Compare the2023 Mercedes AMG CLAVS 2023 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes AMG 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 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The AMG CLA’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The AMG 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 Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The AMG CLA has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The AMG CLA offers an optional Surround View System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Giulia Quadrifoglio only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the AMG CLA and Giulia Quadrifoglio have rear cross-traffic warning, but the AMG CLA has Active Brake Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Giulia Quadrifoglio’s Rear Cross-Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the AMG CLA and the Giulia Quadrifoglio have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee 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 and available lane departure warning systems.

There are almost 3 times as many Mercedes dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the AMG CLA’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Mercedes vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. With 22 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Mercedes higher than Alfa Romeo.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mercedes vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo With 50 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Mercedes higher than Alfa Romeo.

As tested in Motor Trend the AMG CLA 45 is faster than the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio:

On the EPA test cycle the AMG CLA gets better mileage than the Giulia Quadrifoglio:

The AMG 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 Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The AMG CLA’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer launch control.

For better traction, the AMG CLA 45’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Giulia Quadrifoglio (255/35R19 vs. 245/35R19).

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the AMG CLA can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

The AMG CLA’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the AMG CLA is 2.3 inches wider in the front than the track on the Giulia Quadrifoglio.

The AMG CLA 45 handles at .99 G’s, while the Giulia Quadrifoglio pulls only .97 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Mercedes AMG CLA may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 150 to 300 pounds less than the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the AMG CLA’s available trunk can be opened just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the Giulia Quadrifoglio, the AMG 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 AMG CLA offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer 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 Giulia Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

If the windows are left open on the AMG CLA the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Giulia Quadrifoglio can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The AMG CLA’s LED headlights produce a white, bright light using less electricity than the Giulia Quadrifoglio’s xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. HID headlights can be slow to reach full brightness or power cycle, causing issues when flashing them to signal other vehicles; LED headlights light instantly. LED lights also last about three to four times as long.

When the AMG CLA is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Giulia Quadrifoglio’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

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

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

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

Insurance will cost less for the AMG CLA owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the AMG CLA will cost $175 to $2545 less than the Giulia Quadrifoglio over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Mercedes AMG CLA will be $10566 to $19516 less than for the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio.

The Mercedes CLA outsold the Alfa Romeo Giulia by 72% during 2022.