The history of innovation at Mercedes-Benz goes back to the invention of the car itself. For most of that time, innovation has gone hand in hand with classism. Mercedes typically introduces new tech on its most-expensive cars first, allowing it to trickle down to more-affordable models once some of the development costs are amortized. Now the world’s oldest automaker is entering its egalitarian era.

Mercedes tried its normal strategy with its EQ-series EVs, launching the EQS sedan and following it up with other models. But those cars were duds, so Mercedes is switching things up. The 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class — the automaker’s entry-level model for the United States — launches as an EV (a hybrid will also be available) and sets the technological tone for models to follow.

Instead of captains of industry, aspiring luxury-car owners will be the first to experience Mercedes’ next-generation EV platform, which extracts greater range from a given amount of batteries and offers faster charging. The new CLA also debuts Mercedes’ latest infotainment system, complete with ChatGPT and Google Gemini integration. Based on a first drive around San Francisco, there’s plenty to be excited about.

It’s an efficiency hero

Mercedes’ previous-generation EVs relied on maximizing battery capacity and minimizing aerodynamic drag to achieve sufficient range, but the CLA takes a holistic approach to efficiency. Like NASA engineers trying to get Apollo 13 home, the development team treated electricity like a finite resource. “Every watt” had to be accounted for Timo Stegmaier, senior manager of electric drive systems at Mercedes, told Digital Trends.

To make the best use of available energy, the CLA has a two-speed transmission for its rear drive unit, a heat pump, braking components packaged in a compact “box” and capable of delivering up to 200 kilowatts of regeneration, and a low drag coefficient of 0.21. That’s just a tick behind the 0.20 of the Mercedes EQS sedan, but with a shape that’s much less likely to ruffle feathers and makes fewer packaging compromises.

With an 85-kilowatt-hour pack, Mercedes estimates 374 miles of range for the single-motor CLA 250+ with EQ Technology (to use its full name) and 312 miles for the dual-motor CLA 350 4Matic with EQ Technology. With a base price of $48,500 for the single-motor model and $51,050 for the dual-motor version, that’s a lot of range for the money. And with an observed 3.6 miles per kWh on a cool December day in Northern California, it seems likely that those range figures will be achievable in the real world without much effort.

The CLA also marks Mercedes’ switch to an 800-volt electrical architecture, allowing for faster DC charging at up to 320 kilowatts. That’s enough to complete a 10%-80% charge in 22 minutes, according to Mercedes. A North American Charging Standard (NACS) port is standard, and InsideEVs reports that Tesla Supercharger compatibility will be available at launch thanks to a voltage booster that allows those 400-volt chargers to work with the 800-volt CLA. AC charging tops out at 9.6 kW.

It’s got stars in its eyes

The CLA is based on the Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA), a clean sheet the automaker claims to have filled with lessons learned from its ultra-efficient Vision EQXX prototype. But the transformation of the EQXX into the CLA reflects the realities of engineering a production car. If the EQXX is a stiletto, the CLA is an Ugg boot. But unlike the EQXX, the CLA has usable back seats.

It is nonetheless a bit disappointing that Mercedes couldn’t reduce the height of the battery pack, which gives the CLA a sizable midsection and raises the roof by 1.1 inches compared to the outgoing version. That’s not great for what’s supposed to be a “four-door coupe,” with a sleeker profile than a traditional sedan. It’s what made the original CLA so distinctive, and allowed the second-generation version to outlast its dowdier A-Class sibling in the U.S.

To distract, Mercedes fitted the CLA with a massive grille adorned with 42 three-pointed stars because hood ornaments are apparently too subtle. Mercedes-logo stars also comprise the headlights and taillights, albeit in slightly-altered form to get around German regulations that consider such peacocking to be a form of advertising. Those regulations also mean the home market doesn’t get the giant illuminated grille logo of U.S.-spec cars (lucky us).

