2026 · i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe (18 inch wheels)
Side by side · 2026 and 2027
BMW i4vsMercedes-Benz CLA
333 mi EPA · 31 min 10–80%374 mi EPA · 21 min 10–80%
vs
The BMW i4 is rated 333 miles on the EPA test, the Mercedes-Benz CLA 374. A 10–80% stop takes 31 minutes in the BMW i4 and 21 in the Mercedes-Benz CLA. Every figure below names the version of the car it belongs to, and the three tools further down turn the same numbers into a charging race, a road trip and a yearly bill.
At a glance
BMW i4 · i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe (18 inch wheels)
333mi EPA
31min 10–80%
$59,075from
Mercedes-Benz CLA · CLA250 Plus with EQ Tech (R22)
374mi EPA
21min 10–80%
$47,250from
The short answer
The Mercedes-Benz CLA is the quicker car to charge.
1
The Mercedes-Benz CLA is rated 374 miles against 333 — 41 miles, 12% further. It uses 28.5 kWh to cover 100 miles where the Mercedes-Benz CLA needs 27.
2
A 10–80% stop takes 21 minutes in the Mercedes-Benz CLA and 31 in the BMW i4. On a 50 kW post it is 56 and 49 minutes, so most of the advantage disappears at a slow site.
3
The BMW i4 makes 210 kW against 165.
Which one, in one line
Pick the Mercedes-Benz CLA ifit wins on range (374 mi against 333), running cost (27 kWh per 100 miles against 28.5), charging (21 minutes against 31).
The priceThe Mercedes-Benz CLA is the cheaper to buy, listed from $47,250; both are US list prices before tax, delivery and incentives.
2027 · CLA250 Plus with EQ Tech (R22)
Mercedes-Benz CLA
Sedan · 58 kWh usable · CCS1
- EPA range
- 374mi
- Efficiency
- 3.7mi/kWh
- DC peak
- 200kW
- Boot
- 14.3cu ft
Charging, raced
Two cars, one post, same clock
Charging speed is a station number and a car number, and the smaller one wins. Set the post and both cars fill against the same clock — the interesting part is not who wins, it is how much of the gap a slow post takes away.
Each car is modelled on its own published 10–80% time, which gives an average power over that window: 91 kW for the BMW i4, 116 kW for the Mercedes-Benz CLA. A post above that average changes nothing; a post below it sets the pace.
Mercedes-Benz CLACCS121min
BMW i4CCS131min
At 150 kW, going from 10% to 80% takes 31 min in the BMW i4 and 21 min in the Mercedes-Benz CLA — a gap of 10 minutes. Both cars are limited by their own packs at this post, so a bigger station would change nothing.
Every figure
The numbers, with the version attached
A tick marks a figure that is simply more useful — more range, less energy per mile, a faster stop. Rows without a tick are different, not better: a bigger battery, a longer wheelbase and a wider body are all trades, and this page does not pretend otherwise.
| Measure | BMW i4 | Mercedes-Benz CLA |
|---|---|---|
| Range and efficiency | ||
| EPA range | 333 mi2026 i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe (18 inch wheels) | 374 mi✓2027 CLA250 Plus with EQ Tech (R22) |
| EPA efficiency | 3.51 mi/kWh | 3.7 mi/kWh✓ |
| Energy per 100 miles | 28.5 kWh | 27 kWh✓ |
| Battery, usable | 67.1 kWhBMW i4 eDrive35 | 58 kWhMercedes-Benz CLA 200 |
| Range left in the cold | 57%modelled envelope | 57%modelled envelope |
| Charging | ||
| DC peak | 180 kW | 200 kW✓ |
| 10–80% at peak | 31 min | 21 min✓ |
| Average power, 10–80%(derived) | 91 kW | 116 kW✓ |
| AC maximum | 11 kW | 11 kW |
| Full charge on 240 V | 9 h | 8.8 h✓ |
| Fast-charge plug | CCS1 | CCS1 |
| Size and weight | ||
| Length | 188.3 in | 185.9 in |
| Width with mirrors | 81.6 in | 79.6 in |
| Height | 57 in | 57.8 in |
| Wheelbase | 112.4 in | 109.8 in |
| Kerb weight | 4,575 lb | 4,508 lb |
| Space and practicality | ||
| Seats | 5 | 5 |
| Boot, seats up | 16.6 cu ft✓ | 14.3 cu ft |
| Front trunk | 0 cu ft | 3.6 cu ft✓ |
| Maximum cargo | 45.6 cu ft | — |
| Towing, braked | 3,527 lb✓ | 3,307 lb |
| Heat pump | Standard Equipment | Standard Equipment |
| Performance and safety | ||
| Power | 210 kW✓ | 165 kW |
| 0–100 km/h | 6 s✓ | 7.5 s |
| Battery warranty | 8 years / 99,419 mi8 years / 160,000 km | 8 years / 99,419 mi8 years / 160,000 km |
| V2L / V2H | Not supported | Not supported |
| Price | ||
| Starts at | $59,075US list price | $47,250✓US list price |
| Top version | $71,875 | $49,800✓ |
| Per mile of range | $177cheapest version | $126✓cheapest version |
How to read the mixed rows. Range and efficiency come from one EPA row — the longest-range version of each car's current model year, not the longest range it has ever been rated at. Battery, charging and the catalogue dimensions come from the catalogue's headline record, which is not always the same trim. Each of those rows names its trim where the two disagree, and the model pages carry the full per-trim table.
