MY25 · eDrive40
Side by side · MY25 and MY26
The BMW i4 is rated 590 km on the WLTP cycle, the Mercedes-Benz CLA EV 663. Every figure below names the badge 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 · eDrive40
590km WLTP
31min 10–80%
A$85,900from
Mercedes-Benz CLA EV · CLA 350 4MATIC electric
663km WLTP
—min 10–80%
A$72,200from
The short answer
The Mercedes-Benz CLA EV goes further on a charge.
1
The Mercedes-Benz CLA EV is rated 663 km against 590 — 73 km, 12% further.
2
The Mercedes-Benz CLA EV is the cheaper to buy, listed from A$72,200 against A$85,900 for the BMW i4 — A$13,700 at the starting point, before on-road costs.
3
The running-cost figures use the directory's median tariff of A$0.50 per kWh; a home tariff is often cheaper, and session fees, idle fees and parking are not in them.
Which one, in one line
Pick the Mercedes-Benz CLA EV ifit wins on range (663 km against 590).
The priceThe Mercedes-Benz CLA EV is the cheaper to buy, listed from A$72,200; both are list prices before on-road costs and incentives.
MY26 · CLA 350 4MATIC electricM
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. A post above that average changes nothing; a post below it sets the pace.
Mercedes-Benz CLA EVCCS2—min
BMW i4CCS231min
One of these cars has no published charging time, so there is no race to run.
Every figure
The numbers, with the badge attached
A tick marks a figure that is simply more useful — more range, less energy per 100 km, a faster stop. Rows without a tick are different, not better: a bigger battery, a taller body and a heavier car are all trades, and this page does not pretend otherwise.
| Measure | BMW i4 | Mercedes-Benz CLA EV |
|---|---|---|
| Range and efficiency | ||
| WLTP range | 590 kmMY25 eDrive40 | 663 km✓MY26 CLA 350 4MATIC electric |
| Efficiency | 6.25 km/kWh | — |
| Energy per 100 km | 16 kWh | — |
| Battery | 83.9 kWh | 85 kWh |
| Charging | ||
| DC peak | 205 kW | 320 kW✓ |
| 10–80% at peak | 31 min | — |
| Average power, 10–80%(derived) | 114 kW | — |
| AC maximum | 11 kW | 11 kW |
| Fast-charge plug | CCS2 | CCS2 |
| AC plug | Type 2 | Type 2 |
| Size and weight | ||
| Length | 4,783 mm | — |
| Width | 1,852 mm | — |
| Height | 1,448 mm | — |
| Kerb weight | 2,125 kg | — |
| Space and practicality | ||
| Seats | 5 | — |
| Boot | 470 L | — |
| Performance and warranty | ||
| Power | 250 kW | 260 kW✓ |
| 0–100 km/h | 5.7 s | 4.9 s✓ |
| Drive | RWD | AWD |
| Battery warranty | 5yr unlimited km / 8yr 160,000km | — |
| Price | ||
| Starts at | A$85,900list, before on-road | A$72,200✓list, before on-road |
| Dearest version | A$124,900 | A$91,300✓ |
| Per km of WLTP range | A$145.59/kmcheapest version | A$108.90/km✓cheapest version |
| Drive-away | A$109,500–A$117,500where the feed lists it | A$95,000–A$98,600where the feed lists it |
How to read the mixed rows. Range, efficiency, battery and charging come from one badge — the longest-range version of each car's current model year, not the longest range it has ever been rated at. The catalogue stores one record per badge, so where two figures come from different badges the row names the one it used.
What WLTP is not. It is a laboratory cycle at a fixed temperature, with the air conditioning off and a gentle acceleration profile. It exists so two cars can be compared on the same test, not so a driver can predict a highway run. Expect less on a 110 km/h trip, and less again in winter.
What this page does not claim. No ANCAP crash rating: the catalogue carries none, and a column of dashes would read like a failure rather than a gap. Prices are manufacturer list before on-road costs; the drive-away band appears only where the feed publishes one.
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 WLTP figure.
- BMW i4
- 2
- Mercedes-Benz CLA EV
- —
stops · 62 min charging
no charging record
The year
Energy at the wheels from the WLTP label, priced at the tariff you pay. Home charging is usually cheaper than the directory's median.
- BMW i4
- A$1,200
- Mercedes-Benz CLA EV
- —
A$8 per 100 km
no efficiency figure
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 EV
wins 3 of 3 measures on these weights
BMW i40%
Mercedes-Benz CLA EV100%
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 connector guide covers the plugs, and the vehicle guide the rest.
Which has more range, the BMW i4 or the Mercedes-Benz CLA EV?
The Mercedes-Benz CLA EV. The BMW i4 is rated 590 km and the Mercedes-Benz CLA EV 663, each on the longest-range badge of its current model year — MY25 eDrive40 and MY26 CLA 350 4MATIC electric respectively. WLTP is a laboratory cycle run at a fixed temperature with the air conditioning off, so treat the figure as a way to compare one car with another rather than a prediction for a highway run in summer.
Which charges faster?
At least one of the two has no published 10–80% time, so the charging comparison is limited to the peak rates in the table.
Do they use the same plug?
Yes. Both list CCS2 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 has more space?
Luggage volume is missing for at least one of the two, so the space comparison is limited to the dimensions in the table.
Which is cheaper to buy?
The Mercedes-Benz CLA EV is the cheaper of the two, listed from A$72,200 against A$85,900 for the BMW i4 — A$13,700 between the two starting prices. Both are manufacturer list prices before on-road costs, options and any incentive, so a dealer's drive-away number will differ.
Other comparisons
All comparisonsEvery figure on this page comes from the same records the BMW i4 and Mercedes-Benz CLA EV pages use. How the sources are chosen, and what a figure here never claims, is on the methodology page.