You open the door via the same pop-out door handles as on the flagship S-Class sedan. That’s where the commonalities end, though. The CLA interior emphasizes that this is an entry-level model with tinny plastics and half-hearted details. The door-mounted seat-adjustment controls look like another automaker’s attempt to cheaply copy this signature Mercedes feature, and base models have a manually-adjusted steering column.

It drives like a Mercedes should

Mercedes only had the rear-wheel drive CLA 250+ on hand for this test drive. This single-motor version has 268 horsepower and 247 pound-feet of torque, which should get it from zero to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, Mercedes says. The dual-motor CLA 350 4Matic ups the ante to 349 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque, dropping the zero to 60 mph time to 4.8 seconds. Regardless of powertrain, the CLA is electronically limited to 130 mph.

There was a time when 268 hp in a compact car would’ve been headline-making stuff, but the single-motor CLA’s zero to 60 mph time shows the effect of its 4,553-pound curb weight. The two-speed transmission — like you get on a Porsche Taycan or the original Tesla Roadster — helps a bit. Its low first gear provided a bit of urgency as I threw off the shackles of downtown San Francisco traffic and made a break for the Golden Gate Bridge, but that faded quickly. Second gear is designed for efficiency at highway cruising, making the CLA feel less energetic at higher speeds.

Acceleration was adequate nonetheless, especially considering the range advantage of the rear-wheel drive CLA over its more powerful all-wheel drive stablemate. The suspension also had no trouble managing the added weight, giving it a comfortable ride and dignified handling characteristics. In low-regen mode, this aerodynamic sedan sailed down highways like an electric sloop. On curvy roads leading to a scenic overlook in the Marin Headlands, it was able to maintain a quick pace, but never let that lead to antics that might make passengers uncomfortable. It’s exactly what a Mercedes should be.

Its software still needs work

With the CLA, executives hope the definition of “what a Mercedes should be” will encompass software as well as hardware. This compact EV debuts a new operating system developed in-house, designed to support more software-based features than ever, backed by regular over-the-air (OTA) updates. Four major releases are planned per year, with smaller updates in between, although the exact cadence and content will be based on customer data, Magnus Östberg, chief software officer at Mercedes, said.

The playground for Mercedes’ software engineers is an inelegant slab the automaker dubs the Superscreen. It’s actually three separate screens — a 10.25-inch instrument cluster, 14.0-inch central touchscreen, and 14.0-inch front passenger touchscreen — plastered to the front of the dashboard. The central touchscreen abandons the widget-based layout of recent Mercedes models for a more conventional tile-based layout, while the instrument cluster features a simple layout that prioritizes driver-assist alerts and, thankfully, the speedometer.

Mercedes’ natural-language voice recognition now includes ChatGPT and Google Gemini (wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto remain standard as well), but the AI additions didn’t improve the experience over the already-excellent system in the outgoing CLA. The system still required careful phrasing to understand some questions (“what’s our miles per kWh?”) and flat out ignored others (“what direction are we traveling in?”). Mercedes could have saved itself the trouble of added partnerships and just kept the old system.

After briefly losing connectivity, the built-in navigation system also got confused at one point, flickering between the correct route back to San Francisco and an errant course toward the dockyards of Alameda. Glitches are not unheard of, especially when a navigation system needs to reorient itself in areas with spotty connectivity. But this isn’t a great sign for the operating system that’s supposed to herald Mercedes’ software-defined future. Hopefully that first OTA update is ready to push.

A redo worth doing

As mulligans go, the CLA is a good one. The Mercedes EQS sedan provided a more luxurious alternative to the Tesla Model S, but the tepid response to subsequent EQ models shows the concept didn’t have legs. There was also plenty of room for improvement on efficiency, and by learning the lessons it needed to Mercedes is able to deliver plenty of range while keeping battery-pack size in check.

The emphasis on software-based features is less convincing, but Mercedes isn’t the first established automaker to stumble in that area. It also seems unnecessary considering how solidly engineered the rest of the car is. If that engineering is the foundation for Mercedes’ EV second act, bring it on.