Mercedes-Benz CLA Rolls In Geneva

Mercedes-Benz has shown off its all-new CLA four-door coupe in Geneva this week, ahead of its Australian debut later this year.

Entering as a sedan companion to the A-Class hatch and creating a new option below the midsized C-Class, the CLA borrows its coupe roofline style from the larger CLS sedan. 

Models in the CLA range will include the 90kW CLA 180, moving through to the CLA 200, 250, 220 CDI diesel and, later in the year, the CLA 45 AMG.

The CLA 45 AMG has yet to make its official debut - it's bound for the New York Auto Show later this month - but with its A 45 AMG twin already revealed, there's little left to know. 

As it does in the A 45, expect the top-shelf sedan's 2.0 litre turbo engine to produce a huge 265kW and 450Nm, matched to a 4Matic all-wheel-drive system and a seven-speed Speedshift dual-clutch auto. 

As for the CLA's size; although technically an entry-level offering at the small-car end of the Mercedes line-up, the sedan's proportions aren't far off the 'larger' C-Class model.

Measuring 4630mm long, the CLA is 38mm longer than the C-Class - although much of that is overhang, with the new model sitting on a wheelbase 61mm shorter than in the midsizer.