What the cold row is not. “Range left in the cold” is the catalogue's modelled cold-highway figure as a share of its mild-urban one — a European model, not an EPA test in US weather. It is shown as a share rather than in miles so it cannot be mistaken for a US range rating.
Euro NCAP is the European crash programme; NHTSA and IIHS ratings are not in this dataset and are not claimed here. Warranty terms are the catalogue's kilometre figures converted to miles, so read them as indicative until a US warranty source replaces them.
Your numbers
What this pair costs you, on your drive
Two questions decide most purchases: how often you stop, and what the year costs. Both are arithmetic on the figures above, so change the inputs and the answer changes with you.
The drive
Starts full, arrives at 10%, charges back to 80% at each stop, and assumes a highway range of 85% of the EPA figure.
- BMW i4
- 2
- Mercedes-Benz CLA
- 2
stops · 62 min charging
stops · 42 min charging
The year
Energy at the wheels from the EPA label, priced at the tariff you pay. Home charging is usually cheaper than the directory's median.
- BMW i4
- $1,198
- Mercedes-Benz CLA
- $1,134
$10 per 100 mi
$9 per 100 mi
The trip model ignores charger detours, queueing and the last 10% of the pack, which is slow on both cars. The yearly cost is energy only: no session fees, no idle fees, no home-charger installation, and no petrol car to compare against.
Your priorities
A verdict you can argue with
There is no single winner, only a winner for a set of priorities. Move the sliders and the weighting changes — nothing here is a magazine score, and the page never hides the numbers it is built from.
Weighted result
Mercedes-Benz CLA
wins 5 of 7 measures on these weights
BMW i411%
Mercedes-Benz CLA89%
Each measure is scaled between the two cars, so a weight of 5 means “this is the thing I care about” and 0 means “I do not care at all”. The scores are relative, not a rating out of ten.
Questions
Short answers, then the reasoning
Every figure here comes from the same data as the rest of the page. Where the data cannot answer, the page says so instead of guessing.
Still unsure about a term? The charging glossary covers the rest of them.
Which has more range, the BMW i4 or the Mercedes-Benz CLA?
The Mercedes-Benz CLA. The BMW i4 is rated 333 miles and the Mercedes-Benz CLA 374, each on the longest-range version of its current model year — 2026 i4 eDrive40 Gran Coupe (18 inch wheels) and 2027 CLA250 Plus with EQ Tech (R22) respectively. EPA figures are lab scores from one standard test, not a promise for a cold morning or a steady 75 mph.
Which charges faster?
The Mercedes-Benz CLA. Going from 10% to 80% takes 31 minutes in the BMW i4 (180 kW peak) and 21 in the Mercedes-Benz CLA (200 kW peak). At a slow post the station becomes the limit and the gap narrows, because the slower car is short of power rather than short of time.
Do they use the same plug?
Yes. Both list CCS1 for DC fast charging, so either car can use the same sites without an adapter. An adapter still cannot raise the power a car will accept.
Which is cheaper to run?
The Mercedes-Benz CLA, by about $183.24 a year at 12,000 miles and $0.35 per kWh. It uses 27 kWh per 100 miles against 28.5. That is energy only, at the wheels: session fees, idle fees and home-charger installation are not in it.
Which has more space?
The BMW i4: 16.6 cu ft of boot against 14.3 cu ft. Boot volumes are measured by different conventions between makers, so read the direction as reliable and the exact size of the gap as indicative.
Which is cheaper to buy?
The Mercedes-Benz CLA is the cheaper of the two to buy, listed from $47,250.00 against $59,075.00 for the BMW i4 — $11,825.00 between the two starting prices. Both are manufacturer list prices before sales tax, destination and delivery charges, options and incentives, so a dealer's number will differ; these are US list prices from the manufacturers' own price lists, not the catalogue's European figures.
Other comparisons
All comparisonsEvery figure on this page comes from the same records the BMW i4 and Mercedes-Benz CLA pages use. How the sources are chosen, and what a figure here never claims, is on the methodology page.