First 1000km Review

[zeenie]

Coming up to the first 1000km and here are my brief thoughts on this beautiful silver car (my first merc!): a CLA180.

 

The drive is very smooth and plush, although on 18" rims the ride can be a tad harsh going over speed strips and bumps, but going over them slower than what i used to do seems to do the trick. The stock brake pads seem to generate quite abit of brake dust. Will monitor and update.

I really like the bluetooth function which is really handsfree usage of my mobile, including playing music from it. My Jabra now become gabra because i don't use it anymore.

I'm still trying to get used to the various knobs and levers that one needs to operate, e.g. start up: turn key, switch on aircon (after warm up), radio, put to drive and release handbrake (or not, 'cos of auto release lol) but every thing in the cabin feels solid and well made. I do see some gaps between the door interior and the B pillar interior that allows one to see the paintwork outside, but that doesn't bother me. More glaring, i feel, is the boot lid interior, which is bare and shows all the welding marks, wish they covered that up. Bootsize is very decent and it feels like more than twice the boot space i previously had (i'm sure it's a mind trick). 

Yet to fully test the acceleration since i've been keeping the revs under 3k as advised (and varying it), so pick up overall is rather laggy, and i don't expect this to change very much even when revving hard. Not a racer, so this doesn't bother me and on highways this can be rectified by downshifting (although doesn't solve standing start sluggishness).

Have been getting some admiring looks on the way the car looks and friends/family have remarked that it is a beauty. =) One fellow merc driver friend said "once you drive a merc, you never drive anything else".

 

That's all from me for now. Thanks for reading!

[merczoomer]

Coming up to the first 1000km and here are my brief thoughts on this beautiful silver car (my first merc!)

 

The drive is very smooth and plush, although on 18" rims the ride can be a tad harsh going over speed strips and bumps, but going over them slower than what i used to do seems to do the trick. The stock brake pads seem to generate quite abit of brake dust. Will monitor and update.

I really like the bluetooth function which is really handsfree usage of my mobile, including playing music from it. My Jabra now become gabra because i don't use it anymore.

I'm still trying to get used to the various knobs and levers that one needs to operate, e.g. start up: turn key, switch on aircon (after warm up), radio, put to drive and release handbrake (or not, 'cos of auto release lol) but every thing in the cabin feels solid and well made. I do see some gaps between the door interior and the B pillar interior that allows one to see the paintwork outside, but that doesn't bother me. More glaring, i feel, is the boot lid interior, which is bare and shows all the welding marks, wish they covered that up. Bootsize is very decent and it feels like more than twice the boot space i previously had (i'm sure it's a mind trick). 

Yet to fully test the acceleration since i've been keeping the revs under 3k as advised (and varying it), so pick up overall is rather laggy, and i don't expect this to change very much even when revving hard. Not a racer, so this doesn't bother me and on highways this can be rectified by downshifting (although doesn't solve standing start sluggishness).

Have been getting some admiring looks on the way the car looks and friends/family have remarked that it is a beauty. =) One fellow merc driver friend said "once you drive a merc, you never drive anything else".

 

That's all from me for now. Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

Nice ride.. How you feel about the door?  

 

I've noticed that the door does not give me the "Thunk" solid signature closing sound compare to C class, and it's feel lighter too...

[zeenie]

The door weight is not really an issue, although i notice that the hinge is maybe not as smooth, so need more strength to close the door. I do agree that the thunk is lighter than the C class having tried that in the showroom, although to me it's still a solid feel. =)

[merczoomer]

The door weight is not really an issue, although i notice that the hinge is maybe not as smooth, so need more strength to close the door. I do agree that the thunk is lighter than the C class having tried that in the showroom, although to me it's still a solid feel. =)

 

Oh sorry i just noticed your is the CLA... actually is the new C class 2014 that im referring.

[Jamon]

I am very new also...

 

One thing I learn not to do....

Don't open the door to reverse park!

Especially if the car is moving

The CLA transmission goes into Park,

 

Dunno if this happens in all Mercs.

[Odessus]

I am very new also...

One thing I learn not to do....

Don't open the door to reverse park!

Especially if the car is moving

The CLA transmission goes into Park,

Dunno if this happens in all Mercs.

I've reverse parked with door open and transmission doesn't go into Park. Isn't that just plain dangerous?

[zeenie]

I've reverse parked with door open and transmission doesn't go into Park. Isn't that just plain dangerous?

Seems dangerous to me. I just use wing mirrors. The rear facing camera when R is engaged is for passenger's entertainment lol

[zeenie]

Oh sorry i just noticed your is the CLA... actually is the new C class 2014 that im referring.

 

Apologies for the confusion caused. This thread is CLA mah. =) Sometimes i wonder whether i should have gotten the C instead, 'cos it is soooooo good looking, but we ordered a few weeks before the C was launched.

