Mercedes has unveiled the CLA Shooting Brake, a swoopy wagon variant of the CLA four-door coupe revealed (and leaked) at CES in January.
Visually, the new SB combines the sleek profile of the first-generation with the modern styling cues of its sedan counterpart. Up front there’s a version of the A-Class’ ‘Predator’ fascia, while around the rear there’s a sloping tailgate with CLS-esque lights and a high boot lip.
The CLA Shooting Brake is based on the same MFA2 architecture as the new A-Class, B-Class and aforementioned CLA, and is claimed to be 48mm longer (4688mm), 53mm wider (1830mm) and 2mm lower (1442mm), with a 30mm longer wheelbase (2729mm). The drag coefficient is a mere 0.26Cd.
Practicality wise, boot space has increased 10 litres to a respectable 505 litres – the opening aperture has increased too, to allow wider items to be loaded in easily.
Inside, the new estate is treated to the same cabin as Mercedes’ other front-drive models. Dominating the dashboard are two 10.25-inch touchscreens which run the German brand’s MBUX operating system, offering nifty tricks such as augmented reality navigation and the ‘Hey Mercedes’ AI voice assistant. Other interior features include the ‘Energizing Coach’ that tailors the HVAC, interior lighting and seat position based on preselected moods, and ARTICO leather seats.
The powertrain Mercedes is focusing on in particular at Geneva is the CLA250, a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder sending 165kW of power and 350Nm of torque to the wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch auto. An identical suite of engines to the CLA liftback will be offered when the car hits the market, consisting of 100kW/120kW 1.3-litre petrols, 110kW/140kW 2.0-litre diesels and an 85kW 1.5-litre diesel – they’ll be paired to a mix of manual and automatic transmissions, driving the front or all wheels.
These variants will be joined at a later date by high-performance AMG variants, consisting of 225kW CLA35, 285kW CLA45 and 310kW CLA45 S models.
The 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake goes on sale in Europe in the northern fall of 2019. It’s expected to hit Australian showrooms in early 2020.
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