Many have questioned Mercedes’ wisdom in offering two seemingly similar products at the entry point to its range. Built on the same MFA2 platform and sharing a very similar interior, the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class seems like nothing more than a slightly more stylish A-Class sedan. However, there is more to the coupe than just a sloping roofline, a bolder stance, and a higher price tag. A closer look proves that Mercedes knows exactly what it is doing. So what sets the CLA apart from its more traditional sibling?

Beauty that is more than skin-deep

Quite a lot is different, it turns out. Possibly expecting a grilling about the CLA’s positioning, Gorden Wagener, chief of design at Daimler, had an answer ready when he was quizzed about the CLA at its launch in the US in 2019. There is, indeed, more to the CLA than a passing glance reveals. In fact, you may not even notice that it is quite a bit bigger than the A-Class, by 5.5 inches. It’s not even pitched as a sedan, instead being classified as a coupe despite having more doors than this classification usually provides. There’s the first clue to justify the premium - exclusivity.

For around $4,000 extra, you get a sleek roofline and frameless doors for that bit of one-upmanship. The interior is the least different and might leave a CLA buyer feeling a little short-changed, simply because it is not a departure from the standard A-Class’ in terms of design and layout. However, so impressive is the tech offering in both models - huge MBUX infotainment screens and all - that the young professional likely to buy this car would certainly not lack for equipment and features.

The base CLA is also offered with nothing less than 221 hp, whereas normal As have just 188 hp. Add to this a more sophisticated suspension setup and differently tuned stability control and steering, and you have a sportier, more engaging driver that begs to be played with. What’s more, while both A and CLA offer a 302-hp AMG 35 model, only the CLA can be had in the full-fat, 382-hp AMG CLA 45. And while that swoopy roofline robs rear headroom, the unexpected upshot of the longer tail is more trunk space. The two “35” models are, of course, the elephants in the room and it is the only place where the A and CLA overlap exactly, bar the latter’s $2,000-odd premium. It’s where accusations of the CLA being just an overstylized A might be justified. It would be interesting to see which buyers prefer.

A convincing repackaging

Still, we think that the CLA does enough to justify its price premium over the A-Class in terms of both style and substance. It strikes a notably different pose and looks far less demure than the standard A. That louder statement certainly seems to be having the right effect, though, since about 80% of CLA buyers are new to the Mercedes brand. It brings conquest sales to Mercedes in the compact class, which makes the CLA a veritable goldmine for Mercedes.