Between these pictures of the 2025 Mercedes CLA arriving in our inbox and the last set finding our way to us in August, Mercedes revealed the CLA Concept, which gave us a solid idea of what to expect when the prototypes peel off their camouflage wrappers later this year. Even with the disguise firmly still attached, the CLA is a sleek-looking thing, handsome enough to give Tesla’s recently facelifted Model 3 sedan a real headache. Squint a bit and you can even make out the three-pointed-star design in the front and rear DRLs, a feature that appeared on the concept, and which Mercedes design boss Gordon Wagener has confirmed will become a regular brand design motif going forward.

But while much of the concept’s exterior design will be carried over to the new car, it looks like the interior will be toned down a little for production. The CLA concept – which Mercedes has wheeled out again for this week’s CES tech-fest in Vegas to talk about its upgraded AI-powered MBUX infotainment system – is equipped with a full-width, lozenge-shaped dashboard display that floats above a center console.

 

But our first spy shot showing the real CLA’s interior shows the dashboard has air vents between the screen and the console, giving the interior a far more conventional look. A piece of cloth is draped over the passenger side to prevent us from knowing whether the screen stretches right across the car, but our guess is it does – though you’ll probably have to jump into the options list to get it.

Mercedes is killing off several of its least expensive cars, including the A- and B-Class, but this CLA coupe and the CLA Shooting Brake live on, switching to a new Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA) platform that’s capable of working with both EV and combustion powertrains. Though we didn’t get all the dirt on the powertrain at the concept’s debut, Merc execs confirmed it had 800-volt tech and can charge at 250 kW, enabling it to add 400 km of range in 15 minutes. The concept also featured a lightweight 235 hp electric motor and an overall driving range of more than 750 km, though probably not in the freezing conditions the prototypes are currently contending with in northern Sweden.