[Aditya]

Mercedes-Benz has launched the CLA 45 AMG in India at a price of Rs. 68.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). This is the seventh AMG model that the company has launched in India.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

[Ferrariwell]

Damn. I did not mean to misguide anyone but I was just sharing what the salesman told me at the launch event

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by karan561

Its clear MBIL has told the automotive reviewers / websites to highlight the fact " Cheapest AMG " & the fact that they are promoting this car as the "Cheapest AMG" many people will still for the trap & the CLA 45 will sell for sure.

IMO the sweet spot for pricing this car should have been 60L For the CBU variant & later (like they did with the W222) after CKD kits availability around 50L

While the launch price is better than 90l ex showroom, its still not great. Marketing anything as the cheapest or cheap doesn't work in India. We are cheap but we don't like to be called cheap.

60L would again have been better, but still more than the S4. I don't see any AMGs coming in CKD form since the sales will not justify it.

Originally Posted by silentscreamers

Brilliant pricing. I eat all my words and criticism about Mercs pricing strategies.. This one certainly deserves good numbers and I am sure it would get enthusiasts flocking to the Mercedes showroom.. Myself included!
Will keep everyone updated if I go ahead with the booking

Brilliant pricing? The only reason it seems brilliant is because someone said 90l ex showroom, and this is 20l less. This is still going to be 90l+ on road. Id rather get the S4 and a tune which will whip this and save another 15l.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

This is still going to be 90l+ on road. Id rather get the S4 and a tune which will whip this and save another 15l.

So that's 22 lakh over the showroom price if i assume 90 and even more if i assume 90+ as you say. Even with octroi how did you reach that figure ? I assumed it would be at best 85 odd perhaps so if what you say is true that is indeed a HUGE leap over the showroom cost but i dont see where did you derive the exponential escalation from. Do the math maybe ?

On a separate note,expecting any AMG be it A/B or whatever to be cheap in any sense of the word is senseless. AMG itself are the very best vehicles Mercedes makes so they will never be cheap. Also expecting AMGs to be CKD is unrealistic. Neither will they garner such sales nor would Merc want them to become too mainstream , I imagine.

[silentscreamers]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Brilliant pricing? The only reason it seems brilliant is because someone said 90l ex showroom, and this is 20l less. This is still going to be 90l+ on road. Id rather get the S4 and a tune which will whip this and save another 15l.

I am looking at it from a different POV, there is no factory tuned sub 5 second car in the market for a sub 90 L on road price in the market. I think you got your math wrong with the 90+ quote you mentioned, the price on road Mumbai comes up to 88 L, without octroi is about 85, as I just got off the phone with Auto Hangar.

The Audi S4's so called better pricing still comes up to around 70 on road Mumbai, and no 5 L rupee tune as you mentioned is going to give it an edge over the CLA 45 From what I know, the CLA handles better, it has a edge over the S4 in the 0-100 sprint by over a second by figures claimed by the manufacturers and also the auto journos, the S4 is a generation older, the CLA arguably looks better and has better interiors, it's better equipped too and the AMG certainly has better snob value than the S. So roughly a 18 L premium over the S4 is most certainly justified IMHO.

The S4 would have looked much better if the CLA was indeed priced 90 L ex showroom. Even the 530D's and the A6 3.0 TDI's cost 70+ L these days.
IMO the Merc's pricing is still off by about 5 L, but looking at the competition and it's AMG heritage I would stick to my statement of it having a 'brilliant price'.

On a different note, I have my heart set on this baby AMG, I wanted a performance sedan which is more thrilling to drive than my 530D, although I love it too much so it is surely not leaving my garage anytime soon. I might replace my 320D with the CLA45, boy what an upgrade would that be .
I have called for the quotation from AutoHangar today and will keep everyone posted if I decide to take the plunge.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

While the launch price is better than 90l ex showroom, its still not great. Marketing anything as the cheapest or cheap doesn't work in India. We are cheap but we don't like to be called cheap.

60L would again have been better, but still more than the S4. I don't see any AMGs coming in CKD form since the sales will not justify it.

I agree the pricing is not that great still & shouldve been around 60L as you too believe.

