Video: 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class

This is a new entry-level car that Mercedes says will actually slot underneath the C class to go against the likes of the Acura ILX, the Buick Verano and the Audi A3, let's check out what differentiates it from the rest of Mercedes lineup. The CLA is a front wheel drive vehicle, very unusual for Mercedes, which traditionally makes a lot of rear wheel drive cars. It will offer formatic all wheel drive as an option. Now, this car has styling that runs very similar to the CSC. The concept style coop that we saw in the spring of 2012, very swoopy styling, it kind of mashes together Sedan and coupe looks similar in profile to Mercedes CLS high-end sedan. Now the CLA is about an inch and a half shorter in wheelbase versus the C class, but it's actually longer bumper to bumper and width and height remained similar so does interior volume in roughly the same ballpark Mercedes tells us. Definitely you get in, you find fewer features in another Mercedes vehicles, things like manual climate control, manually adjustable seats here in this car at the auto show, we'll have to see how final equipment specs flesh out to the version that the United States gets. But if this is any indication, definitely less premium in terms of features, quality is, is decent overall padding where all the right spots are a little bit less along the dashboard, but there is kind of a cool screen here in the center with Mercedes "Embrace 2" entertainment, multimedia system. It's got things like Facebook, Yelp, all the usual apps, not yet clear on how many of those will be subscription service-based and how many will just come standard that you can carry over after your subscription is over. Again something that you want to keep an eye on. Visibility, something else I'm thinking about the rear window, pretty small, not that easy to see out of the side windows though, have decent space. So does the front windshield, as long as you can get past these "A" pillars, which also seem a little bit thick. Something that we've noticed in a lot of coop like sedans, is that you lose some visibility in the name of shape. Definitely the case here. The backseats reasonably packaged in terms of leg room, there is a pretty high floor hump here expected when a car offers optional all wheel drive. Headroom a little bit tight for me, as you can see, I kind of have to slouch a little bit, but the seat actually sits reasonably high off the ground. All things considered. Mercedes says there will be a standard folding back seat, something you don't get in some of the CLA's competitors. It folds down in a 60/40 split here, carries the center seatbelt with it, which is kinda nice, cause then you don't have to battle the center seatbelt if you're pushing stuff through the trunk. The CLA goes on sale this fall with an estimated starting price of around $30,000. That's a good amount, less than the C classes right now. Drive trains will include just a two liter inline four that's turbocharged good for 208 horsepower, 258 pounds, feet of torque. It routes power to the wheels through a seven speed dual clutch, automatic transmission. Stay tuned to see how it drives when we report that later on. [Car Engine Revving] [Car Engine Revving] [Car Engine Revving]