Volkswagen’s latest MQB-based vehicle is another challenge to Mercedes-Benz – the last time they threw down the gauntlet against Daimler, we ended up with the Phaeton. This should fare a bit better.
Dubbed the “Lamando”, the vehicle in question is based on the MK7 Golf and its MQB chassis, and uses both the 1.4L and 2.0L TSI 4-cylinder engines, along with a 7-speed DSG gearbox. The Lamando will be built in China, for the Chinese market only, with a starting price of about $29,000. This puts it in direct competition with the Mercedes-Benz CLA.
Live shots of the car can be seen here. Sales of the Americanized Jetta have slumped recently, despite a strong (but price-driven) introduction. A car like this would do a lot to add some pizzazz to Volkswagen’s compact sedan, and given its MQB bones, it could likely be built in Mexico easily. How about it, VW?
What sets this LaMango apart from the Jetta? Honestly I can’t tell, and it looks the same size.
I’m QUITE bored with VW lately.
Had the GLI came with dual exhaust, I might have gone that way… SO BORED WITH VW TOO!
I think it’s quite sober and looks like a car and not some fish or cartoon character. I like it, but not love it. But that’s the point. On the other hand, I’m quite liking the newer VWs, so much so I’m worried I’m becoming a VW fan. Oh the humanity!
It just looks exactly like their other vehicles. :( I think right now they must have the most copycat design language of any manufacturer. None of it is interesting.
Well those are the dangers of the family face. Never really liked it before, but now it’s working for me, so I guess all their cars are working for me.
I know VW is big in China, but does VW == Mercedes Benz in the eyes of the locals? The whole point of CLA is brand whoring, does VW have to cachet there to pull it off?
No, but that’s the question posed. A cheap MB or a spruced up VW? In the West people routinely picked the mainstream top cars until sometime in the 90s. Then we were all blinded by the bling. Now, top mainstream cars have all but died in the West. I think it would be cool and indicative of a trend if they rose gain in the East.
I would say the inception of bling is 1998.
Sprechen Sie Bling Bling?
No, it’s not seen as being equal to MB but the Chinese have a certain like of VW for being one of the first car companies to believe in China as a real car market so VW has that going for them. Audi is well respected there though so VW isn’t really going after MB with this car since Audi is already going after MB. This is like a Buick equivalent not a MB equivalent.
Also, this isn’t computer code so you don’t need two equal signs, haha.
The CLA is not about brand whoring. Outside the US, MB sells a wide range of vehicles that Americans never get to see, because MB USA has focused for years on selling Americans the idea that MB deals exclusively in large luxury cars.
The last time I looked at the numbers, the A and B class represented some 15-20% of total MB sales. And then there are the trucks, minivans and “stripper” taxis that one sees around the world.
That being said, it is true that MB looks to be a premium brand in each of the segments in which it competes. Just as BMW and Audi do, and Chevrolet, Toyota and Nissan do not.
Built in Mexico, sold in China. There’s irony in there somewhere.
“The Lamando will be built in China, for the Chinese market only, with a starting price of about $29,000. This puts it in direct competition with the Mercedes-Benz CLA.”
Built in China, sold in China. They can keep it.
Crap, sorry. Somehow reading the 3rd paragraph erased the 2nd paragraph from my memory. Thanks.
I’m guilty of reading comprehension lapses too. Glad I could help. :)
The A3 is a very marginal value proposition as it is. If VW will introduce a sleek MBQ sedan with upmarket aspirations, where will that leave the Audi?
Don’t worry, Audi can still come with length.
I’m not sure Audi has the length it will need.
Oh you guys
And yea VWAG has a downright fetish for internal cannibalization
SEAT will get a version of this and the Phaeton too.
Just the car for aspirational Chinese factory floor supervisors, as “la mando” in Spanish means “I order her around”.
Or read another way, could be “I’m loving her”. Or changing just a letter, “licking”. I’m sure the name will change if this ever makes it to the Americas, just too close and thus open to many jokes for anyone who speaks Spanish or Portuguese.
So, what advantages does this motorcar have over, say, a CC…which I could also afford?
Well, you’ll notice how the heated gas pedal warms you feet while [the seat] gently massages your buttocks.
Has the CC gotten any love AT ALL since its debut? Serious question. Has it been updated or is it on its 6th or 7th year without a refresh?
It got refreshed to look like other VWs in ’12 and I think its second year (’10) got an optional rear bench instead of the 2+2 setup.
I like the shoulder line.
The high beltline and very slight Hoffmeister kink liken it to the first-gen Acura TSX, in my opinion. And the side-window treatment is decidedly Mk.5 Jetta.
It needs a better name, though.
Nice looking car, but as an old guy, VW still means low buck to me.
Maybe the younger folks will buy in eventually, but can’t see them vs an equivalent Merc or Lexus.
I really like the styling. Restrained and elegant and in a nice color. Too bad it will never come to the US.
This must save VW a ton of engineering money. Just put the Jetta drawings in the copier and press +15%. That was easy, let’s go to lunch.
I fail to see why a customer would choose this over a CLA.
The car looks good and it would be great as a… Jetta.
The CLA looks like someone tried to draw 17-feet of car on a 13-foot template. An Accent is better-penned, IMO.
I think they wanted to do a mini CLS. And they got close. The design is also cohesive between A, B, CLA and CLK.
Looks like a Chinese Jetta with a high beltline and big wheels to me.
I haven’t driven a Jetta in more than a year, but the GLI interior felt like a “real Volkswagen” while the base interior was cost-reduced a little too much. In my opinion, Jetta sales would improve if Volkswagen made a better effort to disguise the down-market plastic. It felt like German engineers had contempt for Americans. “You want a big, cheap Jetta. We’ll give you a big, cheap Jetta!”