Mercedes-Benz sells a wide range of electric models today, but they don’t live up to the brand’s “the Best or Nothing” slogan.

They are well-made and sell fairly well, but none are leaders in their class. Now one is on the way that should get an A. In fact, there’s an A in its name.

The 2026 CLA is an all-new compact electric sedan that will be heading to dealerships later this year to face off against the likes of the Tesla Model 3 and BMW i4.

It is a handsome and very sleek four-door that appears generally traditional, but has a pattern of 142 LEDs shaped like the Mercedes-Benz logo in what would be the grille of an internal combustion engine vehicle.

It comes standard with an 85-kilowatt-hour battery pack and single 268 hp rear motor that drives the wheels in a different way than most electric vehicles.s

Unlike internal combustion engines, electric motors have a wide powerband and don’t require gears to deliver the kind of performance expected from a modern automobile, so they usually don’t have any. Even the high-performance sports cars that can accelerate at mind-blowing speeds and reach speeds above 200 mph do so with a single gear.

The original 2008 Tesla Roadster had a two-speed transmission, but it was a failure point and replaced by a single-speed version. Using “Keep it Simple, Stupid” logic is sometimes the best way to go with new technologies and it has become the industry standard.

Porsche was the first to give two speeds another shot with the 2019 Taycan, which used one for the rear motor to improve acceleration and efficiency at the cost of complexity. Now Mercedes-Benz has followed suit to good effect.

The automaker says the CLA is the most efficient vehicle it has ever built. The official EPA rating hasn’t been confirmed, but European estimates suggest it might be able to squeeze about 400 miles of driving out of its 85-kilowatt-hour battery pack. That wouldn’t just make it the most efficient Mercedes-Benz, but also one of the most efficient vehicles in the world. An ultra-low aerodynamic drag coefficient and the use of an efficient heat pump instead of a radiant heater also help to get the most out of every electron.

While the long range should quell most anxieties about driving an EV far from home, the CLA is equipped with an 800-volt electrical architecture that will allow it to recharge with around 200 miles worth of electricity in  10 minutes or so. That would significantly reduce travel time on long trips.

An all-wheel-drive 4Matic model adds a second motor for the front wheels, which doesn’t have a two-speed transmission. It only kicks in at certain speeds and when extra traction is required. The all-wheel-drive Taycan has the same setup.

The CLA’s interior has three digital displays across the dashboard and its infotainment system features artificial intelligence from Microsoft, Google and ChatGPT. An MBUX Virtual Assistant can provide information and control many vehicle functions through voice commands. Over-the-air software updates are supported to accommodate new capabilities and features as they are developed.

Pricing hasn’t been announced, but the CLA should sticker for something in the $55,000-range and will likely be more popular in Europe where sedans haven’t been brushed aside by SUVs just yet like they have in the U.S.

Mercedes-Benz does have a couple of electric SUVs on the way that will share the CLA’s platform, but it hasn’t released any details on them yet.

It also has another CLA. While the sedan’s design was optimized for a fully electric powertrain, Mercedes-Benz will offer a hybrid model with a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and something else the EV doesn’t have: an eight-speed automatic transmission.