Car of the Year 2026 - Mercedes CLA

[bad company]

An ev albeit it sounds like a very good one. I’m not sure about the looks though.

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/industry-ne...

https://group.mercedes-benz.com/company/news/cla-c...

Edited by bad company on Saturday 10th January 05:09

[plfrench]

You sound like you’re surprised it was an EV that won! The top three were all EVs and last year’s winner was EV too. It’s just a sign of the times as to where the bulk of development money is being spent and would be a bit odd if they weren’t winning this sort of award routinely now.

[bad company]

plfrench said:

You sound like you re surprised it was an EV that won! The top three were all EVs and last year s winner was EV too. It s just a sign of the times as to where the bulk of development money is being spent and would be a bit odd if they weren t winning this sort of award routinely now.

I was a bit surprised, yes. For me hybrids are more attractive now though both of my current cars are petrol.

[Earthdweller]

plfrench said:

You sound like you re surprised it was an EV that won! The top three were all EVs and last year s winner was EV too. It s just a sign of the times as to where the bulk of development money is being spent and would be a bit odd if they weren t winning this sort of award routinely now.

It's not just available as an EV but also a petrol and petrol hybrid plus 4WD petrol/hybrid versions with even more powerful versions available on mainland Europe

[Ezra]

Is this the one that What Car crashed? They were doing a comparison test, driving in convoy and the Mercedes CLA automatically slammed its breaks on for no apparent reason. It's still an issue with Mercedes analysing the cars data to determine why it happened. Its all on film in a What Car vid - interesting watch!

[plfrench]

Earthdweller said:

It's not just available as an EV but also a petrol and petrol hybrid plus 4WD petrol/hybrid versions with even more powerful versions available on mainland Europe

It’s the electric version that was judged as the hybrid isn’t out yet though.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joerg-burzer_car-of...

[andyalan10]

Ezra said:

Is this the one that What Car crashed? They were doing a comparison test, driving in convoy and the Mercedes CLA automatically slammed its breaks on for no apparent reason. It's still an issue with Mercedes analysing the cars data to determine why it happened. Its all on film in a What Car vid - interesting watch!

Or for an alternative description, the Mercedes braked because the camera car moved in front of it, and the crash happened because the following car didn't slow down fast enough. I've watched the whole What Car video and found the whole tone grating. Their continual "We've done it lots of times and it's not happened before" could be contrasted with "Putting a guy in the boot of a car and driving in close convoy seems completely unnecessary, and was an accident waiting to happen". Why not a drone shot, or a stationary photographer, or a remote operated camera? Why all the emphasis on "Why did the Mercedes brake unexpectedly?", and none on "Why didn't the second car brake?" Did it have AEB? Why didn't it activate?

[GeniusOfLove]

ECOTY, eh? It can join such illustrious company as the Chrysler Horizon, Fiat Brava, Peugeot 307 and Peugeot 308, Mk3 Golf (still the worst generation of Golf despite the recent efforts of VW) and of course the Vauxhall Insignia.

I assume the award has some marketing value with people who don't know anything about cars, but I've always assumed it was closely linked to marketing budgets with the occasional surprise win by something that isn't everyones 4th choice in a given market sector.

[uktrailmonster]

I really struggle with the front styling on these. The faux grille and lightbar clash badly. Like 2-different front ends overlaid. Seems like a very efficient EV though.

[clive_candy]

andyalan10 said:

Ezra said:

Is this the one that What Car crashed? They were doing a comparison test, driving in convoy and the Mercedes CLA automatically slammed its breaks on for no apparent reason. It's still an issue with Mercedes analysing the cars data to determine why it happened. Its all on film in a What Car vid - interesting watch!

Or for an alternative description, the Mercedes braked because the camera car moved in front of it, and the crash happened because the following car didn't slow down fast enough. I've watched the whole What Car video and found the whole tone grating. Their continual "We've done it lots of times and it's not happened before" could be contrasted with "Putting a guy in the boot of a car and driving in close convoy seems completely unnecessary, and was an accident waiting to happen". Why not a drone shot, or a stationary photographer, or a remote operated camera? Why all the emphasis on "Why did the Mercedes brake unexpectedly?", and none on "Why didn't the second car brake?" Did it have AEB? Why didn't it activate?

Isn't it the point that the car didn't do what the driver wanted/expected and there was a collision which otherwise wouldn't have occurred?

[fflump]

bad company said:

plfrench said:

You sound like you re surprised it was an EV that won! The top three were all EVs and last year s winner was EV too. It s just a sign of the times as to where the bulk of development money is being spent and would be a bit odd if they weren t winning this sort of award routinely now.

I was a bit surprised, yes. For me hybrids are more attractive now though both of my current cars are petrol.

I was surprised but it is a highly developed and uptodate generation of EV engineering and tech/spec to be up there with Tesla.
BMW will be hot on its heels with the Neue Klasse i3 and will be a step up in practicality. The previous CLA models especially the shooting brakes look like a practical propositions but are just too small. That said I'm seriously considering a used CLA45 shooting brake as a second runabout when full load lugging capabilities are not needed.

[BunkMoreland]

clive_candy said:

Isn't it the point that the car didn't do what the driver wanted/expected and there was a collision which otherwise wouldn't have occurred?

