The Mercedes CLA Is One Of America's Quickest Charging EVs: Test

• The Mercedes-Benz CLA proved itself to be one of America's quickest-charging EVs in a real-world test. 
• Tom Moloughney of the State of Charge channel put the car through its paces. 
• It hit a 75% charge in just 25 minutes. 

If you like to travel long distances and hate waiting, the Mercedes CLA might be the EV for you. We recently saw that it can far exceed the EPA's highway range figures, thanks to a range test by Tom Moloughney, host of the State of Charge YouTube channel. The CLA is also also one of America's best-charging cars overall, Moloughney found out in a followup video.

After running the CLA down to basically 0% battery on two separate range tests, he documented what it was like to charge them back up to full again. As an added wrinkle, he used the car's battery preconditioning for one session, but not for the other, to see what difference that made.

The preconditioned charge was done on an Ionna 400 kW charger, while the non-preconditioned charge happened on a 350 kW Electrify America charger at a Walmart. What's interesting is that the charging sessions were almost identical. The non-preconditioned battery actually charged a smidge faster, staying about 1% ahead throughout the charge. Moloughney notes that he charged the car during the summer, with stable, warm ambient temperatures. Preconditioning would likely make more of a difference on a cold day. 

In both sessions, the Mercedes peaked at around 350 kW within less than a minute. It dropped to under 300 kW by around 10%, and charging power continued to decline from there. By 20%, the CLA pulls somewhere in the mid 200s. By 30% it's at about 160 kW. But peak charging power doesn't matter nearly as much as the charging curve throughout a session. So, how quickly did the CLA recharge, and what does that mean for mileage?

The car hit 10% in just two minutes and 25% in about five and a half. After 10 minutes, it's closing in on 40%. And in around 15 minutes, the CLA was able to recoup 50% of its battery. That's especially impressive considering the all-wheel-drive CLA 350 4Matic that Moloughney tested is good for 385 miles of real-world range at 70 mph. After quick bathroom stop and coffee order, you can be back on the road for something like three hours. 

After 25 minutes plugged in, the CLA was able to get up to a 75% charge and was still pulling over 150 kW. At the Electrify America station, the CLA was completely done charging, from 0-100%, in 52 minutes. It was 56 minutes for the iONNA charger. 

Photo by: Andrei Nedelea

Importantly, very few drivers are going to get their EV down to zero or charge it up to 100%. So if you stop off at 10%, Mercedes claims you can get to 80% in 22 minutes. Just cutting Moloughney's 10-80% section out of his sessions shows 26 minutes for the same span. That's very good, especially in an efficient, long-distance hauler like the CLA. 

According to Moloughney, the CLA isn't the absolute best charging EV he's ever tested, but it's in his top five. And considering the CLA starts at $49,400, the little Merc might be one of the better value EVs on sale. 

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