[Esteban Dido]

Hi I am new to this thread and I have been looking for some basic answers to some fundamental questions I have on the CLA 250. As I understand, this car is not in showrooms in Houston yet, and MB will be releasing preorders on Sept/23. So, my quesiton probably goes to the happy european owners that had this ahead of US. As a background on why I need your help, my wife is currently driving a new BMW 535i, I have an old BMW 530 (10 years) and ready for retirement on meritorious service. As much as I like the 535i or the 328i, I want something that can be more fun,and more importantly, better fuel economy (I commute a long distance to work). What I like so far on this car:
- style inside and outside
- MPG
- Price

My concerns/questions are:
- Based on my experience with the 535i, RFT Low profile tires (245/45 R18) are hard on the road and quite delicate and expensive to repair, can someone comment on this point?, is the driving too hard on a bumpy road ( I am interested just on the standard 17" 225/40 tire)?, have you had any issues with the tires or the rim so far?
- How is the Nav system?, BMW's siimply is hopeless, canf find addresses, it is hard to key or enter voice command, it does not provide directions with street names, display is hard to read....in summary, although I have paid for this expensive option, I hardly use it anymore. How is the Nav on the CLA?, how good is the voice command system?....recently I tried the BMW 328i, Audi A5 and Infinity Q50, the INfintiy blew them off totally, it actually worked and had dual displays, one to enter the manual commands and the other to visualize it,
- How about acceleration and handling on the curves, I tried the C250 and I found totally unresponsive, I beleive the model I tried was a 1.8 Liter engine though
- How good is the Audio system and iPhone iterface ?

Thanks in advance for your help.......
Esteban

 

[outsider]

Hi I am new to this thread and I have been looking for some basic answers to some fundamental questions I have on the CLA 250. As I understand, this car is not in showrooms in Houston yet, and MB will be releasing preorders on Sept/23. So, my quesiton probably goes to the happy european owners that had this ahead of US. As a background on why I need your help, my wife is currently driving a new BMW 535i, I have an old BMW 530 (10 years) and ready for retirement on meritorious service. As much as I like the 535i or the 328i, I want something that can be more fun,and more importantly, better fuel economy (I commute a long distance to work). What I like so far on this car:
- style inside and outside
- MPG
- Price

My concerns/questions are:
- Based on my experience with the 535i, RFT Low profile tires (245/45 R18) are hard on the road and quite delicate and expensive to repair, can someone comment on this point?, is the driving too hard on a bumpy road ( I am interested just on the standard 17" 225/40 tire)?, have you had any issues with the tires or the rim so far?
- How is the Nav system?, BMW's siimply is hopeless, canf find addresses, it is hard to key or enter voice command, it does not provide directions with street names, display is hard to read....in summary, although I have paid for this expensive option, I hardly use it anymore. How is the Nav on the CLA?, how good is the voice command system?....recently I tried the BMW 328i, Audi A5 and Infinity Q50, the INfintiy blew them off totally, it actually worked and had dual displays, one to enter the manual commands and the other to visualize it,
- How about acceleration and handling on the curves, I tried the C250 and I found totally unresponsive, I beleive the model I tried was a 1.8 Liter engine though
- How good is the Audio system and iPhone iterface ?

Thanks in advance for your help.......
Esteban

1. I am sorry to report that a CLA without the Sport Package just doesn't look as good. And the SP comes with the 18" wheels. The tires that fit the 18" rims are so cheap I don't even bother to repair them unless it is a small nail in the thread. If you crack the sidewall, you will need a new tire anyway.
2. The multi-media Nav system has to be pretty good including 3-D map display and advanced voice command. I am cheap so I will just spring for the Becker Map Pilot for around $500 including the factory pre-wire. I think of it as a 2005 GPS.
3. It is the same engine as the C250 except with a little bump up on power & torque. Don't forget to put the car in S mode when you drive. The E mode will not kick down but gives you better mileage...
4. Don't own an iPhone so don't know how well it works with the interface.

 

[Esteban Dido]

Outsider, thank you for the response, I take that you already have seen issues with the tires?, would y you share with us what tires you are planning to mount on the 18" rims? when the times come, I've seen good reviews on the Michelin Pilot AS/3, once the cars arrive at the dealership in US, I will need to make the decision on the sports pkg. It is a hard balance between looks and comfort for me, Houston is full of nasty potholes, I am afraid that too delicate RFT would be a major inhibitor of ride enjoyment for me, Cheers and enjoy your ride .