Volkswagen Shows Off CLA Competitor In Chengdu

by Derek Kreindler

Published: August 29th, 2014

volkswagen shows off cla competitor in chengdu

Volkswagen’s latest MQB-based vehicle is another challenge to Mercedes-Benz – the last time they threw down the gauntlet against Daimler, we ended up with the Phaeton. This should fare a bit better.

Dubbed the “Lamando”, the vehicle in question is based on the MK7 Golf and its MQB chassis, and uses both the 1.4L and 2.0L TSI 4-cylinder engines, along with a 7-speed DSG gearbox. The Lamando will be built in China, for the Chinese market only, with a starting price of about $29,000. This puts it in direct competition with the Mercedes-Benz CLA.

Live shots of the car can be seen here. Sales of the Americanized Jetta have slumped recently, despite a strong (but price-driven) introduction. A car like this would do a lot to add some pizzazz to Volkswagen’s compact sedan, and given its MQB bones, it could likely be built in Mexico easily. How about it, VW?

#China #Mercedes-benzCla #Sedan #Volkswagen #VolkswagenLamando #VW

Derek Kreindler

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4 of 34 comments

Athos Nobile on Aug 30, 2014

I fail to see why a customer would choose this over a CLA. The car looks good and it would be great as a... Jetta.

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- Flybrian on Aug 30, 2014
  
  The CLA looks like someone tried to draw 17-feet of car on a 13-foot template. An Accent is better-penned, IMO.
  
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- Athos Nobile on Aug 30, 2014
  
  @Flybrian I think they wanted to do a mini CLS. And they got close. The design is also cohesive between A, B, CLA and CLK.
  
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George B on Aug 30, 2014

Looks like a Chinese Jetta with a high beltline and big wheels to me. I haven't driven a Jetta in more than a year, but the GLI interior felt like a "real Volkswagen" while the base interior was cost-reduced a little too much. In my opinion, Jetta sales would improve if Volkswagen made a better effort to disguise the down-market plastic. It felt like German engineers had contempt for Americans. "You want a big, cheap Jetta. We'll give you a big, cheap Jetta!"

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