Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake arrives in Geneva | Auto Express

The Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake wasn’t the German company’s best kept secret throughout 2014, and now it has made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show.

As you can see from our pictures, the Shooting Brake, just like the standard CLA four-door coupe, has an elegant front end with a long bonnet and wide, single-bar front grille.

Both models measure in at the same length and also share the same 2,699mm wheelbase, with the only visual changes starting from the B-pillar. The more athletic body benefits practicality, too. Boot capacity is up from 470 litres to 495 litres, while folding the rear seats flat frees a useable 1354 litres.

The rear seats can also be bolted in a more upright position, adding a further 100 litres to the boot capacity. Rear passenger space is also more generous. Product marketing manager for the CLA, Jan Paul Rubens, said the biggest criticism of the coupe concerned its practicality.

“Everyone loved the car, but feedback told us customers wanted more space inside,” he explained. “Because the Shooting Brake has 41mm more headroom than the coupe, we expected to see people downsize to the CLA from larger cars.”

Engine options will remain largely the same as the coupe, with two exceptions. The four-wheel drive 208bhp 250 4MATIC model will only be offered as an ‘Engineered by AMG’ version, while a new 220 CDI 4MATIC will launch on the Shooting Brake and follow on the coupe, arriving in September next year.

Like the saloon, four trim levels are available: Sport, AMG Sport, Engineered by AMG, and AMG. Mercedes is also releasing a special 'Orange Art' edition with bright orange detailing inside and out. 

Engines are minutely less efficient than the saloon, due to the slight kerbweight increase and the drag coefficent dropping from 0.22 to 0.26 Cd. However the CLA 200 CDI still returns 72.4mpg, with CO2 emissions of 101g/km. 

Standard equipment remains broadly similar to the CLA saloon, with the addition of an electric tailgate as standard and the option of a load compartment package, which includes a lockable boot floor, 12V socket and aluminium load rails.

The new CLA Shooting Brake should demand a £1,000 premium over the coupe, meaning it will start from around £25,700, rising to just over £43,000 for the CLA 45 AMG version. The Shooting Brake will be on sale from March 2015.

What do you think of the more practical CLA Shooting Brake? Let us know in the comments below...

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