I picked up my new car this morning - CLA 250 Premium Plus in Polar White.
Arrived at the dealer at 9am in my freshly washed and gleaming S3(a credit to its owner ), and once all the paperwork was done I was driving out in my CLA just after 10am.
The dealer does not accept card payments so I had to pay via bank transfer, which took a little while to get through all the fraud prevention safeguards, but its for my own protection so cant really complain about that.
The CLA feels bigger than the S3, and is actually 9" longer but only about 1" wider.
I thought it would take a bit of getting used to the column mounted gear selector, but it is much easier and quicker to use than the traditional centre console mounted one.
There is so much to learn with this car.....I am actually feeling quite anxious about it because I don't know how to work the multitude of display settings and what they all mean etc. I think there comes a point where you can have too many options and settings.
The key fob is made of metal and plastic....first time I've had a key fob made of metal. Oh and the keyless entry can be turned off quickly and easily via the fob if required.
While at the dealer I was talked through setting up the Mercedes me app on my phone. I have only had a quick look at it so far but there is a hell of a lot that can be done via the app.....unlike the quite frankly useless Audi one(or it was for me anyway).
So far I have only driven 26.5 miles at 41.5 mpg(Confirmed via the app as I sit here )....was just taking it easy on way back from dealer.
Horse power at 224 is down quite a bit compared to my S3, but in real world driving I am probably not going to notice much of a difference, particularly as my annual mileage is only around 4000.
Its not all good news though, because I have already booked the car back into the dealer at beginning of July.
When the speed rises above 50mph there is a very annoying and constant whistling sound coming from I assume around the windscreen somewhere, but drop back below this speed and it disappears. The car is quiet and refined around town so I cannot accept this noise whenever I go on a dual carriageway or motorway.....which will be every day going to my work!
The dealer has booked me a courtesy car while they look at the problem.....which should be a formality to confirm, but might be another matter entirely to fix. I have so much faith in these things.
On the whole though I am delighted with the car! Ok its not a fire breathing monster but it is super classy IMHO.....and I am getting on a bit now.
Oh yeah....the piano black plastic trim around the centre console is going to be a real pain to keep clean. It already had a couple of smudges on it when I got in the car....and this stuff is notorious for scratching even if you look at it the wrong way!
Can anybody recommend a quick and easy way to clean interior piano black trim please? Would a damp microfibre cloth do the trick? I want to get it right first time because you don't get second chances with this stuff.
Arrived at the dealer at 9am in my freshly washed and gleaming S3(a credit to its owner ), and once all the paperwork was done I was driving out in my CLA just after 10am.
The dealer does not accept card payments so I had to pay via bank transfer, which took a little while to get through all the fraud prevention safeguards, but its for my own protection so cant really complain about that.
The CLA feels bigger than the S3, and is actually 9" longer but only about 1" wider.
I thought it would take a bit of getting used to the column mounted gear selector, but it is much easier and quicker to use than the traditional centre console mounted one.
There is so much to learn with this car.....I am actually feeling quite anxious about it because I don't know how to work the multitude of display settings and what they all mean etc. I think there comes a point where you can have too many options and settings.
The key fob is made of metal and plastic....first time I've had a key fob made of metal. Oh and the keyless entry can be turned off quickly and easily via the fob if required.
While at the dealer I was talked through setting up the Mercedes me app on my phone. I have only had a quick look at it so far but there is a hell of a lot that can be done via the app.....unlike the quite frankly useless Audi one(or it was for me anyway).
So far I have only driven 26.5 miles at 41.5 mpg(Confirmed via the app as I sit here )....was just taking it easy on way back from dealer.
Horse power at 224 is down quite a bit compared to my S3, but in real world driving I am probably not going to notice much of a difference, particularly as my annual mileage is only around 4000.
Its not all good news though, because I have already booked the car back into the dealer at beginning of July.
When the speed rises above 50mph there is a very annoying and constant whistling sound coming from I assume around the windscreen somewhere, but drop back below this speed and it disappears. The car is quiet and refined around town so I cannot accept this noise whenever I go on a dual carriageway or motorway.....which will be every day going to my work!
The dealer has booked me a courtesy car while they look at the problem.....which should be a formality to confirm, but might be another matter entirely to fix. I have so much faith in these things.
On the whole though I am delighted with the car! Ok its not a fire breathing monster but it is super classy IMHO.....and I am getting on a bit now.
Oh yeah....the piano black plastic trim around the centre console is going to be a real pain to keep clean. It already had a couple of smudges on it when I got in the car....and this stuff is notorious for scratching even if you look at it the wrong way!
Can anybody recommend a quick and easy way to clean interior piano black trim please? Would a damp microfibre cloth do the trick? I want to get it right first time because you don't get second chances with this stuff.