The Mercedes-Benz CLA Will Be A Vary And Effectivity Monster With EQXX Tech

Nearly three years in the past now, Mercedes-Benz confirmed off one thing that appeared able to doing the inconceivable. Dubbed the Imaginative and prescient EQXX, it had the identical measurement battery as a Mercedes EQS, simply 30% lighter and taking on half as a lot area. Its electrical motor was a lot smaller than most with its energy output. It was aerodynamic sufficient to make a fighter jet seem like a faculty bus.

Put all these improvements collectively, and Mercedes had a automobile that may drive 747 miles on a single cost—sure, actually—or 627 miles within the warmth of a Saudi Arabian desert. And it delivered groundbreaking electrical effectivity of as much as 8.5 miles per kilowatt-hour, virtually twice nearly as good as at this time’s greatest EVs.

At different automakers, this mission would have stayed a mere science experiment. Not so at Mercedes-Benz, the place certainly one of its prime engineers lately instructed me the automobile’s know-how will straight translate to its most essential EV but: the brand new CLA-Class.

Timo Stegmaier, Mercedes head of e-drive compact/midsize and system validation, additionally labored on Mercedes-Benz’s groundbreaking EQXX mission and has been answerable for bringing most of the learnings from there into the virtually production-ready CLA. 

Photograph by: InsideEVs

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype

“The world-record EQXX, it was essential for us with the automobile to affect sequence manufacturing,” Stegmaier stated of the long-tailed prototype machine. “It was very nice not solely doing a showcase with the EQXX, it was fairly cool additionally right here within the CLA.” 

The brand new CLA-Class shall be an important mannequin for Mercedes-Benz. Its first go at EVs, the EQ-branded sedans and SUVs, didn’t actually make a splash within the market as anticipated. Future Mercedes electrical fashions at the moment are stated to look way more like their acquainted gas-powered counterparts. And like different automakers, Mercedes can be pushing again its all-electric objectives as gross sales show uneven.

However it may well’t surrender on EVs solely. Mercedes faces intense electrical competitors in, and now from, China. It has strict emissions and gas financial system requirements to fulfill globally. And the corporate lengthy identified for innovation doesn’t need to cede that management to anybody. So the CLA-Class would be the first of a number of new extra compact, ultra-efficient electrical sedans, wagons and even giant crossovers. And so they’ll have hybrid variations that includes batteries paired with a brand new high-efficiency four-cylinder engine. 

Any manner you take a look at it, effectivity is the secret right here. The EQXX set new data for that on a number of events. A lot of the know-how from EQXX will stay on within the CLA in some type or one other, however Stegmaier stated there have been some enhancements, too. 

Photograph by: InsideEVs

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype

“The CLA has the same motor” to the EQXX, he stated, enhancements over the powertrain seen within the EQE and EQS protecting not solely {hardware} design however softer stuff, just like the varieties of lubricants used inside. Stegmaier declined to elaborate on that however stated that the elemental idea of the battery and its electronics, that of “the one field,” continues on from the EQXX as nicely.

With this design, Mercedes engineers positioned not solely the battery cells and thermal administration however a lot of the charging and controller infrastructure collectively right into a single element. It will certainly simplify manufacturing but additionally optimize area throughout the Mercedes Modular Structure, or MMA, the platform that the CLA will roll upon.

Photograph by: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes CLA MMA Platform

It additionally creates room for a frunk, which earlier fashions just like the EQE and EQS have lacked. “It’s a very compact motor out within the entrance,” Stegmaier stated. “So the compact design makes it potential to have a very fairly cool frunk.” Stegmaier would not give me a selected quantity, however by the sound of issues, a number of groceries or a backpack can be cheap.

However there will be different enhancements, too, together with an vitality density from the 85 kWh nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) pack that, Stegmaier says, is 20% greater than the corporate’s earlier cells.

The drivetrain configuration is considerably completely different from the EQ vehicles, too. Whereas the entrance motor association is comparable, a completely excited motor with a disconnect, the rear of the CLA depends on a two-speed transmission. 

Photograph by: InsideEVs

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype

Stegmaier referred to as this method: “The guts of effectivity.” Two speeds allow the rear motor to function effectively at a larger vary of speeds. 

