"SAN FRANCISCO-Automakers are starting to follow somewhat familiar paths as they continue their journeys to electrification. Electric vehicles are, at first, strange new tech, and usually look like it. Mercedes-Benz's EQS and EQE are good examples-with bodies that look like bars of soap worn down in the shower, they stood out. For early adopters and trailblazers that might be fine, but you need to sell cars to normal people if you want to survive, and that means making EVs more normal."
"The normal looks belie the amount of new technology that Mercedes has packed into the CLA, though. The car sticks to the four-door coupe look that the company pioneered a couple of decades ago, but there's a thoroughly modern electric powertrain connected to the wheels, run by four powerful networked computers. And yes, there's AI. (For the pedants, "coupe" means cut down, not two-door, so the name is accurate.)"
"That creation was capable of about 750 miles (1,207 km) on a single charge, but it was handbuilt and lacked working rear doors or an actual back seat. The CLA manages as much as 374 miles on a full charge of its 85 kWh (useable) battery pack, although as ever this decreases a little as you fit larger wheels. But Mercedes has been restrained in this regard, eschewing that terrible trend for larger and larger wheels."
Mercedes released an all-electric CLA that combines conventional four-door coupe styling with a modern electric powertrain and AI-enabled systems controlled by four networked computers. The CLA uses a modular architecture that is powertrain-agnostic, with hybrid variants planned alongside the battery EV. The vehicle incorporates technology developed for the EQXX concept and provides up to 374 miles on an 85 kWh usable battery, with range varying by wheel size. Mercedes intentionally limits wheel diameters to 17–19 inches to reduce drag and preserve efficiency. The CLA starts at $47,250 and aims to make EVs more familiar to mainstream buyers.
Read at Ars Technica
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