New Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake almost loses its camouflage

Mercedes has been caught putting the finishing touches on its next-generation CLA Shooting Brake. The compact estate is a key part of Merc’s new four-car small car strategy that kicked off with the CLA saloon in recent months, and will be completed by new GLA and GLB SUVs.

A new A-Class is missing from that list because Mercedes has decided to kill off its high-selling hatchback, leaving this Shooting Brake as its indirect replacement. 

The prototype spotted here is the mild-hybrid variant, as seen by its open grille, but like the saloon will also launch in a full EV form. The nose will be identical on the two body styles, but from its rear door back, the Shooting Brake will retain its predecessor’s sloping roofline, balancing both style and practicality. 

Expect to see similar rear lights to the saloon under the camouflage, with the same three-pointed star lighting signature and dashed light bar.

The screen-heavy cabin will also be brought across unchanged, made up from a single black panel that integrates a big 15.4-inch touchscreen in the centre, plus a 10-inch driver’s display and optional 15.4-inch passenger display. As we’ve found out from the CLA saloon, this new generation of Mercedes features a new digital architecture that operates across all the electronic elements, making it updatable over the air. 

In terms of powertrains, this model features Mercedes’ new fuel-sipping mild-hybrid set-up. This pairs a highly compact 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a 27bhp e-motor, which is integrated directly into the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Mercedes says it will allow for pure-electric driving at low speeds, zero-emissions coasting at up to 62mph and recuperate up to 25kW of energy when slowing down, in any gear.

The electric CLA Shooting Brake, which will officially be called the CLA with EQ Technology, will feature an “extremely efficient” powertrain with an 800v electrical architecture to allow for ultra-rapid charge speeds. It is powerful enough, Mercedes claims, for drivers to add 186 miles of range in only 10 minutes. 

However, as has been revealed with the saloon, it’s not calibrated to work with 400v ultra-fast chargers that make up a majority of the UK network. Instead, you’ll need to search out the rarer 800v units that are slowly being introduced. 

Both single 250+ and 350 variants run a large 85kWh battery pack, and are expected to be available at launch. The former is capable of an impressive range of around 490 miles in saloon form, but a smaller and cheaper entry-level model with a lower range is expected to join later. 

A high-performance all-electric AMG model is also in the works, upping the power figure and bringing in a range of chassis and styling upgrades. This will likely include a wider front track and bigger wheels, filling in a new high-performance compact EV estate niche. 

With the new Mercedes CLA saloon having already been revealed, the Shooting Brake will be unveiled in the summer, before going on sale later in 2025 or early 2026.

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