What's all this about?

We've got an all-new Mercedes CLA in the house, following on from the original model that launched in 2013. In terms of the visuals of the newbie, it's probably much what you expect - at the front, it looks like the Mk4 A-Class, with which it shares so much, while at the back, the sloping roof and tidy rear end ape the appearance of its big brother, the CLS.

Can you outline the differences with the old one?

Sure can. It's a little longer (+48mm) and wider (+53mm) than the old model, which is to the benefit of passenger interior space because the wheelbase has been stretched (+30mm). The boot capacity has dropped by 10 litres to a capacity of 460 litres, while the front and rear tracks are increased by 63- and 55mm respectively. This, coupled with a lower centre-of-gravity and a slippery shape that leads to an impressive 0.23Cd figure, means that Mercedes is confident enough to say that the CLA has the 'sportiest driving characteristics of all models in the new generation of compacts' in its portfolio.

Have we got details on the motive power and chassis?

Just a few, at this stage. Only one model has been confirmed, which is the CLA 250 - a car that debuted at the CES event in Las Vegas. It uses the 225hp/350Nm petrol motor from the A 250 hot hatch, driving the front wheels through a 7G-DCT gearbox. No performance or environmental data has yet been released for the CLA 250, while Mercedes also says that a 'broad range' of petrol and diesel powerplants will follow, as will the choice of 4Matic all-wheel drive. Beyond this, the CLA makes use of a decoupled multilink rear axle and a Direct Steer set-up as standard, with active adaptive dampers on the options list and a choice of alloys ranging from 16 to 19 inches in diameter.

And how about inside?

It's the absolutely lovely cabin of the A-Class, ported over into the CLA's rakish shape. That means, in its top specification, it has the full MBUX user interface with twin 10.25-inch digital displays, to which Mercedes has added a form of gesture control to increase its functionality.