Again, sorry for the lack of interesting writing, but I have been very busy with being a new dad and my career.
Most likely from here on out these posts will be photo heavy with less writing. But when I have notes I will be sure to include them!

Like a fullback in football, heavy, planted, but quick when it needs to be; beautiful looking; got more attention than Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet; suspension settings are like polar opposites, comfort is comfortable, but sloppy, sport is still comfortable but much more responsive to inputs and road feel and is preferable to me, in full comfort mode car felt big and boaty, but in full sport mode felt more tossable and smaller; can feel the heft of the car, especially in braking and hard cornering, still handled well in sport mode, but definitely suffers from the vehicle weight; wish brakes felt better, not as responsive as I would have liked; transmission in normal D is laggy, and needs a lot of pedal pressure to become responsive, found myself in situations where i needed to use acceleration and it was way too slow for the amount needed, but transmission in sport mode was wonderfully much more responsive, kept revs higher, downshifts were much quicker and responsive, overall sport mode was preferred, plus it let you hear the engine sounds much more; LOVE the sound of the V8, sounds great, deep sound and sounds bad ass at full open throttle, especially in tunnels; paddle shifter location was annoying for normal driving, kept trying to hit those when trying to use the turn signals; seats comfortable, loved the massaging feature and the two tone interior; everything was nice to the touch, metal features, beautifully stitched leather; not a fan of the dials and knobs, felt nice to the touch, but they were tiny and required a lot of manipulating to change things for some, steering wheel dial was a little laggy when trying to change settings

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I haven’t been having enough time to be able to write a full review on this car, but I’ll share with you my notes, and of course my photos!

fast; handling is great; interior quality is great; stereo sounds very good; cruising highway top down very nice, quiet, not windy with windows and air blocker up; PDK transmission is very good; engine sound behind you is magnificent; comfortable seats and seating position; visibility with top down is great; very, very expensive; hard to justify unless you have plenty of money; could be a avery fun car, but its tough because you really need to drive it hard to really enjoy the performance; breathtaking acceleration; can feel the weight in the back around turns, not a bad thing; feels like the rear is hugging you through the turns; turn in is great; steering feels is good, steering not too tight on highway, but wanders a little, but most likely from the huge rear wheels; auto start/top function is kind of funny on this car, sometimes it would turn engine off before car was stopped, also cuts power to auxiliary/cigarrette lighter causing radar detector to keep turning on and off; so many buttons and levers(2 on each side, wipers, lights, cruise, screen functions)

While I only got to drive this car on a small autocross course, you can tell even with just the tiniest taste that this is an amazing machine. It’s fast, comfortable, and looks great. It really is amazing how McLaren was able to hone in the suspension to be so capable on the track and so comfortable on everyday roads. Their unique suspension is truly an automotive phenomenon. This car doesn’t use traditional anti-roll bars, but instead uses hydraulics to keep it stable, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that other manufacturers need to take advantage of this kind of technology. On a side note, I can’t get over how fast their professional drivers can drive. Doing a couple of hot laps in the passenger seat was amazing. I don’t think the smile on my face came off for a good hour after I got out of the car. Simply awesome!

When you think of AMG you think massive engine and massive power. The Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG changes that completely. Here you have a hand-built 2.0L direct injected turbo-charged 4-cylinder engine, producing a whopping 355 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque which Mercedes claims is the world’s most powerful production 4-cylinder engine. But does that make it a car worth buying?

This car is surely going to get you into trouble. It’s quick, very quick. Plant your foot into the ground, and the next thing you know you’re creeping up on jail time speeds before you know it, and the fact that it’s red doesn’t help much either. It was hard not to press the go pedal without wanting to feel that rush of acceleration. The dual-clutch transmission is good and shifts quickly, but if you’re in manual mode, you need to time your shifts appropriately otherwise you’ll get a sharp jab from the rev-limiter, which is frighteningly harsh.

