Since launching late last year, the new battery-powered Mercedes CLA has been taking the world by storm, winning a host of awards and setting a new standard for electric vehicles. The reason why there’s so much excitement around this latest EV is its range, with the German manufacturer promising over 400 miles of motoring on a single charge. That’s compared to around 250 miles for most current EVs on the road.

That boost is thanks to new battery technology under the chassis, which helps the CLA travel farther.

Then there’s a two-speed gearbox which combines dynamism with high efficiency. Add to that some better aerodynamics and effective battery regeneration, and you end up with some serious petrol-style range. It’s impressive stuff and could finally end the range anxiety so many electric car owners currently face when heading out on a long journey.

So, does the CLA finally match the convenience of petrol and is the future now bright for fully electric motoring?

With this futuristic car parked on my drive and the battery fully charged, it was time to finally put the CLA through a real-world test. I drove this car during its launch, but that wasn’t in the UK, and I only had a limited amount of time behind the wheel.

This more comprehensive test would take me from London to a little village in Somerset called East Coker, then onto Bristol and back to the capital. It’s a total of 308 miles and well within Mercedes’ range claims.

Before I reveal how I got on, it’s worth mentioning that it wasn’t optimal conditions for an electric car. The weather was cold, it was raining, and the skies were gloomy and dark.

This meant the car’s heating was on, lights were glowing, and windscreen wipers were set to the max – all energy-sapping features.

Despite everything going against the CLA, I finished the first part of my journey (120 miles) with plenty of juice still in the battery.

In fact, at this point, I easily had enough to complete my full test without needing to sit in a supermarket car park waiting for the battery to be refilled.

I was feeling pretty smug, but here’s where things started to unravel.

My daughter was joining me in Somerset for an important family gathering and had booked a train ticket from her university in Bristol to Yeovil station.

The original plan was for her to make her own way to meet me before I would drop her back at her student halls. Once that was done, I’d then head along the M4 to London and complete my test.

However, due to some awful weather, all trains had been cancelled, and that meant I had to drive to pick her up from Bristol and head back to the family in Somerset.

This unscheduled trip added over 120 miles to the journey, and I suddenly found myself staring at the dashboard and seeing a range of less than 80 miles.

That was nowhere near enough to get me back to Bristol and then home.

So, it was time to head to that supermarket car park I so often dread when testing EVs.

Once plugged in, I sat patiently and waited for over 30 minutes to get enough energy back in the tank. Because I wasn’t charging at home, I ended up with a hefty bill of over £30. Filling up on the drive can cost as little as 7p per kWh, but refilling at public charging stations is often 10 times that price.

None of this is the fault of the CLA. This car offers rapid charging, but none of the closest refuelling stations near me could match that speed.

The best I could find was a 100kWh charger, which isn’t bad but doesn’t come close to what should be available. At optimal 320kWh speeds, the CLA is capable of getting over 200 miles of range in around 10 minutes, but I wasn’t that lucky.

Of course, my petrol-powered car also wouldn’t have managed this new and much longer journey without stopping, but the difference is that it takes less than a minute to pump some petrol into the tank.

There is no question that the CLA is a fabulous car and a worthy winner of all its gongs.

It looks great, has a futuristic interior that’s covered in screens and plenty of smart technology, such as adaptive cruise control, Google Maps integration and the latest Mercedes MBUX multimedia system, to help ease the stress on long journeys.

Owners are also treated to a huge panoramic glass roof, which makes sitting inside feel light and airy, plus the front grille and Mercedes three-pointed star glows up at night to help it stand out from the crowd.

The fact that the new Mercedes’ smart assistant uses Google and ChatGPT means you can ask the CLA pretty much anything, and you’ll get a decent response. It can even guide you to the best local restaurants or tell you about famous landmarks as you drive by.

There’s even the option to watch Disney+ or play games like Angry Birds while you are parked up and waiting for the kids to finish their endless clubs.

So yes, the CLA is a fabulous electric car that can easily match petrol for range. It’s honestly one of the first EVs that truly ends the worry and pain of going electric.

This car is not a problem, but the UK’s infrastructure is.

Until more towns and cities install high-powered charging stations, EV owners will still need plenty of time and patience. Admittedly, I got a little unlucky on my test and shouldn’t have had any issue completing the 300-mile journey on one full tank of juice.

It simply highlighted to me how good EVs are getting, but how far behind some parts of the UK still are when it comes to refilling.