Mercedes has revealed the 2015 CLA Shooting brake – which will now take the title as the brands smallest estate.
Following design queues from the pre-existing CLA four-door Coupé, they say the Shooting brake features its own distinctive profile.
Prices for the CLA Shooting Brake will start at around £25,500 in the UK, which would work out being around £900 more than the equivalent CLA four-door. And that’s for the entry model 180 Sport; the beefed up CLA45 AMG Shooting Brake is likely to set buyers back a sizeable fee at £43,000.
While the CLA may be the smallest estate in the luxury car makers lineup, the question must be asked – is there a need or demand for a car like this when they already have the C-class Estate – which has a starting price of £28,000 (which would get you more car for less than £3K extra).
Mercedes say rivals will include Audi A4 Avant, BMW 3-series Touring and Volvo V60 and that this car will attract a different type of customer from those who customers who buy the C-class Estate.
Speaking of size, how does the new Shooting Brake measure up? Well it’s 4630mm long which is 72mm shorter than the C-class Estate and the elongated coupé-style roof has actually been raised a bit compared with the four-door, offering customers an additional 4cm of extra headroom.
Despite it not being as long as the C-class estate, Mercedes say it is still a functional wagon, offering 495 litres of bootspace, or 595 if you drop rear seats. Fold the rear seats entirely and you can get 1354 litres worth of stuff in the car.
There will be a choice of two diesel and four petrol engines offered in the new baby Estate:
CLA 200 CDI Shooting Brake 134bhp 2.1-litre -101g/km CO2
CLA 220 CDI Shooting Brake 175bhp 2.1-litre -105g/km CO2
CLA 180 Shooting Brake 120bhp 1.6-litre -128g/km CO2
CLA 200 Shooting Brake 154bhp 1.6-litre -130g/km CO2
CLA 250 Shooting Brake 208bhp 2.0-litre -128g/km CO2
CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake 355bhp 2.0-litre -161g/km CO2
The powerful AMG version is capable of reaching 0-62mph in just 4.7seconds and is limited to a top speed of 155mph .
The car is set to go on sale in the UK in March 2015 and if you happen to like a hint of orange then you’re in luck!
Customers who order early will have the choice of a special OrangeArt edition, which Mercedes say will ensure the Shootingbrake brings an exciting note to market launch and will come with various orange trim and equipment features, such as alloy wheels with an orange rim, orange highlights on the front and rear aprons, headlights with an orange highlight and orange stitched piping on the interior… wonderful.