Exactly! We see it time and time again with Mercedes products. They are simply not good enough when it comes to this auto braking, lane assist gubbins

Others saying that camera car "cut back in too close" are mad! It was a good few car lengths ahead. And if the car has a meltdown at that, what happens when you DO get cut up on a motorway? It will jam the brakes on.

It was also a nonsense for Mercedes to say "the car sensed a pedestrian as the camera guy had the tailgate open" The camera is NOT that clever. It just sees "obstacle"

It cant differentiate a pedestrian from a bicycle from a SUV to an elephant.

Bottom line is the calibrations is terrible, and the car should NEVER be unpredictable in what action it will take.

[andyalan10]

clive_candy said:

andyalan10 said:

Ezra said:

Is this the one that What Car crashed? They were doing a comparison test, driving in convoy and the Mercedes CLA automatically slammed its breaks on for no apparent reason. It's still an issue with Mercedes analysing the cars data to determine why it happened. Its all on film in a What Car vid - interesting watch!

Or for an alternative description, the Mercedes braked because the camera car moved in front of it, and the crash happened because the following car didn't slow down fast enough. I've watched the whole What Car video and found the whole tone grating. Their continual "We've done it lots of times and it's not happened before" could be contrasted with "Putting a guy in the boot of a car and driving in close convoy seems completely unnecessary, and was an accident waiting to happen". Why not a drone shot, or a stationary photographer, or a remote operated camera? Why all the emphasis on "Why did the Mercedes brake unexpectedly?", and none on "Why didn't the second car brake?" Did it have AEB? Why didn't it activate?

Isn't it the point that the car didn't do what the driver wanted/expected and there was a collision which otherwise wouldn't have occurred?

I think it's much less clear cut than that, which is why I initially posted. What Car's implication is that the Mercedes was completely to blame. Basically the Mercedes braked when it probably wasn't necessary. The second car did not brake when it certainly was necessary. I think both vehicles, and the way they were being used all contributed to the eventual outcome.

[Yahonza]

So ECOTY are saying it is state of the art but we're questioning the 'state' of the art?
I quite like it, but the safety issues are really concerning. Maybe it just needs calibrating.
Not a huge fan of car nannying systems, I guess you have to drive in a way to avoid setting them off?

[Deep Thought]

uktrailmonster said:

I really struggle with the front styling on these. The faux grille and lightbar clash badly. Like 2-different front ends overlaid. Seems like a very efficient EV though.

+1

And why cant anyone design a nice alloy wheel any more?

[Ezra]

andyalan10 said:

I think it's much less clear cut than that, which is why I initially posted. What Car's implication is that the Mercedes was completely to blame. Basically the Mercedes braked when it probably wasn't necessary. The second car did not brake when it certainly was necessary. I think both vehicles, and the way they were being used all contributed to the eventual outcome.

It's not less clear cut....the accident occurred due to system error, not driver error. The system, or its calibration, were at fault.

[GeniusOfLove]

I think people would cut MB a lot less slack if it was their brand new car with them and their family in it that behaved erratically and caused a collision that would never have happened without it's helpful intervention.

We all know the "don't follow too close" thing of course but I suspect many, many people (even PH driving gods) would be at real risk of rear ending the car in front in 30MPH traffic if it randomly did a full bore emergency stop without any warning or any cause to be seen ahead of it.

Yes ultimately it's the driver who doesn't react in time and drives into the back of you that is at fault but I would be absolutely fking apoplectic with rage if my car put the brakes on for no reason and caused an RTA.

[sixor8]

It's not just an EV thing though, all new cars are loaded up ADAS. Beeping and flashing speed limit warnings (often wrongly), and slamming brakes on if it 'thinks' there's going to be a collision.

My Honda did it on the A34 in 2024 when there was a big dip in the road. It momentarily saw a wall of tarmac I think. It only lasted 1/2 a second but the brakes slamming on with no vehicles in front of me was a surprise. Nobody close behind, thankfully. Software update in July 2025 and it hasn't done it again.

[Mr Tidy]

GeniusOfLove said:

ECOTY, eh? It can join such illustrious company as the Chrysler Horizon, Fiat Brava, Peugeot 307 and Peugeot 308, Mk3 Golf (still the worst generation of Golf despite the recent efforts of VW) and of course the Vauxhall Insignia.

I assume the award has some marketing value with people who don't know anything about cars, but I've always assumed it was closely linked to marketing budgets with the occasional surprise win by something that isn't everyones 4th choice in a given market sector.

According to Wiki the Strada got beaten by the even worse Chrysler Horizon in 1979.

But you're right, while winning might have made a manufacturer happy it didn't mean they had produced a good car!

Anyway let's face it there are only ever going to be EV winners now.

[GeniusOfLove]

sixor8 said:

It's not just an EV thing though, all new cars are loaded up ADAS. Beeping and flashing speed limit warnings (often wrongly), and slamming brakes on if it 'thinks' there's going to be a collision.

My Honda did it on the A34 in 2024 when there was a big dip in the road. It momentarily saw a wall of tarmac I think. It only lasted 1/2 a second but the brakes slamming on with no vehicles in front of me was a surprise. Nobody close behind, thankfully. Software update in July 2025 and it hasn't done it again.

Absolutely, all modern cars are crap and I wouldn't want to single out EVs.

At least EVs have a decent powertrain though!