Mercedes has long been a brand that is synonymous with luxury and when it comes to autos its goes without saying the historical perception has been in line with indestructible German luxury. It’s not uncommon to hear past references to things like tanks when talking Mercedes and their cars. While there is certainly much truth to the brand’s perception of high end luxury the reality of what Mercedes is in 2016 is probably somewhere south of that and that’s not a bad thing for most of us. They are a luxury auto brand with cars that can easily exceed six figures so to many they are just plain out of reach or are they?
In the last five years we have seen the world get smaller as brands from all around the world compete globally. New markets like China, India and Africa are seeing record growth and the auto brands are creating vehicles to fit everyone’s needs and that includes Mercedes. Here in the states Mercedes introduced their CLA sedan only three years ago and that vehicle’s MSRP new starts right around $30,000.00. So if you are looking for an affordable new luxury vehicle the CLA can certainly qualify. This sedan is quite small and for anyone looking for a midsize sedan or taller than 5’10” it just won’t work.
However, there are a number of pre-owned models ranging from the top of the line S-Class sedan to the smaller C-Class (which is still bigger than a CLA) that have now fallen in the affordability zone for your considerations but lets start with the ABCs of the Mercedes sedan offerings as I kid you not when I say ABC. It’s more like C, E, and S and there are multiple Cs, only one E but multiple variations and at the top of the food chain the ultimate S. If we were talking SUVs (and we are not) you’d add the letter G and variants from that platform. So here’s how they stack up from small to large.
CLA
C-Class
CLS
E-Class
S-Class
As previously mentioned the CLA is their most recent offering with the first model year being 2014. These cars are now starting to show up on pre-owned lots and Mercedes dealerships as certified offerings. They can be had for as low as the high teens right now and offer great value.