Now, here’s the fun part of having an AWD dual-clutch 355hp monster. LAUNCH CONTROL! Following a series of lever shifts and button pushes, hold the brake and press the gas pedal to the floor and the car holds the RPMS at about 4k, making the car sound like a WRC car is about to launch, which is awesome by the way. Let go of that brake pedal and you’re thrust back into your seat by that 332 lb-ft of torque and you’re on your way to 60mph in the manufacturers suggested time of 4.5 seconds. Triple digits comes up quick, so be ready to plant your foot on that brake again if you’re on any public roads, they are surely well equipped to stop you quickly and efficiently.

The CLA45 AMG is unable to be equipped with an adjustable suspension, so it only has one setting; stiff. Don’t get me wrong, the ride is beautifully smooth when you’re on smooth roads, but any undulations or bumps in the road and you and your passengers are surely going to feel them. Given the low profile tires and the fact that they are high performance summer tires, the noise on the highway is a little more than you’d expect from a Mercedes. Comfort wise, this isn’t a car you’ll be cruising around with a coffee in your hands, but if you’re looking to have a ton of fun on side roads and can live with the stiffer ride then you’re going to have a blast. The handling is very good. Steering is nice and tight, and very direct, even though it doesn’t have the traditional hydraulic system, AMG has dialed it in so well you still feel connected to the car. Push the car into the turns hard, and it stays flat as the power brings you through, but being that this is a mainly front-wheel drive based AWD system, you still get a little understeer if pushed too hard into turns though.

Now, lets talk about that hand-built 2.0L direct-injected turbocharged beast. Holy crap! What an amazing engine. So much power comes from such a small engine, it really is incredible. This engine really seems like the only reason why this car costs so much. Being pushed back into the sport seats was really the only reason I was able to look past my previous gripes about the CLA250. I mean who cares about the slightly difficult to use center controls or the high window line that gives you some blind spots. You’re hauling ass, so you shouldn’t be needing to play with those dials, and the only reason you’ll be checking your mirrors is to see who you’re leaving behind in the dust.

So if you have some expendable income, and you want an “entry-level” AMG monster, buy the CLA45 AMG, you wont be disappointed. Sure, it may lack a little soul, but that engine combined with burying your foot into that right pedal will never cease to put a smile on your face.

First let’s start with the price tag. This car was priced out to be $60,250. Thats a pretty penny for a 3 series. Thats getting into 5 series territory. There are two big things that this car did not have that I feel should be standard when buying a premium luxury car, especially at this price. The rear backup camera and blind spot alert systems are not found on this particular version, which I found to be very surprising, and a little insulted considering cars that cost half as much come with them. Perhaps on a regular 3 series sedan you could get away without these, but on this car and the enormous rump it has you pretty much need both of those features. Blind spots were pretty bad in this car, and trying to back out of parking spaces proved to be a challenge, especially at night. The rear visibility was nothing short of bad.

“The Ultimate Driving Machine” is a tagline that BMW has been using for over 30 years and has proven worthy of that name time and time again. While it may still be true for some of their cars, this particular model left me wondering if it fits the bill. It handled well, acceleration was good, ride comfort was nice, but I honestly didn’t feel like I was driving in an ultimate driving machine. When I hear that tagline it makes me want to drive whatever car it pertains to. It makes me think the car I’ll be driving will be giving me great feedback, not to just my senses, but to my soul. This is where this BMW falls short.

To me the steering felt particularly numb, and had some play from dead on center. Not very characteristic of an ultimate driving machine. I didn’t feel connected to the road whatsoever, or to the car really at all. It was a comfortable ride, and sure, it would handle nicely around turns, but it didn’t give me anything to be excited over. If you go by the speedometer, the acceleration was plenty fast, but measured by the good old butt dyno, and it just didn’t feel as quick as the speedo says, which was a little disappointing.

I’ll admit that it is a good car, and most people will enjoy it for whatever purpose it serves, although these GT cars have me confused as to the demographic they are targeting. Its half wagon/half hatchback, and full ugly, I personally would rather have a proper wagon to get the full use of the boot, as well as get rid of some of the hatch’s blind spots. Although, since it does have that weird hatchback style, it has a pretty cool aerodynamic wing that engages automatically above 70mph, or if you just like having it up, there’s a button for that.

