Its irritatingly good at it: The Mercedes-Benz CLA has the best autonomous parking feature Ive ever tried plus one trick that's even more useful

Date:
Sun, 22 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Description:
The Mercedes-Benz CLA is bristling with technology, but I didn't realize how good its autonomous parking features were until I lived with it.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get the TechRadar Newsletter Sign up for
breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter We've already waxed lyrical about the excellent efficiency of Mercedes recent CLA , with its clever gearing system tuned to eke the most out of its onboard battery packs during long bouts of high speed driving a scenario that
usually obliterates range.

This factor alone clearly had me distracted at the original launch event as, between hyper-miling on Danish roads and messing around with the German marques new voice assistant , I didn't have time to test out its other great feature autonomous parking functionality. Before getting into the meat of this feature, Id like to admit two things. Firstly, I completely understand autonomous parking functionality exists in other automotive products ( Tesla owners, put down your pitchforks) and yes, it has been around for some time. The issue is, I rarely bother to use them. Article continues below You may like Ive tried BMWs latest iDrive its Alexa Plus upgrade is a game-changer Ive driven the Porsche Macan GTS and it's the most engaging Macan yet I
review EVs for a living here are the top 7 electric cars I drove in 2025

By the time Ive rummaged around the various on-screen menus or pressed the appropriate series of switches, I could have parked the car myself, so often have.

But the thing that impressed me the most about the Mercedes-Benz CLAs autonomous parking functionality during a recent loan was the ease at which the functionality was presented and then activated.

Theres video evidence below, should you want some visuals. But take it from
me the CLA simply knows when you are about to park and actively starts hunting for a space. @flatoutmagazine

Trialling the Autonomous Parking functionality on the new Mercedes-Benz CLA original sound - FlatOutMagazine Once located, it relays its findings via jumbo, idiot-proof graphics on the central touchscreen, so you can make your preferred parking choice. It handles typical parking bay scenarios, as well
as trickier parallel or reverse-parking situations. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Whats more, it doesnt hang around once you have decided upon a space. The CLA flicks the indicators on and slips into that space in a manner that wont have traffic behind raging with impatience. Street smarts (Image credit: Future/Leon Poultney) Thanks to living in a busy terraced street, Im used to street-parking my vehicles. But hey, I am human and mess up a parallel
parking maneuvers every now and then, having to take a second stab at it because Ive come in too hot, overcooked the angle or ended up too far away from the curb.

During my time with the Mercedes CLA, it autonomously aced that particular move. Every. Single. Time. What to read next Mercedes-Benz just launched the Rolls-Royce of the minivan world The best auto tech you probably missed from CES 2026 Ive driven Kias debut electric van and its one of the most
convincing electric people-movers out there

Biblical rain? No problems. Spookily dark street? Easy peasy. It was borderline irritatingly good at it, the steering wheel swirling with enviable confidence.

While the EV is doing its thing, the driver is encouraged to keep an eye on proceedings and cover the brakes (just in case), but the extensive suite of cameras and sensors are fantastically accurate when it comes to detecting parked cars and avoiding scraping expensive alloy wheels on raised curbs.

There were a couple of times where I had to manually shifted the car over in particularly cramped parking bays, as the CLA hadnt left me a lot of room to get out, but it wasnt often.

Having been deterred by other systems that have proven painfully slow, indecisive or wildly inaccurate, I had largely written off autonomous
parking. Not now. An ace all-rounder (Image credit: Mercedes-Benz) The suite of technology that graces the interior of many modern Mercedes isnt perfect, as theres still far too much reliance on haptic buttons and touchscreens for me.

A pair of sliders on the CLAs steering wheel that adjust volume and cruise control speed are too easily brushed when navigating tight corners and roundabouts, for example.

There were multiple times when the radio suddenly became aggressively loud or I accidentally activated a 15mph speed limiter.

Similarly, it took me far too long to locate the icon that activated the rear window de-mister. This stuff needs to be mapped to fixed buttons.

However, these really are minor grumbles, because the infotainment is largely quick to respond and accurate, with the Hey Mercedes! voice assistant doing a good job of adjusting vehicle setting and taking care of navigational duties.

I was demoed its skills with Google Maps during a pre-launch event and Im pleased to report that the voice assistant can still help with queries in a natural manner. (Image credit: Mercedes-Benz) You can ask it to recommend places to eat in the area, or even navigate to the fastest and most
convenient chargers.

But above all else, it is the USP that impressed me the most at launch that continues to set the CLA apart from the EV competition today: efficiency.

The low, sleek saloon is one of the best electric passenger cars currently on sale for an accurate and reliable range read-out, even when journeys involve lots of high speed motorways or highways.

During a week of testing, I used the car everyday for local trips and chores, as well as a 200-mile round trip to the airport. This was in mixed weather with lots of rain and plenty of very cold mornings.

The car was delivered with around 90% charge and it still displayed a healthy 20% or around 80-miles of remaining range when I returned it seven days later.

In most other battery-powered vehicles I have tested recently, I would have been forced to plug in at least once during that typical week. The fact is made worse when said forced charging session is in the middle of the night on the way home from an airport.

So I stand by my original missive that efficiency can be exciting and its even more attractive when your EV takes the pain out of parallel parking. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the
Follow button!

And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech/hybrid-electric-vehicles/its-irritating ly-good-at-it-the-mercedes-benz-cla-has-the-best-autonomous-parking-feature-iv e-ever-tried-plus-one-trick-thats-even-more-useful


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)