Before the powertrain was ready for the CLA, it needed testing, which Mercedes did with an elegant concept called the EQXX. It’s capable of almost 750 miles on a single charge. We tested this silver arrow in 2022, learning quite a bit about how Mercedes’ EV engineers think in the process.

As impressive as the 7.44 miles/kWh (8.35 kWh/100 km) I managed in the EQXX was, when I tried the same powertrain in a boxy, unaerodynamic EQB, it returned 5 miles/kWh (12.5 kWh/100 km), an 80 percent improvement over the production EQB.

To prove its chops, Mercedes took a CLA prototype to the Nardo test track in southern Italy, where it covered 2,309 miles (3,716 km) in 24 hours, beating a record set by Porsche in 2019 by 181 miles (291 km). The test used Nardo’s high-speed bowl, a 7.8-mile (12.5 km) circle of track, averaging 95 mph (153 km/h), including 40 recharging stops that saw the car stationary for a total of 6 hours and 40 minutes.

A new gasoline version?

The sneak peek included something of a surprise: A new gasoline version of the CLA is on the way as well. As we detailed back in February, Mercedes no longer believes that the world is ready for it to go all-electric by 2030, even in Europe. As such, it wants to be able to offer customers more “electrified” models as well as EVs.

The gas CLA will use a 48 V mild hybrid powertrain, but the internal combustion engine will actually be made by Horse Powertrain Limited, a Chinese joint venture between Geely and Renault.