Hell — ZOT! Like a greased jellybean, my Mercedes CLA 350 sedan shot onto I-75. Past a line of traffic. Headed to the moon.Quiet as a mouse.Nine years after the Tesla Model 3 sedan became an overnight sensation and ushered in a new age of performance electric vehicles, it's, well ... playing second fiddle to the Model Y. Model 3's SUV doppelganger, introduced in 2019, now outsells the sedan by three-fold in a country ga-ga for utes. From the rugged Rivian R2 to the flashy Mustang Mach-E to the sculpted Hyundai Ioniq 5, automakers are drafting electric Model Y rivals en masse.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe CLA EV (which shares the CLA-Class model lineup with gas/hybrid variants) is one of the few sedans that has dared take on the Model 3.It does so with trademark luxury, comfort, straight-line speed, style and convenience. Asterisks on style and convenience. Walk up to my $67K, all-wheel-drive CLA (the rear-wheel-drive CLA 250 starts at $48.5K) and you might mistake it for a Hyundai Ioniq 6 — another Model 3 competitor shelved this year (only the coming, estimated-$70K track-focused Ioniq 6 N will remain). Jellybean shape, horizontal rear taillight, ducktail, flush door handles.Mercedes only comes into focus with its giant star logo planted on a black, plastic grille under a Hyundai Sonta-like monobrow. It's busy ... un-Mercedes like.As problematic is the NACS charger port (which shares space with a 240-volt port for home charging). Though designed for easy compatibility with Tesla's vast Supercharger network, there's a catch: it only works with 800-volt Tesla chargers.AdvertisementAdvertisementOnly 400-volt Tesla Superchargers exist in the Midwest, so you'll have to use a special adapter — just as you will when using third-party CCS fast chargers. Sigh.Slip inside, however, and it's 100% Merc.The 2026 Mercedes CLA350 EV will be built on the same chassis as gas-powered CLAs.Check out the exquisite material quality. The door inserts are a tapestry of stitched leather sills next to Alcantara felt inserts next to leather armrests. Yum. Seat controls above the armrests? Check.A gigantic 38-inch display arches across the dash housing three (the passenger gets one, too) handsome screens. So big is the display that it wraps around signature aviator-style Mercedes air vents at each A-pillar. The screens are over the top with crisp graphics, colors, Google Earth maps. Excess, thy name is Mercedes.AdvertisementAdvertisementBut for all its Old World luxury, Mercedes is firmly embedded in the 21st-century Tesla digital age."Hey Mercedes, navigate to Hell," I barked."I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" responded the pleasant, female voice."Navigate to Hell's Creek Ranch, Pinckney, Michigan," I said, remembering Hell is unincorporated.The Mercedes navigation system duly plotted an hour's drive to Hell — where Michigan's best driver's roads awaited.Unlike Tesla, Merc offers navigation via both Android Auto/Apple CarPlay Google Maps and its own native system. Why use the Mercedes system and not Google Maps, you ask?Third-party smartphone apps like Apple and ABRP have gotten better (indeed, Toyota EVs rely on them to navigate you to chargers), but native systems in electric vehicles are still the best way to integrate charging stops into your route.AdvertisementAdvertisementEspecially now that Mercedes has access to Tesla Superchargers.I had charged overnight at my Oakland County home ahead of the Hell trip, which meant I wouldn't need to find charging en route. With 354 miles of range, the CLA could easily make the 130-mile round trip. And it's a reasonably accurate range number.The 2026 Mercedes CLA350 EV can be charged at home on a 240-volt charger.Despite driving 75-80 mph on highways — and then flogging the Mercedes EV hard across the roller-coaster, high-speed 16-mile Patterson Lake Road-Hadley Road-Hankerd Road loop, the 85-kWh battery proved robust — losing just 15% of charge to cover 130 miles (147 miles off the battery).That squares with Tesla, which has also shown improved battery range accuracy. For longer drives, the Mercedes' native system mapped a two-stop, 500-mile round trip to Charlevoix, Michigan, complete with Tesla Supercharger stops.AdvertisementAdvertisementWhich, ahem, is a better use of the CLA 350 EV than flogging it across Hell and back.Let's just say the CLA 350 EV is no AMG CLA35. For the same price, the gas-powered AMG CLA35 offers exceptional athleticism. Bury your right foot and both the EV and ICE bolt to 60 mph in less than five seconds. But as you come up on the twisties, the AMG CLA girds for battle.The EV? Not so much.Credit the CLA 350's 4,600-pound girth — a whopping half-ton more than its gas sibling. Heck, at 4,000 pounds, the similarly priced Tesla Model 3 Performance is more sure-footed. Rushing south on Hadley Road into left-right esses in SPORT mode, the CLA EV was uncomfortable (even with the help of ample regenerative braking) when I asked it to change directions.AdvertisementAdvertisementSeriously, Payne, you want me to dance through that?I listened and took it easy. This is a luxury dish best enjoyed cruising on interstates. And merging onto them.The CLA 350's coolest performance party trick is its two-speed transmission (where most EVs, including Model 3, are single-speed). At 70 mph, I could feel the rear-motor kick into second gear, allowing for better cruising efficiency.Once settled into adaptive cruise control, the Merc allowed me to drive hands-free for 30 seconds at a time, so you could admire its interior decadence."Hey, Mercedes, make the sunroof clear," I asked.The sectioned panoramic roof of the 2026 Mercedes CLA350 EV can be made clear/opaque on section at a time. Or opened/closed entirely by voice command.The full-length moonroof automatically went from opaque to clear. "Ohhhh, that's awesome," said my friend Peter on a commute one morning. Screen controls allow a choice of which roof panels you turn to clear. Or turn opaque.AdvertisementAdvertisementLuffing along in the middle lane, I pulled the left stalk and the Merc automatically moved to the left lane to pass slower traffic. Tug on the right, and it automatically move back right.Steering wheel ergonomics are refreshingly easy to use with rocker switches to adjust speed and volume. Unlike older Mercs, there are no steering-wheel sliders, no haptic mouse pads. Thanks to the column shifter there was ample sub-console room for, say, Mrs. Payne's purse. Rear seat comfort is less generous thanks to the sun roof. Giraffes like me have to bend their necks.Mercedes also went to the trouble of engineering a frunk (front trunk) like Tesla so I had a place to secure valuables, like my laptop bag. Or groceries with clever partitions.Hey, Mercedes, navigate to Kroger's.AdvertisementAdvertisementAnd leave the Hell commute to its gas-fired Mercedes AMG sibling.2026 Mercedes CLA-Class EVVehicle type: Battery-powered, rear and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger electric sedanPrice: $48,500, including $1,350 destination fee ($67,330, AWD CLA 350 as tested) Powerplant: 85 kWh lithium-ion battery with single or dual-electric-motor drivePower: 269 horsepower, 247 pound-feet of torque (CLA 250 EV); 349 horsepower, 380 pound-feet of torque (CLA 350 EV)Transmission: Two-speed automaticPerformance: 0-60 mph, 4.7 seconds (CLA 350 Car and Driver est.); top speed, 130 mphWeight: 4,600-4,800 pounds (est.)AdvertisementAdvertisementFuel economy: range, 354-367 milesReport cardHighs: Lovely interior, Tesla-charger accessLows: Ho-hum exterior; 400 kW Midwest Superchargers require adapterOverall: 3 stars Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayneThis article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Payne: Mercedes CLA EV takes on King Model 3 sedan