Mercedes CLA with EQ Technology EV Charging Cable

An 800 volt car with a very long range

The CLA 200 with EQ Technology carries 58 kWh usable of lithium iron phosphate for 328 miles WLTP. The CLA 250+ carries 85 kWh usable from a 90 kWh pack and is quoted between 480 and 492 miles depending on whose figure you read; Mercedes's own is at the lower end of that.

Both run an 800 volt architecture, which is why DC charging is so quick: Mercedes quotes 320 kW and a 10 to 80 per cent stop in 22 minutes. Independent data puts the peak higher still.

At home, a very ordinary 7.4 kW

On paper 11 kW, in a driveway 7.4 kW, and the difference is the supply rather than the car or the cable. Mercedes quotes six and a half hours for the CLA 200 and nine for the CLA 250+, both measured on 11 kW, so expect thirteen hours on the 85 kWh car at home.

That is arithmetic rather than criticism: 85 kWh at 7.4 kW takes what it takes. The practical consequence is about the cable rather than the car. On something with this much range you will be plugging in on arrival out of habit rather than out of need, and a lead that reaches without being dragged round the car is what makes that habit stick.

How long a full charge takes

Those times come from dividing the pack by the delivered power and adding 13 per cent for losses, then rounding to the quarter hour. Miles per hour is worked at 3.5 miles per kWh, a figure that survives a cold morning. Columns are the CLA 200 and the CLA 250+ at usable capacity.

A 22 kW three phase option exists on the larger battery. Like the 11 kW standard fitting, it needs three phases to mean anything, so at a house it makes no difference at all.

Why the 800 volt system makes the home figure matter less

Almost everything on this site is a 400 volt car, and on those the AC cable does most of the work because rapid charging is merely adequate. The electric CLA is built on 800 volts, and Mercedes quotes a 10 to 80 per cent DC stop in 22 minutes. That is fast enough to change the role of the cable entirely.

What you end up with is a car that charges slowly and unhurriedly at home overnight, and extremely quickly on the rare occasions you need it to. The thirteen hour figure below looks alarming in isolation and is almost never experienced, because nobody arrives home at nought per cent and nobody needs to leave at a hundred.

Which length for an electric CLA

Rear offside, the right hand side of the body, matching the EQA and the EQC.

The CLA is 4.72 metres. Reverse in with the charge point on the right and 5 metres reaches. Nose in, or a wall box on the nearside, and the lead crosses the whole car, so 10 metres. The measurement that counts is the one taken with the car in its usual spot, plus a margin for the slack the lead needs.

How these cables are built

The cable meets IEC 62196-2, carries the CE mark, is sealed to IP55 and is specified from -30C to +50C.

On the three pin side the standard is IEC 62752, with CE marking, IP67 sealing and a -30C to +60C range. It carries a two year manufacturer's warranty, ships free on next working day delivery, and can go back inside 30 days.

Related: Mercedes EQA EV Charging Cable, and Mercedes charging cables for every other model we cover. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

Mercedes CLA with EQ Technology charging cable questions

What cable does the electric CLA need?

A 32A single phase Type 2 to Type 2 cable. Both battery sizes take 11 kW across three phases and 7.4 kW from the single phase supply a British house has.

How long does the 85 kWh CLA take to charge at home?

About thirteen hours from genuinely empty at 7.4 kW. Mercedes's nine hour figure assumes an 11 kW three phase wallbox.

Is the 22 kW option worth it?

Only somewhere with three phases. At a house it delivers the same 7.4 kW as the standard charger, so it changes nothing about which cable to buy.

Where is the charge port?

The rear offside, on the right of the body, the same position as the EQA and EQC.