New Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake review – a good electric car, if not a thrilling driver’s car

It may be bereft of the striking retro-inspired snout we’ve seen on the new C-class electric and GLC electric, but make no mistake, the new CLA is one of Mercedes’ most important cars. It has been the olive branch, the course correction – four-wheeled atonement for the sins of the first EQC, EQE and EQS. Now there’s a more powerful, four-wheel drive option and more shockingly, a Shooting Brake estate. Does it continue the saloon’s good form?

Clearly the Shooting Brake form factor works with a smaller model , given a CLA SB has been justified sales wise for a third generation – quite unlike the CLS. Small but mighty – affordable-ish but premium in look and feel – is a formula that’s served Mercedes well and what’s affords the aging current A-class its stay of execution. In fact, to look at, the new CLA Shooting Brake is probably only a few inches of length past the rear axle (and in the wheelbase) from being a higher-end, electric A-class. It ers more on the side of amorphous than sporting (much like the driving experience) but it’s still a much more attractive device than say, the lozenge-like EQE and EQS.

Motors, performance and handling

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What defines the new CLA however is what’s under the skin. The Shooting Brake rides on the same Mercedes Modular Architecture as the saloon, allowing fully electric and hybrid models. We’ll be driving the hybrid models before too long but the 250+ and now the 350 are the electric models that we’ve driven, using an 85kWh NMC battery that’s 20 per cent more energy dense than past tech. The CLA 200 with a 58kWh battery is the entry-level electric CLA.

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The 350 is a step up from the 250, adding four-wheel drive and a bump from 268bhp and 247lb ft, to 349bhp and 380lb ft, dropping the 0-62mph time down to 5sec from 6.8sec in the 250+ Shooting Brake. The 250 saloon (0-62mph in 6.7sec) didn’t feel slow as such from behind the wheel – instant electric torque and a two-speed transmission mean it’s responsive and consistent – but the 350 does put notable extra strain on your neck when you floor the throttle.

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That’s not to say it’s been set up in an overly aggressive way – this is a long-travel throttle calibrated for smoothness and comfort. Power rolls in with a measured delivery even when the drive mode is set to dynamic. The more powerful 350’s driven front wheels don’t transform the CLA’s character. There’s a notable increase in traction and happily, that’s not at the expense of balance or a responsive-enough front end.

There’s a leisurely feel to all the controls, from the steering to the damping, to the brakes. There’s still a bit of inconsistency when regeneration hands over to friction, mind. There are also three levels of off-throttle regeneration available, with the first mimicking a sturdy engine braking sensation.

The dampers are still the passive ‘comfort’ items in the CLA 350 and make it a comfortable cruiser for most of the time. Larger wheel options make sharp low-speed impacts more prominent but it’s an otherwise pleasant and refined ride. What it’s not is the tightest in terms of body control. Throw the two-ton CLA at a varied road and the car often takes an extra half-rebound to settle after undulations. AMG’s ride control suspension system will be welcome on whatever performance variant is to come.

Range and efficiency

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On the other end of the scale, what about efficiency? That is after all the CLA’s trump card. Mixed driving on a temperate day in the CLA 350 Shooting Brake had the car indicating 263 miles of range with 76 per cent left – implying 346 miles from a full charge. Overall efficiency was 4.17mi/kWh on our drive and 3.42mi/kWh overall, implying driving range of between 290 and 354 miles from a full charge. For reference, this was in a CLA 350 AMG Line Premium Plus, which has a stated WLTP-certified range of 424 miles – thanks to its larger 19-inch multi-spoke AMG wheels. 

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The extra potency of the electric motor means it’s lower than the equivalent 250 by about 25 miles. Happily, the CLA with its 800V electrical architecture will juice up at 320kW, or fast enough to add 200 miles of range in ten minutes with consistent delivery.

Interior and tech

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As for what else the Shooting Brake form factor brings? There’s certainly more headroom for rear-seat passengers, though the saloon’s not bad as it is. That it’s a Shooting Brake and not a boxy estate of old is reasonable justification for the fact it only gets 50 litres more boot space, less so of its prohibitively high loading lip.

The interior up front is standard CLA – nice and spacious, albeit with a slightly high driving position even in the more supportive sports seats. Material quality is good for the most part, though the vents feel a bit tinny and there’s the occasional squeak and creak when you’re on more challenging roads. There are a lot of screens too. The MBUX operating system is just about intuitive enough and one hit to switch the speed audio warning off is a welcome dose of common sense. But it’s still pixel overwhelm in the extreme. Happily, the steering wheels have been moderately upgraded with a couple of physical controls, with a click wheel replacing the haptic volume controller – praise be!

A bold statement it may be but I’d hazard to suggest it’s one of few EVs out there that, on price, quality and performance, has a shot of impressing sceptics and maybe even people that have been burned by EVs before. It’s a Mercedes in the truest sense – upmarket, refined, polished, reasonably stylish and its being an EV with strong range adds to that. A more intense AMG version that steers and rides with more tension and control and still delivers 300 miles of real world range sounds appealing indeed.

Price and rivals

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Prices for the electric Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake start from £40,150 for the CLA 200, though its smaller battery and reduced power mean 7.6sec to 62mph and just 321 miles of stated range. For reference, the hybrid version starts from £39,715. The first CLA 250+ SB, starts from £44,250 in Sport spec, rising through to £53,450 for the AMG Line Premium Plus. The 350 begins at £52,800 AMG Line spec, which comes with 18-inch wheels, sports seats and sports steering wheel. That rises to CLA 350 AMG Line Premium Plus spec for £57,350, giving you larger 19-inch AMG wheels, Manufaktur red seat belts and a few more aesthetic touches for your cash. The CLA 250 AMG Line Executive is probably the sweet spot, in terms of having maximum range (465m claimed) with the most extra equipment, for £48,850.

The CLA Shooting Brake is a bit of a niche device, in that there’s nothing else quite like it. There’s no Tesla Model 3 estate, nor a Polestar 2 estate. A BMW i3 Touring will surely be along in a while but will likely be priced in the segment above the CLA. There is of course Mercedes’ own GLB, which rides on the same platform, if an SUV suits your use case more. If you’re happy with combustion power, hybrid CLA models could find rivals in Audi’s A5 Avant or BMW’s 3-series Touring, though these are in the class above, which makes the C-class another internal alternative.

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