2014 Mercedes CLA 250 vs 2002 C230 Coupe

2014 Mercedes CLA 250 vs 2002 C230 Coupe Having informally debuted just before the 2013 North American International Auto Show, the forthcoming 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250  pledges to be the three-pointed star’s entry-level vehicle before the A-Class, which may or may not ever reach our shores. The CLA250’s starting price is reputed to be around $30,000 with front-wheel drive (all-wheel drive will be available), but don’t be surprised to see official pricing delivered in, of all places, Mercedes’ Super Bowl ad.

 2014 Mercedes CLA 250 vs 2002 C230 Coupe

2014 Mercedes CLA 250 vs 2002 C230 Coupe

2014 Mercedes CLA 250 vs 2002 C230 Coupe

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2014 Mercedes CLA 250 vs 2002 C230 Coupe

The least-expensive, new Mercedes you can currently get is an option-less C250 Sport sedan for just over $36,000. And with that car, you’d only have three colors to choose – black, red, and white – because the rest of the paints cost an extra $720 ($1515 for Diamond White Metallic).
While you read about the CLA250 in our First Look, we’re thinking back to the last “affordable” Mercedes. We turn the clock back to a time when the Daimler-Chrysler regime was in full swing. It’s the year 2001 and the W203 C-Class is still relishing its first model year. Looking to capture a larger (re: younger) audience and dangle a low asking price in commercials and advertisements in order to drive traffic to showrooms, Mercedes announces the 2002 C230 Kompressor Sports Coupe. Four cloth-covered seats come standard whereas a CD player doesn’t (a bulky 6-disc changer was optional). The total base damage is $25,595 including a $645 destination charge, but marketing efforts unsurprisingly shine up the $24,950 base price. The $25,595 is roughly $33,000 in 2013 dollars. In actuality, the “Sports Coupe” is a two-door hatchback, but look at the price!
The 2002 C230K Sports Coupe came equipped with a supercharged 2.3-liter inline-four producing 192 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque. Sold with a six-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission, we ran a manual version from 0-60 mph in 7.2 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 15.3 seconds at 91.2 mph. Not too shabby, considering the last C250 Sport sedan (201 hp/229 lb-ft, seven-speed auto) we put on the drag strip took 6.9 seconds and 15.2 seconds at 91.2 mph, respectively.
Former Detroit editor Todd Lassa reviewed the C230K Sports Coupe for the June 2001 magazine issue, and a red test vehicle (pictured at right) partook in our 2002 Car of the Year competition. Lassa noted during his initial drive: “The coolest option – a panoramic sliding sunroof that really lets the sunshine in – adds just 44 pounds. Like the ‘88-‘91 Honda CRX, the Sport Coupe has a small strip of glass in the vertical part of its hatchlid, below the backlight, to aid parallel parking.”
After one year of W203 service, the iron-block 2.3-liter was cast off in favor of a more efficient, supercharged, and all-aluminum 1.8-liter four-cylinder rated for 189 hp and 192 lb-ft. The smaller-displacement mill would be featured in the remaining run of 2003-2005 Sports Coupes; its existence simultaneously helped launch the first 2003 C230K sedan. The six-speed manual and five-speed auto carried on in both the four-door and in the hatchback.

2014 Mercedes CLA 250 vs 2002 C230 Coupe

Turning our attention back to 2013, the CLA250 runs with a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four offering 208 hp and 258 lb-ft. Armed with front-wheel drive (the C230K Sports Coupe was rear-wheel drive), a seven-speed twin-clutch auto, and a remarkable 0.23 coefficient of drag (the C230K’s Cd is a not-terrible 0.29), we’d like to predict the front-drive CLA250 will knock on 30 mpg combined’s door, but the CLA250’s EPA fuel economy figures haven’t been released. The all-wheel-drive numbers will likely be very close to the front-drive ones. Perhaps the most curious fact about the C230 Kompressor Sports Coupe is this: Due to the engine change and other tinkering, only the 2003 and 2005 models with the automatic shared city/highway EPA ratings.