Thank you to our local personal car leasing customer, from Atherton (Greater Manchester), for visiting the CarLease UK team to collect their brand-new vehicle – the Mercedes CLA.
This will be one of the last CLA MY19s which we are able offer, as Mercedes have recently updated this model with the new one due to arrive late Spring/early Summer.
What customers need to be aware of this is that the CLA is fundamentally an A-Class with the addition of boot space; although the latest CLA will be slightly bigger than the current model in order to bring it more in-line with the Audi A5 Sportback and BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe.
While the exterior is only changing slightly, it is the interior which will get massively updated. As you may have seen from some of our recent A-Class blogs, the latest interior setup from Merc is very much on point.
Without a doubt, their engineers and interior designers have created a fabulous and possibly class-leading product.
So are all CLA deals available on the petrol model only? This is something many customers are starting to raise, as 2018 (and 2019) has seen a considered shift towards petrol engines.
Much of this has been a knee-jerk reaction to the “dieselgate” issues which recently affected most manufacturers; although the VW group have been highlighted as a main offender.
As a reaction to this, customers were led to believe that a diesel vehicle was no longer a suitable option and that manufacturers have been lying to us about the MPG and CO2 these cars (and vans) produce. Added to that is research on diesel cars which has said that these produce harmful emissions in the form of Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) and Particulate Matter (PM).
Keen to bring back consumer confidence, the EU set in place two big changes:
1. The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure; and
2. The Real Driving Emissions (RDE).
WLTP is very much about testing vehicles more rigorously and thoroughly to accurately show their fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. This replaces the old NEDC test. While already in place for cars, the big change in 2019 is in September, when vans/LCVs have to adhere to the new testing regulations. So what’s change under WLTP? Effectively, the cars will be put thought a longer test (both in time and distance travelled), the car will cover higher speeds and go through a variety of gears. Additionally, ANY additional specification must be accounted for within the test. While the vehicles are still being monitored in laboratory conditions, we are likely to see some adjusted statistics for most cars which are more likely to reflect the actual real world experience. For company car users, note that for tax years 2017 to 2020, HMRC are using something called CO2MPAS for tax purposes. What this means is that NEDC correlated figures are still being used. However, from April 2020, the company car tax regime will be based on WLTP values.
On the RDE-front, this is about the measurement of pollutants, in particular the NOX and PM. These are the “issue pollutants” which diesel engine conjecture centres around. What will happen with RDE, is that a device is placed over the tailpipes and then the vehicle will be driven on the road, as opposed to in a laboratory. The car will cover low/high altitudes, urban/rural/motorways, additional payloads and year-round temperatures. This emission data will result in a pass or fail based on the standards it has to conform to. For a Euro 6 diesel, these will have to produce no more than 80mg/km for NOx and 60mg/km for Euro 4 petrol. Additionally, both options must not produce more than 4.5mg/km of PM. All new car types from September 2019 must confirm with this, with the end result being that all vehicles will be termed “Euro6d-temp”. The standards will be further increased in January 2021, when all types of vehicles must reach the higher conformity factor.
What is the relevance of WLTP and RDE? For customers, personal and business, this provides complete confidence that the vehicles they are driving adhere to stricter standards and that the data being supplied by the manufacturer is accurate. For the diesel vehicle, this will ensure that there is nothing to be concerned about and that customers driving them are in a vehicle which will meet their needs/requirements.
For anyone covering high-mileages, particularly where they are adopting longer motorway-style driving, the diesel vehicle will still be the right way forwards.
While this is undergoing change, with the innovation of electric vehicles, in the short to medium term, deals on the diesel vehicles, like the CLA, will still continue.
In terms of the car shown here, the Mercedes-Benz CLA CLASS COUPE CLA 200 AMG Line Night Edition 4door Tip Auto (Petrol), this is based on the following configuration:
· Cosmos Black Metallic Paint
· Light aluminium with longitudinal grain interior trim
· Artico leather/Dinamica – Black with red stitching
· 18″ AMG 10 spoke alloy wheels
As standard the car includes light aluminium longitudinal grain trim, Mercedes connect me, cruise control, ambient lighting, artico leather upholstery, heated front seats, floor mats, Garmin Map Pilot navigation, automatic rain sensing wipers, heated rear window, privacy glass, ASR, adaptive brake assist, ESP, brake callipers with Mercedes lettering, hill start assist, Bluetooth, attention assist, reversing camera, 8” colour screen, auto dimming driver door mirror, electric folding and heated adjustable door mirrors, chrome air vents, high gloss black door mirrors, AMG body styling, diamond grille with pins in chrome, automatic headlights, LED indicators/headlights/tail lamp, 3-spoke flat bottomed leather steering wheel, door sill illumination, 18” AMG alloy wheels, keyless go, immobiliser, sports seats and mirror pack.
In terms of upgrading the CLA consider – the AMG exclusive pack. Alternatively, upgrade to the Night Edition “Plus”.
On the technical-side, company car and business users can note the P11d at £32,620.00 an CO2 at 146g/km. The 1595CC 7 speed auto petrol engine delivers 44.1 combined MPG (NEDC), 37.2 combined MPG (WLTP), 156ps and 0-62 times of 7.9 seconds. The service intervals on a petrol CLA are every 12 months or 15,500 miles, whichever lands sooner.
So would the CLA be your select leasing option? Or would the great vehicles nationwide from BMW and Audi be your choice?
Best Mercedes CLA Lease Car Deals @CarLease UK – or – read more coupe lease car reviews below…
