Compare the2022 Mercedes CLAVS 2022 Infiniti Q50

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes CLA have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Infiniti Q50 doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The Mercedes CLA has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Q50 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The CLA’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Q50 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The CLA’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Q50 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the CLA and the Q50 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

There are over 88 percent more Mercedes dealers than there are Infiniti dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CLA’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mercedes vehicles are more reliable than Infiniti vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mercedes 15th in reliability. With 15 more problems per 100 vehicles, Infiniti is ranked 23rd.

On the EPA test cycle the CLA gets better mileage than the Q50:

Both the CLA and the Q50 2.0t have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stop lights and heavy traffic. All CLAs have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Mercedes CLA higher (5 out of 10) than the Infiniti Q50 (3). This means the CLA produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Q50 every 15,000 miles.

The CLA offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Q50 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the CLA’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Q50:

The CLA’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Q50 Luxe’s standard 50 series tires.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the CLA is 3 inches wider in the front and 1.6 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Q50.

For better maneuverability, the CLA’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Q50’s (36.1 feet vs. 36.7 feet). The CLA’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Q50 AWD’s (36.1 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

The Mercedes CLA may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 500 pounds less than the Infiniti Q50.

The CLA is 5 inches shorter than the Q50, making the CLA easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Q50, the CLA has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The CLA offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Q50 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The CLA’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Q50’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The power windows standard on both the CLA and the Q50 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the CLA is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Q50 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the CLA keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Q50 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The CLA offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Q50.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Mercedes CLA offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Q50 doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The CLA’s optional Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Q50 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The CLA will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the CLA will retain 47.43% to 47.45% of its original price after five years, while the Q50 only retains 41.03% to 45.59%.