But yea, people have the tendency to buy the base models of cars irrespective of knowing what engine the car is running coz they want a sedan from BMW or an Audi stable, for example if you see the 5 series range, the best seller has always been 520d, in A4 the 2L Diesel & many more such examples as you would be aware. So someone who would want an AMG tag this is his best bet.

Thats what i meant

Yea, but personally i dont have any grudges against the small motor this car has, it sure is an excellent engine with max power/L

Also the S4 on the other hand is an tremendous car & good value for sure.

[PPS]

The price is Rs 88.83 lakhs OTR, Mumbai confirmed to me by a journo!

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

So that's 22 lakh over the showroom price if i assume 90 and even more if i assume 90+ as you say. Even with octroi how did you reach that figure ? I assumed it would be at best 85 odd perhaps so if what you say is true that is indeed a HUGE leap over the showroom cost but i dont see where did you derive the exponential escalation from. Do the math maybe ?

On a separate note,expecting any AMG be it A/B or whatever to be cheap in any sense of the word is senseless. AMG itself are the very best vehicles Mercedes makes so they will never be cheap. Also expecting AMGs to be CKD is unrealistic. Neither will they garner such sales nor would Merc want them to become too mainstream , I imagine.

Well cars priced 70 odd ex showroom go to about 95 on road Mumbai, hence this also being a CBU I expected something similar. It is a bit below 90l as mentioned in the posts below. 88 on road Bombay, that is 20l over the ex showroom.

If they price the AMGs a little better, like they have been doing for their other cars like the ML, GL, etc then they may actually garner some sales. Its about 2.5 times the cost of the normal car, for the AMGs. And its not just import duty, its the companies to some extent pricing them stupidly.

Originally Posted by silentscreamers

I am looking at it from a different POV, there is no factory tuned sub 5 second car in the market for a sub 90 L on road price in the market. I think you got your math wrong with the 90+ quote you mentioned, the price on road Mumbai comes up to 88 L, without octroi is about 85, as I just got off the phone with Auto Hangar.

The Audi S4's so called better pricing still comes up to around 70 on road Mumbai, and no 5 L rupee tune as you mentioned is going to give it an edge over the CLA 45 From what I know, the CLA handles better, it has a edge over the S4 in the 0-100 sprint by over a second by figures claimed by the manufacturers and also the auto journos, the S4 is a generation older, the CLA arguably looks better and has better interiors, it's better equipped too and the AMG certainly has better snob value than the S. So roughly a 18 L premium over the S4 is most certainly justified IMHO.

The S4 would have looked much better if the CLA was indeed priced 90 L ex showroom. Even the 530D's and the A6 3.0 TDI's cost 70+ L these days.
IMO the Merc's pricing is still off by about 5 L, but looking at the competition and it's AMG heritage I would stick to my statement of it having a 'brilliant price'.

Spoke to a dealer myself, and yes its 88 as you mentioned. I wasn't that far off lol.

Would request you to go through this page before rubbishing my claims
http://www.mtm-online.de/en/Audi/S4-...?FZID=S4B8245Q
These tunes are below 5l, and they will make the S4 properly quick. No doubt though that the CLAs 0-100 time is great, but the 2.0 engine is already really being pushed and I doubt much tuning is possible on it keeping the engine reliable.

Also I'm not sure about the handling, the CLA is predominantly front wheel drive with a part time 4wd system, so it is prone some amount of understeer, whereas the S4 is a proper all time 4wd system.

Looks and interiors are a personal choice, but I don't see how the CLA is better equipped. Also its a size smaller than the S4, where people can actually sit in relative comfort in the back seat.

I've got nothing against the CLA45, but there is no doubt that the S4 is by far a better deal at present prices.

It seems you have your mind set on the CLA, do post an ownership report if you buy it.

Originally Posted by karan561

I agree the pricing is not that great still & shouldve been around 60L as you too believe.

But yea, people have the tendency to buy the base models of cars irrespective of knowing what engine the car is running coz they want a sedan from BMW or an Audi stable, for example if you see the 5 series range, the best seller has always been 520d, in A4 the 2L Diesel & many more such examples as you would be aware. So someone who would want an AMG tag this is his best bet.

Thats what i meant

Yea, but personally i dont have any grudges against the small motor this car has, it sure is an excellent engine with max power/L

Karan, I don't think the base model buying types even know what AMG is.

Anyway no point in arguing CLA vs S4 anymore. Each will have their buyers.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Anyway no point in arguing CLA vs S4 anymore. Each will have their buyers.