[darksaint]

Apologies for the confusion caused. This thread is CLA mah. =) Sometimes i wonder whether i should have gotten the C instead, 'cos it is soooooo good looking, but we ordered a few weeks before the C was launched.

CLA have nicer butt... haha...

[Jamon]

I've reverse parked with door open and transmission doesn't go into Park. Isn't that just plain dangerous?

The CLA transmission will go into Park once I open the door, does not matter if transmission is on Drive or Reverse.

 

First time I encounter was at a carpark, I opened door to take the ticket as window film was just installed and still drying. I closed the door and step on accelerator but car did not move, I was wondering what happen until I saw the car was on Park.

[asiadj]

I am very new also...

 

One thing I learn not to do....

Don't open the door to reverse park!

Especially if the car is moving

The CLA transmission goes into Park,

 

Dunno if this happens in all Mercs.

 

no i didn't happen to all merc. this fucntion is quite shit, after hearing u say.

[Jamon]

I agree I don't like this stupid feature but overall still loving the CLA!

[Odessus]

Mine activates the electronic brake when I'm in Drive and using brake hold and my butt leaves the chair, i.e. the system doesn't detect a weight on the chair.

[zeenie]

Mine activates the electronic brake when I'm in Drive and using brake hold and my butt leaves the chair, i.e. the system doesn't detect a weight on the chair.

 

Sounds like you have something the opposite of a problem if you need to gain weight so the system can detect you 'cos i have a problem losing weight......

[akiri07]

CLA have nicer butt... haha...

Super Agree with you. Especially the tail light. 

[zeenie]

Short update: Went for a drive with a friend and thought it would be nice to stretch the engine's legs a bit when we went cruising around, including some opportunities to rev harder than usual. Pick up was surprisingly decent and engine tone was a nice growl that translated to a smooth and fast acceleration. I'm loving it!

[asiadj]

Short update: Went for a drive with a friend and thought it would be nice to stretch the engine's legs a bit when we went cruising around, including some opportunities to rev harder than usual. Pick up was surprisingly decent and engine tone was a nice growl that translated to a smooth and fast acceleration. I'm loving it!

 

mac donald for u? 'im loving it tooo.

[ayubaba]

I suggest you to read this thread (A very long but worth every bit of it):

 

http://www.mercedescla.org/forum/5-cla-general-discussion/4947-lesser-known-features-you-ve-discovered.html

 

The CLA has many hidden features and once you unlock them, it is even more wonderful to drive......

[zeenie]

That is a really long read, although most of the stuff inside was covered by the manual (which i did go through). =) Am curious about the language one.

 

I suggest you to read this thread (A very long but worth every bit of it):

 

http://www.mercedescla.org/forum/5-cla-general-discussion/4947-lesser-known-features-you-ve-discovered.html

 

The CLA has many hidden features and once you unlock them, it is even more wonderful to drive......

[zeenie]

Didn't manage to get the language one to work. Been driving about a month now, odo now 1800km, fuel efficiency (according to my fuel log) is 10.93 km/l. Just to clarify, can we use RON 95 fuel? It says minimum RON 95 at the filler cover, but i did read a thread previously about using the recommended RON98?

[darksaint]

Didn't manage to get the language one to work. Been driving about a month now, odo now 1800km, fuel efficiency (according to my fuel log) is 10.93 km/l. Just to clarify, can we use RON 95 fuel? It says minimum RON 95 at the filler cover, but i did read a thread previously about using the recommended RON98?

9L/100km? that seems to be a bit high. your average distance travel daily may be short then.

mine average is 7.5 to 8L/100km. daily about 80km mileage.

previously there was a thread saying can only use 98 as advise/need to sign with cnc.

think no longer apply now. you can sms your SA to verify.

[Jamon]

Didn't manage to get the language one to work. Been driving about a month now, odo now 1800km, fuel efficiency (according to my fuel log) is 10.93 km/l. Just to clarify, can we use RON 95 fuel? It says minimum RON 95 at the filler cover, but i did read a thread previously about using the recommended RON98?

In the US, the recommended for CLA is RON91+.

Their preminium petrol for many places is only RON 93!

So running RON95 is better than anything they can easily get.

[Mickey Mouse]

Mine is about 8L/100 km. I am using Esso 98.

[zeenie]

Not sure if anyone else has this:

One observation i've had is that the heat insulation of the car is a little odd. If i had been driving for awhile, i understand the engine gets hot while we feel cool in the cabin. However, if we stop the car and alight, then get back in again (even in the evening, in the rain or basically cool weather), the cabin seems to get really warm. The only cause of this appears to be the heat from the engine compartment. Can i prevent by insulating the engine bay?

Also, because of this, i've stopped driving in eco mode because the cabin really gets too warm.

[Benz Boy]

It was pouring yesterday. Parked my car for a couple of hours and returned to find condensation on the insides of windscreen and windows. Wondering whether the cabin's temperature is kind of high or not.