Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake estate planned

Mercedes has hinted that a Shooting Brake estate version of its CLA might be on the way – as it continues to invent new niches and segments in the luxury small car market.

With the Mercedes CLA four-door saloon only arriving in showrooms this summer, it’ll be at least 12 months before we see anything finalised with regard to a more practical estate version.

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As with the new CLA and upcoming GLA off-roader, the CLA Shooting Brake estate will be based on the same platform as the current Mercedes A-Class. It’s likely to share many of its parts with the family hatchback, and get a very similar look to the stylish CLA saloon. If it does get the green light, it will be the fourth variation of the Mercedes A-Class.

Given the increased practicality of the larger CLS Shooting Brake over the standard CLS, we expect the CLA estate to offer more than 500 litres of boot space, expanding to around 1,250 litres with the rear seats folded.

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As it’s only an idea in the Mercedes model pipeline, there is currently no word on prices or specs, but we’d expect the estate to command a premium of around £3,000 over the standard CLA. This is a similar difference to that of the CLS saloon and CLS Shooting Brake estate, and a justifiable increase given the potential practicality gains. This would see prices for the CLA Shooting Brake start at around £27,000.

As with the forthcoming CLA, the Shooting Brake is likely to get a choice of Sport and AMG Sport specifications, with the latter getting more aggressively styled bumpers and 18-inch AMG alloy wheels. Tinted windows and gloss black trim should also be included.

You can order a new Mercedes CLA saloon now, with prices starting at £24,355. Customers get the choice of a 1.6-litre CLA 180 petrol or 2.1-litre CLA 220 CDI diesel, with a turbocharged CLA 250 petrol joining the line-up later this year. First deliveries are expected in June.

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