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By Jonathan Crouch

The classy compact Mercedes CLA Hybrid is a welcome alternative to its EV stablemate. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 57

Finally, Mercedes has brought us a car with a full-Hybrid engine. It arrives here in the form of the CLA Hybrid, the combustion alternative to the EV powertrain the third generation CLA was primarily developed around. This petrol/electric variant won't save you much money over the EV, but it might be a better fit for your lifestyle.

Backgroundword count: 103

All the headlines with Mercedes' third generation CLA have, understandably, been with the EV range-leading electric version. In the current climate though, arguably more important to the sales fortunes of Stuttgart's compact four-door Coupe and Shooting Brake estate is the Hybrid drivetrain we focus on here. Mercedes has been producing mild hybrid versions of its mainstream engines for the last decade, but this is its very first full-Hybrid - which seems astonishing given that Toyota's been making the things for 30 years. Better late than never though and this CLA powertrain is certainly state of the current art. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experienceword count: 259

All CLA Hybrids use a 1.5-litre four cylinder turbo petrol engine unrelated to the previous un-electrified Renault-sourced unit of the same size. This new engine is entirely Mercedes' own work and comes in three different flavours. All see this powerplant mated to a small hybrid module with a 30bhp electric motor, which adds an extra 200Nm of torque and drives the front wheels, energised by a 48V 1.3kWh battery. Drive is via an eight-speed dual clutch 8F-eDCT auto gearbox. At urban speeds and when less than 22kW is needed, the hybrid models can drive using electric power alone. A special feature of the motor is its ability to recuperate in all eight gears, recovering up to 25kW of energy. We said there were three different versions of this powertrain. It's at its most affordable in the CLA 180, which produces 136hp and makes 62mph in 8.8s on the way to 135mph. In the mid-level CLA 200, that engine is tuned up to 163hp, reducing the 0-62mph time to 8 seconds exactly, without affecting efficiency. Top speed is 144mph. At the top of the line-up is the CLA 220 4MATIC, which adds power to the rear axle for all-wheel drive. This version offers 190hp and makes 62mph in 7.1s en route to 147mph. All of these outputs are quite a way down on what you get from the full electric version of this CLA. The volume EV variant, the 'CLA 250+ with EQ Technology', has 272hp and gets to 62mph in 6.7s, while offering up to 483 miles of range.

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