The C174 is the third-generation CLA and, from 2025, the first Mercedes on the MMA platform. Mercedes engineered it as an electric car and derived the combustion version from it, which explains the unusual proportions: a very low nose drawn far forward, a long wheelbase and a drag figure among the lowest in the class.
The illuminated star-pattern grille stands out. It is an electronic component with its own control unit and connector rather than a decorative panel, and the same goes for the flush door handles, which deploy electrically.
There is no connection to the C118 before it. Different platform, different dimensions, different electrics — no body panel and virtually no interior part carries over, however unchanged the name.
Because the headlights sit so exposed in that low nose, a moderate knock takes them out while the body behind stays intact. They are accordingly almost all that reaches us from this model — matrix LED units with individually switched segments, which have to be taught to the car once fitted.