Realizing that EV transmissions are a controversial subject—particularly whether or not the extra complexity is worth it—I requested whether or not there was any inside debate about going with this strategy for the CLA. “It is not a straightforward resolution as a result of, as you stated, it is also advanced and expensive,” he stated. “However we have been very clear. We additionally need to deliver that effectivity into the CLA, and there, the two-speed gearbox is completely essential.”

The result’s a automobile that, Stegmaier says, will cowl a whopping 5.2 miles per kWh and ship 93% effectivity. That ought to trump even the Lucid Air Pure as probably the most environment friendly EV round. This efficiency, he stated, truly hampered his crew’s earlier testing within the Alps.

“There have been many occasions my crew was coming as much as me and saying, ‘We had an issue. We could not do any charging checks as a result of we could not get the automobile empty,'” he stated. 

Photograph by: InsideEVs

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Prototype

PR-friendly testing issues apart, a part of that effectivity in steep terrain is due to considerably greater regen charges than earlier Mercedes-Benz EVs. The CLA is ready to generate as much as 200 kW below braking, or virtually thrice what a Tesla Mannequin 3 can do. Stegmaier declined to say what number of Gs the automobile can maintain below deceleration however did say that probably the most aggressive of the three regen modes (D, D-, and D+) shall be a correct one-pedal expertise, with the automobile coming to a whole cease. 

That captured momentum will, in fact, assist recharge the battery by way of the automobile’s 800-volt system. In relation to charging the old school manner, a 320 kW DC charger will allow grabbing 186 miles of cost in simply 10 minutes, a part of what helped the crew cowl over 2,300 miles in 24 hours in one more record-breaking run. 

That charging will occur by way of a Tesla-style NACS plug, whereas a separate J1772 plug is there for slower duties. And, Stegmaier assured me that the facility will move each methods: “We’ll provide bidirectional charging, so you should use the CLA additionally as storage,” he stated.

Photograph by: Mercedes-Benz

That is quite a lot of excellent news for EV homeowners, however the modifications prolong past the {hardware} of the brand new platform. The CLA will show important software program revisions as nicely, beginning with the MB.OS system working within the dashboard.

The software program controlling these motors can be improved, one thing Stegmaier stated can be a boon in low-grip situations, such because the slippery, snowy take a look at trip I obtained. Even in deep snow, the CLA’s dual-motor all-wheel-drive system did not skip a beat. 

Once more, a lot of that is due to the learnings from the electrical EQXX, however many have been shocked to be taught that the platform it spawned, MMA, may also be used for a 48-volt hybrid.

Photograph by: InsideEVs

Mercedes MMA Platform Hybrid Engine

Mercedes has confirmed they may launch an inside combustion model of the CLA, and whereas that information dropped solely lately, Stegmaier stated a hybrid was at all times a part of the plan: “It was from the start,” he stated, “as a result of we need to provide each worlds, each buyer wants. So in case you go to the store, you’ll purchase a CLA. The second query shall be, which powertrain do you need to select?”

That, then, raises the query of how these two CLAs shall be differentiated available in the market. Each will merely be referred to as CLA, with Mercedes-Benz counting on its numerical nomenclature to determine the powertrains, very similar to with the present G-Class. There, the inner combustion fashions are G550 or AMG G63, whereas the electrical mannequin is the G580. 

Photograph by: InsideEVs

I requested Stegmaier if there can be any important visible differentiators. “There are little, little or no, variations between the hybrid and the electrical automobile,” he stated, suggesting the grille therapy would be the largest differentiator. 

Which means you’ll see greater than a bit of of the design heritage of the ultra-efficient EQXX EV even within the gas-powered CLA. However the place that automobile featured a dramatic however considerably impractical form, with a protracted tail designed to assist aerodynamics, the CLA’s form shall be extra pert, extra sensible.

And, if the CLA Idea is any indication, one thing way more engaging than Mercedes’ present EV choices. 

16

Tim Stevens is a veteran editor, analyst, and skilled within the tech and automotive industries. He helmed CNET’s automotive protection for 9 years and acted as Vice President of Content material. Previous to that, Tim served as Editor-in-Chief at Engadget and even led a earlier life as an Enterprise Software program Architect. Comply with Tim on Twitter at @tim_stevens and catch his Substack.