If the Audi India folks are smart enough, they will not waste any time in bringing the S3 sedan. Should be quite potent with 0-100 in around 5 seconds, and quattro as standard.

[robimahanta]

Sorry for going OT:

With the pricing of 68.5L for the CLA45 AMG, I feel the S4 is better value for money in so many ways even though its an older car: especially in terms of engine (supercharged 3.0 V6 vs turbo 4-pot) and drive train (proper Torsen quattro vs a Haldex part-time awd system), a brilliant sounding V6 with some induction note compared to turbo + synthesizer. Listen to an S4 with an Capristo exhaust and it will blow you away.
Performance wise, the CLA45 is thoroughly wrung out already, but the S4 is detuned so it doesn't embarrass the RS4, so you can just remap it to match a RS4.

A simple tune gives you near 400hp with 0-100kph time of around 4 sec.

In India the 0-100kph of the CLA45 AMG is around 5.6sec due to the fuel quality.

Price wise the S4 is 66Lacs ex-showroom in Bangalore and with decent options is close to 70lacs.

An Audi S4 with an APR Stage 1 tune and a valvetronic Capristo exhaust will be a perfect choice of a sleeper sedan in this price range.

http://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_up...tfsi_b8s4.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlN20ow8vag

[suhaas307]

The S4 is great value, but the platform will be revamped / changed soon. It has been around for a while. On the other hand, the CLA is a brand new car on a brand new platform. I wouldn't expect the new A4/S4 to be cheap.

[silentscreamers]

Mod Note: Please continue the discussion on the CLA 45 AMG drive report at this link. Thanks!

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Would request you to go through this page before rubbishing my claims
http://www.mtm-online.de/en/Audi/S4-...?FZID=S4B8245Q
These tunes are below 5l, and they will make the S4 properly quick. No doubt though that the CLAs 0-100 time is great, but the 2.0 engine is already really being pushed and I doubt much tuning is possible on it keeping the engine reliable.

Also I'm not sure about the handling, the CLA is predominantly front wheel drive with a part time 4wd system, so it is prone some amount of understeer, whereas the S4 is a proper all time 4wd system.

Looks and interiors are a personal choice, but I don't see how the CLA is better equipped. Also its a size smaller than the S4, where people can actually sit in relative comfort in the back seat.

I've got nothing against the CLA45, but there is no doubt that the S4 is by far a better deal at present prices.

It seems you have your mind set on the CLA, do post an ownership report if you buy it.

Thanks for the link posted, I checked them out and yes without a doubt the S4 is a properly quick sedan once tuned, but then so is the 530D with all the tuning options, it will be nearly as quick as the S4 and cost about the same. In comparison I found the AMG just a little bit more special.
I am not rubbishing your claims bro, but I guess none of us would like a MTM tuning box or anything else for that matter to void the warranty, in which case you are left with a car costing 3 quarters of a crore without any peace of mind, especially with the high handedness Audi is already famous for in India. My point was that there are no sub 5 L tuning options which would give you a complete package like the CLA.
In regards to handling I just compared all the reviews available online and came up to a conclusion that the CLA is overall a better handler. (As I had not driven either, I had to resort to this).
The Merc comes loaded with a much more up to date COMAND system over the Audi's MMI high, it's got better brakes, beautiful RECARO seats (subjective choice) and a better gearbox, the combination with which I considered it to be better equipped. The Merc certainly loses out on the space and the four wheel drive system, but I personally am not a big fan of the Four wheel drive system as I think the car loses character, so neither score brownie points for me there and I usually am self driven so I do not care much about the rear seats either.
If you read my previous posts I was the first to suggest the S4 to be better value if the CLA costed 90 L ex showroom, and I have nothing against it. Just that after the launch price of 68.5 L, in my view the CLA with a 18 L premium seems better value, with the AMG goodies.
In the end I guess it's, to each his own and I for one would go for the latest product in the market.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

The S4 is great value, but the platform will be revamped / changed soon. It has been around for a while. On the other hand, the CLA is a brand new car on a brand new platform. I wouldn't expect the new A4/S4 to be cheap.

I agree, and also to add IMHO it really becomes a pain to see your lovingly bought machine to be outdated soon after you buy it in most cases.