Used Mercedes CLA cars for sale or finance at 10.9% APR

The CLA comes in two different versions. The first is the regular CLA, which is a four-door saloon featuring a coupe roofline and a traditional saloon boot opening. For a little added practicality, there’s also the CLA Shooting Brake, which is a five-door estate that also features a coupe roofline, with a hatchback-style boot opening.

Mercedes offers several other models that fall into a similar sizing category, which you might also want to consider. These include the five-door A-Class hatchback, the four-door A-Class saloon, and the popular five-door GLA compact SUV.

The CLA is a little less than 4.7 metres long, which makes it more or less the same size as a pre-2021 C-Class saloon. The CLA is longer than its rivals, with the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe coming up around 150mm shorter, and the Audi A3 Saloon measuring nearly 300mm shorter. The CLA is also longer than the related A-Class saloon, which is about 140mm shorter. That size means the CLA might not be the easiest car to park in tight spaces, especially with the limited visibility provided by the narrow rear windows, but standard-fit front and rear parking sensors do help to make the job easier.

To achieve the CLA’s handsome shape, some practicality has been sacrificed compared to the more sensible A-Class. There’s enough passenger space for four adults to sit in relative comfort, but those in the back will find legroom limited and headroom compromised by the sloping roofline. The centre-rear seat is very cramped so is only good for taking a fifth passenger on very short journeys. Space in the boot is fairly good but the narrow opening means it’s not as easy as it could be to load large or awkwardly shaped items.

As a premium car, there are no bargain-basement options in the CLA’s engine range. All models have reasonably good performance and fuel economy, so it’s simply a matter or selecting how much power you’d like. All cars with a smooth automatic gearbox as standard.

CLA is the model name for Mercedes' smallest four-door coupe. It might look like one, but the name isn't actually an acronym. While the 'CL' part has traditionally signalled 'coupe luxury' in Mercedes' speak, the 'A' part is simply derived from the A-Class – marking the CLA out as the four-door coupe descended from this compact model.

The CLA hasn't appeared in enough reliability surveys to get an accurate picture of its long-term dependability. Mercedes as a brand hasn't performed very well in recent reports, with electrical gremlins occasionally rearing their heads to spoil the ownership experience.

That said, the CLA is mostly based on the A-Class which, as a model, has performed a little better than Mercedes' average according to respondents.

Select an extended warranty when you purchase your CLA to protect yourself from unexpected repair costs should something fail.

For most buyers, it won't really matter whether the CLA is a good car or not because it's the way it looks that will be the key selling point. The handsome bodywork really does stand out next to more conservative rivals and there's lots of styling flair in the cabin to lift the experience.

It's handy then that the CLA is, in fact, a good car. It won't challenge the practicality offered by some similarly sized vehicles but it's a fair trade to make in return for the car's show-stopping styling. On the road, the ride is smooth and the engines are responsive, while the flash dual-screen infotainment setup looks extremely modern compared to older models in this class.