{"id":26136,"date":"2020-10-12T17:26:51","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T21:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=26136"},"modified":"2020-10-12T17:26:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T21:26:51","slug":"payne-room-or-vroom-entry-level-mercedes-glb-crossover-vs-cla-sedan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/payne-room-or-vroom-entry-level-mercedes-glb-crossover-vs-cla-sedan","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Room or vroom? Entry-level Mercedes GLB crossover vs. CLA sedan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mercedes\u00a0GLB and CLA may sound like they come from the same family. But they are as different as Hansel and Gretel.<\/p>\n

The GLB crossover and CLA sedan occupy the same entry-level compact segment. Both offer front- or all-wheel drive. Both feature the same state-of-the-art self-driving system. Yet Mercedes-Benz\u00a0sees SUV and sedan buyers as entirely different people.<\/p>\n

So it has given the entry-level vehicles two entirely different personalities.<\/p>\n

Like siblings that take after mom or dad, the GLB gets its DNA from Papa G-wagon \u2014 Mercedes\u2019 top-of-the-line SUV patriarch. The comely CLA learned its lessons from the top-dog S-class coupe.<\/p>\n

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GLB is square and chunky like the off-roady G-wagon, its giant greenhouse giving excellent\u00a0360-degree visibility and comfortable rear seating for your giraffe-legged reviewer. I could easily sit behind myself in the GLB with headroom to spare.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in its SUV lineup, Mercedes has been pushing the envelope trying to make its SUVs look more sedan-like with racy\u00a0\u201ccoupe\u201d designs on the GLC and GLE. Well, the GLB won\u2019t be turning any heads.<\/p>\n

The little Mercedes takes its design cues from a shoebox. This sport utility is all about utility.<\/p>\n

Strangely, my GLB 250 came equipped with paddle shifters, which were as useful as tennis shoes on a fish. The GLB is not a vehicle you want to row hard. Its 2.0-liter turbo-4 has enough pep to get around town, but the turbo lags and the car\u2019s top-heavy appearance (all that greenhouse glass!) translates to healthy body roll in the twisties.<\/p>\n

Homely it may be, but you can throw everything and the kitchen sink inside its big square hatchback \u2014 and the GLB middle seats fold flat for easy loading. Its wheelbase stretches a healthy four inches beyond the CLA. Got more stuff? Load it on the roof rails.<\/p>\n

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If you want a stylish Mercedes, forget the GLA and check out runway model CLA.<\/p>\n

With is long\u00a0shark nose and swept lines, the sedan will get entry-level buyers’\u00a0attention. Papa S-class would be proud. Interestingly, the GLB is adorned with jewelry \u2014 chrome exhaust valance here, a dab of rocker-panel chrome there \u2014 in order to let you know the shoebox is a Mercedes.<\/p>\n

The gorgeous CLA doesn\u2019t need superfluous jewelry. Its lean body is visual enough. It\u2019s even prettier than CLA\u2019s first-gen car which I swooned over in 2015,\u00a0especially in the rear quarters which drooped in the 2014 model like it had\u00a0been held too close to a flame. The 2020 version\u00a0sports a firmer derriere.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s important because\u00a0the CLA is a companion sedan with the Mercedes A-class. Like the S-class and its S-class Coupe stablemate, Mercedes offers entry-level sedan buyers two body styles. Though the CLA has four doors, its raked roofline echoes that of the two-door, S-class coupe.<\/p>\n

The A-class is attractive to look at \u2014 but for a couple grand more, you can score a date with the homecoming queen.<\/p>\n

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Speaking of a couple grand more, I would recommend upgrading\u00a0to the CLA\u2019s AMG performance trim.<\/p>\n

Like the GLB, the standard\u00a0221-horsepower\u00a02.0-liter turbo-4 in the CLA feels a bit uninterested. The AMG 35 trim gains 81 ponies and a taut\u00a0all-wheel-drive suspension.<\/p>\n

Luffing along state Route 250 in Ohio, a serious-looking\u00a0232-horse Mazda RX8 suddenly loomed in my mirrors. I toggled into the AMG 35\u2019s exclusive Sport\u00a0Plus\u00a0mode, tightening the suspension and steering. The engine lowered an octave as if clearing its throat.<\/p>\n

With a flick of the shift paddle (useful in the CLA as opposed to the GLB)\u00a0I dropped the transmission a gear,\u00a0then floored it. Blatt! Blatt! went the lightning-quick upshifts as I sped through a pair of ess curves, the chassis solid as a rock.<\/p>\n

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Exploding out of the last corner, I glanced in the rear-view mirror for my RX8 friend. He was barely in sight, struggling to keep up.<\/p>\n

If anyone challenges you at a stoplight, the AMG\u2019s launch control is also useful. Floor the brake. Bury the throttle. Wait for the revs to level at 3,000 rpms. Lift brake. Zot!<\/p>\n

As different as the SUV and sedan look outside, the cockpits are similar. Both come with a standard 7-inch gauge cluster. Upgrade to a 10.25-inch cluster like my testers and you get one of the industry\u2019s best digital experiences. Where Tesla has inspired a generation of cars with big center screens, Mercedes has innovated the horizontal dash screen, stretching from the driver\u2019s instrument panels across the console.<\/p>\n

Note the Kia K5, Hyundai Sonata\u00a0and 2021 Cadillac Escalade as disciples of Merc\u2019s design lead. Managing the wealth of information on these graphically rich screens is a beautifully engineered steering wheel. Without removing my hands from it, I used tiny mouse pads on the spokes to negotiate between menus.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s self-driving capability, too, for the ambitious. Mercedes’\u00a0system is reliable on a divided interstate, even changing lanes automatically when you pull the turn-signal stalk. Unfortunately, the voice-recognition system struggled with my navigation commands, whereas the available Android Auto (ahem, Mercedes, if Kia can do wireless Android Auto, why can\u2019t you?) responded perfectly as always.<\/p>\n

I continue to use phone apps for my in-car navigation.<\/p>\n

The Mercedes\u2019 consoles provide useful storage space for phone and water bottles \u2014 but could be even more useful were it not for the giant touchpad that occupies valuable console real estate and proved clumsy to operate. I didn\u2019t use it.<\/p>\n