She looks stunning with lots of oomph! and in red, she is guaranteed to turn heads. Say hello to the gorgeous new Mercedes-Benz CLA, almost the perfect car to kickstart 2015 with for the German car maker. Unveiled as concept in 2012 at the Beijing Auto show, the production car which rolled out in mid-2013 looks pretty much the same as the concept. And it seemed to fit the bill for Mercedes-Benz as they looked to globally strengthen their entry level portfolio with the A-Class, GLA and now the CLA to lure new buyers.

Call it an A-class with a boot or smaller version of the CLS, the CLA wouldn’t mind that, as both of them are very attractive cars but the CLA still manages to hold it’s own with its design. The nose of the car is slightly similar to the A-class, you’ve got these bi-xenon headlights with the LED daytime running lights and on the side, you have these three sweeping lines to give quite a sporty and bold appeal. This coupe style slooping roofline, although it does look a bit cramped for the rear passenger, points out to this being aerodynamically sound with reduced drag and that should make this quite fun to drive.

Even the attractive Audi A3 doesn’t seem to have that flair that the CLA offers in it’s design. Even the rear doesn’t look too stubby with the swooping All-LED tail-lamps. The 17-inch alloys also add to the sporty character although the car sits with a slightly increased ground clearance the wheelbase comes in at 2699 mm more than the Audi A3 meaning more space on the inside.

Get inside the CLA and there is the familiar sight of the stylish A-class dashboard to put a smile on your face. Jet propeller type air vents, sporty twin tube dials for the driver. Interiors are available in dual-tone or an all-black shade and the plastics used inside the cabin are pretty good, maybe not as top-notch as expected from Mercedes-Benz especially some of the hard plastic used around the dash.

But what we really liked was the new infotainment system on-board the CLA with the latest software loaded on it meaning a smoother user interface and a new navigation system which uses an SD card for the data. Also, the panoramic sunroof that automatically shuts when it detects rain does help make the cabin feel a bit more roomy. The sporty racing-type front seats with the integrated headreats feel quite comfortable while the frameless doors add to the premium sedan feel.

Now as expected the rear seat of the CLA does feel a bit cramped especially when it comes to headroom. Also the smaller windows makes it a bit claustrophobic, but the legroom is fairly decent with the increased wheelbase and you also have rear AC vents for comfort but the transmission tunnel does mean that the rear can only seat 2 adults and a child at the max. So, I do see lots of people queuing up to get into the front seats than be back here.

The boot space is quite generous at 470 litres but do factor in the spare tyre but the rear seats do split fold 60/40 giving you that extra luggage area.

Now, when Mercedes-Benz decided to bring only one petrol the CLA 200 and the diesel CLA 200 CDI, I was a bit disappointed given that there were more powerful engines available in their global portfolio. But now I don’t feel that bad as we are driving the CLA 200 CDI as the engine does have quite a bit of punch, lots of torque and doesn’t get too noisy at high speeds thanks to the great insulation inside the cabin.

Similar to what you get on the GLA, the CLA gets the 2 litre turbocharged and peppy petrol engine powering 181 bhp and 300 nm of torque mated to a seven speed dual clutch gearbox.

The diesel engine is a 2.1-litre turbo motor churning out 134 bhp and 300 nm of torque, with the same seven-speed dual clutch gearbox.

The petrol was easily our pick of the two engines if you are looking for a sporty and peppy drive while the diesel offers a more cruising type of driving dynamics. But the reason why the CLA put a a big smile on my face is because the car really surprised me with its ride quality. The suspension is well-tuned despite its sporty character and doesn’t feel too stiff and takes in large speed-breakers or potholes. It doesn’t seem too unsettled and that’s a big plus for the CLA..

There is a hint of turbo lag in the diesel but unleash it on the open road and the CLA cruises with great ease and you get the standard three driving modes, Economy, Sport and Manual with paddle shifters adding to the fun. The front-wheel drive CLA handles fairly well and manages to hold it’s line even around corners. The steering isn’t the most responsive though but feels a bit heavy keeping the driver engaged.

Now, Mercedes Benz says it has sold over 100,000 units of the CLA since its launch in April 2013 in Europe and the US. Here’s the interesting part – 80% of the customers in the US were new customers who hadn’t owned a Mercedes-Benz before and so Mercedes-Benz is hoping the CLA will bring new customers and so in anticipation of large volumes and better pricing, the company will assemble the CLA in India, although at launch it will be imported as a CBU but will soon start assembling the car here in India.

So yeah, all eyes will now be on this red-hot beauty when it launches later this month and expect Mercedes-Benz to stay aggressive with the pricing. We do expect prices for the CLA to start around 28-30 lakh rupees, which should be a fun start to the year as the German big boys battle it out for pole position this year in the Indian market.