I'VE always admired the striking, sleek lines of the Mercedes CLS and now this attractive styling has been transferred to the latest offering from the German luxury car maker, the CLA.

It goes on sale in June and I'm sure it will prove a hit with younger drivers who until now may have regarded the Mercedes brand as only appealing to the older set.

The four-door coupe-styled CLA, which is built at a new factory in Hungary, is a real cracker to look at, with convex and concave surfaces and edges, a gently sloping roof shape and a  pronounced curved rear window.

The front end is dramatic and sporty, with a wide grille, low side air intakes and the central three-pointed Mercedes star in the centre giving it an aggressive look.

And this is a sleek motor, which Mercedes claims is now the world's most aerodynamically efficient production car in the world which helps give the CLA excellent fuel consumption.

Based on the A-Class platform the CLA is actually slightly longer than the C-Class and the interior space is good, if a little restricted in rear headroom for six-footers, but it has a very good-sized boot offering 470-litres of space.

As you'd expect from Mercedes the interior is first class with high-quality materials used and every model comes with body-hugging sports style seats.

The dash is simple and uncluttered with central air vents picked out in bright chrome and a six-inch sat-nav and multi-media screen well placed.

Normal gear change on the automatic is made through a stalk behind the thick and comfortable steering wheel plus paddle change for more fun.

At launch in the UK the new Merc will be available with two engines - the 180 petrol with six-speed manual transmission and the 220 CDI diesel with 7-speed DCT automatic shift.

The CLA 180 has a 1.6-litre engine which produces 122bhp with a top speed of 130mph and a sprint time of 9.3 seconds from 0-62mph and Mercedes claims it can achieve around 50mpg on a combined run and emits 130 g/km CO2.

The 220 CDI offers 2.1-litres and 170bhp with a top speed of 143mph and 0-62mph in just 8.2 seconds with a claimed 62.8mpg and CO2 of 130 g/km.

Later this year a 200 CDI, 250 petrol and a super-fast CLA 45 AMG model will be on offer plus a 4MATIC all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive.

I drove both on the launch in the South of France is some pretty atrocious wet weather and both performed exceptionally well.

Despite the conditions the CLA gripped well in the wet on some pretty tight hilly bends with very little body roll and on the motorways it flowed along like a much bigger motor.

Both offered enough power and lively acceleration to satisfy me and both would be great motors for long distance motoring.

I did find that the manual, when in first in second gear, had slight turbo lag before kicking in and the gear change was a tad notchy.

There are two suspension settings, comfort and sport, both ironed out any rough surfaces I came across, although what it will be like on our dreadful UK roads remains to be seen.

Very little road, wind or engine noise disrupted the calmness of the cabin while on the move.

The CLA comes in two specifications, Sport and AMG Sport, with a high standard of safety and driving aids.

Sport comes with comfort suspension, 18-inch alloys, multi-function steering wheel, diamond grille, cruise control, active parking assist, hill hold, and dual climate control.

Additional features on the AMG Sport include sport suspension, AMG body styling, Alcantara trim with red stitching, bi-xenon headlights, privacy glass and sill extensions.

A fuel-saving stop-start system is standard on all models.

How much? The Sport starts at £24,355 and the AMG Sport from £26,555 which are keen prices for cutting a dash in a Mercedes.