25in. For the full widescreen effect you need to upgrade to AMG Line Premium trim, which replaces the 7in screen for a second 10.25-incher.

The only way to control the driver’s screen is with a thumb-operated touchpad on the steering wheel, but with the centre screen you have a choice - the second of the wheel’s two touchpads, by touching the screen itself or with a trackpad on the centre console. The latter is our favourite. Lexus, take note: this is how you do trackpads.

Everything feels a bit intimidating at first, but once your fingers learn the system, your brain gets to grips with the ‘MBUX’ infotainment and you figure out how want you want it to look/behave (for it’s very customisable), it’s all good. Good graphics, good functionality and enough processing power for swift and smooth operation, whatever the input.

Voice control is the system’s party piece - say “Hey Mercedes” followed by a command, and its maker says MBUX ought to be able to decipher and answer pretty much any car based query. Not quite true, but as far as these systems go it’s pretty good. It’s especially adept at changing radio stations, changing the colour of the ambient lighting and entering sat nav destinations. But it’s a bit hit and miss, especially if you have a regional accent.

If you want a small Mercedes, sensible money buys a normal A-Class. Because it’s a bit cheaper, more practical and still has that interior. But many of you won’t do that. You’ll be swayed by the CLA’s swooping roof-line and pillarless doors, and you’ll be only too happy to pay for the privilege of owning them. For that bit of extra glamour. For not having to drive around in a ‘boring’ family hatchback, even one with a Mercedes-Benz badge on the front.

And we don’t blame you. Not one bit. Yes the interior feels a bit cheap in places, the lesser petrol engine is thrashy and it’s not massively more engaging to drive (admittedly we haven’t driven a proper UK-spec car yet), but the CLA has desirable qualities. The dashboard and infotainment, the tech, and above all, those looks. And it’s not that much more money than the A-Class hatch.

It’s certainly a massive improvement on the last CLA, and that alone will make a lot of people very happy indeed. But a word of warning - we liked the A-Class hatch on the launch, too, but when we eventually got a go in the UK, we were a bit disappointed. Chief complaints were the ride and gearbox - but with all CLAs getting the fancier rear-suspension, maybe this time around things will be better.