The new Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe has been unveiled in Las Vegas. It comes equipped with the brand’s latest infotainment system MBUX that made its debut on the new A-Class and was previewed at CES last year.
But aside from MBUX there are a stack of other highlights. Ola Källenius who’s responsible for development said, “This is not the only new feature by which the CLA offers a great deal of automotive intelligence.”
Britta Seeger from Marketing & Sales added “The new edition of the CLA has been developed further in an intelligent way and is even more emotional and sportier than its predecessor. Coupled with new operating systems, it sets new benchmarks for the entire class.”
We were lucky enough to travel in the first generation CLA to Las Vegas last year and I reviewed one sometime ago after the 2013 launch. But the new model we will score towards the back end of this year is on another level.
The four-door coupe certainly looks the part, with a long-stretched bonnet, more compact looking glass cabin, wider track, flared wheel arches and a GT inspired rear-end. The front is pretty hot too with a grille that actually leans forward.
The focus as you’d expect here at a tech show is on MBUX, now one year into production after actually debuting at CES 2018. Aside from being an entirely new take on an instrument cluster there’s the whole personal assistant thing going on. The trigger phrase “Hey Mercedes” can answers a whole range complex question’s. An example Mercedes-Benz provide is, “Find child-friendly Asian restaurants nearby with a 4- star rating which are neither Chinese nor Japanese?” I plan on throwing some curve balls at it in the near future!
Plus, the system is able to keep on learning, thanks to inbuilt AI. Another handy feature is that it actually only listens to whoever last said “Hey Mercedes” ignoring other voices in the car. I wish Google could pull that one off!
We look forward to a full test drive later this year!
[ces19]
Chris was EFTM’s Motoring Editor for many years, driving everything from your entry level hatch to the latest Luxury cars through to the Rolls Royce.
He has been in the media for 20 years, produced three Olympic games broadcasts, attending Beijing 2008 & London 2012.
Strangely he owns a Toyota Camry Hybrid, he defiantly rejects the knockers.
Chris is married to Gillian and resides in Sydney’s North West. They have Sam the English Springer Spaniel and Felix the Burmese cat to keep them company, and recently welcomed baby Henry to the family.
He has now left EFTM, and writes freelance and runs his own Facebook Page “Bowen’s Garage”
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