QOTD: Pump Up The Volume
With the wraps finally off the BMW 2-Series, we now have a full slate of entry-level products from the German luxury designed to bring a whole new demographic into the arms of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. As much hand wringing as there is over the possible brand dilution going on here (all in the name of ever more important volume), it’s a damn good time to be a German car fan with around $30k to spend.
The Mercedes-Benz CLA is the first to hit the market, with the all-important sub$30,000 pricepoint. $29,900 gets you a 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and swoopy, pseudo-CLS styling. But you won’t be staying there for long – pretty much everything is an option, and the price can creep upward really quickly.
For the same $29,900, Audi will also offer you a same sedan that is front-drive, with an engine 200cc smaller and the same “looks like a big Audi, till a big Audi pull up” styling. The A3 at least has a fair bit of standard equipment: xenon lights, leather and a moonroof are all standard.
Of the Germans, only BMW has breached the $30,000 barrier, with its all new 228i, which starts at $33,025. But the 228i offers two things that the Audi and M-B can’t give you at any price: rear-wheel drive and a manual transmission. Of course, it’s also got two doors, while the other have four.
Tell me which one you’d prefer in the comments, or if you’d rather have a W-Body paid for in cash because owning one of these past the warranty period is an exercise is masochism.
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Have sat in the CLA but haven't driven it - every single one at the M-B store was already pre-sold, so no test drives! The dealer made it clear that it's exceeding sales expectations - a win for MB no matter what the Internet commentariat thinks. I'm just delighted that there are now more three more small cars with nice interiors, good road manners, and relatively powerful engines available. Design is, of course, subjective, but all three of these cars look better to me than their stablemates one size up. My sense is that there are plenty of people who could afford an even more expensive car, but need or want a small car. This is not a demographic that would cross-shop a Sonata, nor one that buys cars by the cubic foot. The Germans will nail their sales projections.
The CLA is positively one of the ugliest cars to have been designed and unveiled in the last decade. The rear is particulary heinous.