Now, it could be that the added weight to the 3 series chassis is causing all the numbness and lack of excitement, but that still doesn’t excuse it from being an Ultimate Driving Machine. It is more along the lines of an adequate driving machine. It’s got all the comforts of a BMW, but lacks the spirit and soul you expect.

P.S. Sorry for the bad photos, weather did not cooperate…..

The entry level luxury car. Kind of an oxymoron if you ask me. I can understand how luxury car makers want to entice people to step into the world of luxury little by little if they aren’t ready to jump in with both feet. You have to start somewhere. But in the game of luxury cars, is the Mercedes-Benz CLA where you want to start?

For me, it’s an easy no. So let’s start off with the base price of the CLA250. This car starts at $29,900, which isn’t a bad price for a Mercedes. With the options on this car the price is around $36,000, which includes some niceties, but not really anything that sets it apart from your non-luxury cars.

The first thing that I wasn’t a fan of is that this Mercedes is front-wheel drive. When you think of luxury brands like Mercedes and BMW you think rear wheel drive. The majority of the cars that have been made available to us here in the states have pretty much all been rear-wheel drive, with all-wheel drive optional. This is a first for Mercedes here in the U.S. They’ve offered other front-wheel drive models overseas, but never in the U.S. A lot of people never notice, or don’t realize it, but front-wheel drive cars with decent power usually suffer from torque steer. Thinking this is a Mercedes, perhaps this particular car from a company that is known for making cushy, well riding vehicles would have tackled torque steer in the backfield. This is not the case. While the amount of torque steer isn’t unbearable, it is still noticeable, and never a welcome visitor. Keep in mind that this car also had winter tires on, so perhaps with a nice set of summer tires I could see this being less of a problem with the added stickiness. Ride was fairly good, but a little noisy. The CLA was able to absorb the bumps for the most part, but perhaps a little more on the sporty side. I didn’t mind the sportiness, but I’m sure not all owners will be tackling the corners so a little more comfort would have been nice. There was also a lack of connection with the road. Don’t get me wrong, this car handled really well when having some fun and the steering had a nice weighted feel, but it was still numb to the road. This won’t be an issue for a majority of CLA buyers though.

Now, I’ve driven a number of cars that featured start-stop technology, some worked well and you could barely tell the car was restarting, but for some reason Mercedes seems to not have this as refined as you would expect. The first time I came to a stop light and the engine shut off, I was pleasantly surprised at how even though the engine was off, you could barely notice the difference when it was on, so kudos to Mercedes for that. However, as soon as I picked my foot up off the brake, it brought me back to my days when we had to push my roommates 1993 Ford Ranger down the street and pop the clutch to jump start it. Ok, perhaps it wasn’t as harsh as that, but instead of a nice seamless engine start, it felt like a quick clutch drop to get that engine going, something that I felt was a little unpolished for a Mercedes-Benz, even if it’s on an entry level car.

Looks-wise I find this car very appealing. It really is like a baby CLS, and shaped very similarly. The front fascia is aggressive looking, but not offensive, and the rear, while a little bulbous, still has nice swooping lines. If you are planning on buying one, I’d opt for the Sport Package, as it gives you the AMG-like aero kit as well as 18″ AMG wheels which look much better than the stock 17′s or the other optional 18′s. While the interior isn’t up to what I would expect from a Mercedes-Benz, the look and layout is very nice. Gauges are clear and easily read, and the aluminum accents compliment the black dash very nicely. As with the Mazda3, I wasn’t a fan of the slapped on infotainment unit and the controls for it were not my favorite as it would be confusing as times how to get to certain areas of the user interface, but the resolution of the screen was very nice and clear.

So I reiterate my previous assertion that I wouldn’t personally buy a CLA, just to say I drive a Mercedes, or to get started in the luxury car game. While it’s a fine car, and I’m sure owners will love it, I just feel that if you’re going to buy a Mercedes, why not save a little more money and jump into the C-class. Or if you want to spend that base price $30,000, save the $5,000-$10,000 and buy the Mazda3. Yeah, its not a Mercedes or has as much power, but the interior is just as nice and the ride is very comparable.