Mercedes-benz CLA Shooting Brake Compact estate mixes sleek looks with reasonable practicality
Estate version of Mercedes’ four-door coupé combines style with practicality On sale Now Price from £32,280
GIVEN THAT YOU can’t buy an estate version of the Mercedes-benz A-class, the CLA Shooting Brake is the closest thing to one. Based on the CLA four-door coupé but with a longer roof and a tailgate, the Shooting Brake balances practicality with a big dollop of style.
In 220d guise, the Shooting Brake’s 2.0-litre diesel engine is among the class best for refinement and feels strong on the road, picking up smartly from low revs. At the same time, real-world fuel economy of more than 50mpg is perfectly achievable. That’s thanks in part to a standard eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox that shifts smoothly and swiftly between gears and drops engine revs nice and low at a cruise.
Like the regular CLA, the Shooting Brake handles tidily enough, with reasonable grip and decent agility. The steering is rather numb and you wouldn’t say the Shooting Brake is all that much fun to drive, though.
The ride is comfortable for the most part, with the car having a relaxed gait on the motorway. It’s only churned-up country roads that reveal a slightly bouncy nature.
Front seat space is unchanged over the regular CLA, so there’s plenty of head and leg room on offer. Even entry-level AMG Line Shooting Brakes get a big (10.3in) touchscreen for infotainment that can also be controlled via touchpads on the steering wheel and between the seats. These can be fiddly at first, but you can control a surprising amount from the steering wheel once you get used to it. The interior looks flashy and has some nice materials, but it’s a bit flimsy in places.
In the rear seats, you’ll find a little bit more head room than in the fourdoor coupé, but no more leg room. You’ll be better served by a more conventional car such as a Skoda Superb Estate if you need to carry lanky passengers regularly.
As you’d expect, the Shooting Brake’s boot is a fair bit bigger than its sibling’s. Indeed, at 505 litres, it actually has a larger capacity than the pricier C-class Estate. Unfortunately, the shapely rear lights cut into the tailgate, leaving you with a relatively narrow aperture and a high load lip.
With prices starting at £1000 more than the equivalent four-door coupé, we can certainly see the appeal if you like the CLA but need extra practicality. However, if you truly need a roomy estate, the Audi A4 Avant is much easier to recommend.