Dogs Travel in Style with the New Electric Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake

28 Mar

Whatever people use estate cars for, there aren’t nearly enough of them for sale these days. However, Mercedes has your back as it launches a Shooting Brake version of their new electric Mercedes-Benz CLA with EQ Technology.

SUVs may provide an imperial driving position, but estate cars are as practical - if not more - whilst offering better driving dynamics, better efficiency and lower purchase costs.
These really are a hugely overlooked gem for families, pet owners, and everyone else looking for a little more dynamic boot space.

And with up to 472 miles of range (WLTP) it pretty much covers the same distance as its petrol sibling. Refuelling time is impressive thanks to its 800v architecture adding 211 miles in just 10 minutes at a compatible DC charger.

Word of warning though, 400v charging is an optional extra and must be ordered up front at a cost of £850 - and it will be needed as most Rapid Chargers operate at 400v. It’s not retrofittable, either, if tempted by “in stock” cars.

The part that you’ve been waiting for may disappoint as this estate is no Skoda Superb with the boot capacity measured at just 455 litres. For a car that’s 4,723 mm long, it’s not great, but it is compromised by style as this is sold as a Shooting Brake, and not a full blown estate car. For that, you’ll need to wait for the new C-Class to launch.

Fold the rear seats and that boot capacity increases to 1,290 litres. It’s not grand, but still very usable storage, and easy for pampered pooches to get in and out of.

However, under the bonnet is an illuminated frunk with a generous 101 litres of extra storage - a trick that even the Skoda Superb can’t offer.

If the boot and frunk do not offer enough storage, there’s always the roof with the standard roof rails limiting load capacity to 75 kilograms. For heavy items, such as jet ski or motorcycles the towing capacity is up to 1,800 kilograms (braked). Not bad.

Mathias Geisen, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Sales explains “the new CLA Shooting Brake is designed for those who appreciate the dynamism of a sporty vehicle but don’t want to compromise on space and practicality in everyday life. It combines intelligent technology and efficiency to deliver a fresh, engaging driving experience. For our customers, this means more space for individuality, travelling and for their own personal lifestyle.”

Two power options are offered. The CLA 250+ Shooting Brake has 272 bhp and 335 Nm of torque which will push the Mercedes from 0-62 mph in a decent 6.8 seconds whilst the CLA 350 4MATIC Shooting Brake with four-wheel drive has more urgency doing the same run in 5 seconds, thanks to 353 bhp and 515 Nm of torque from its two motors.

Inside is the usual glitz and glamour from Mercedes. If opting for the huge panoramic roof, you’re in for a treat because its switchable making sections opaque to further keep the sun out, but at night it has an illuminated starry sky effects with 158 LEDs embedded into the glass. Or you could just look at the actual stars (weather depending).

As with the saloon version, there is the MBUX Superscreen - a single piece of display covering the entire width of the car and forming the dashboard. It’s actually made up from a drivers display (10.25-inches), centre display (14-inches) and a passenger side display (14-inched).

There will be many apps to use, including Disney+ and gaming apps to keep people entertained.

Is it too much screen? Will it feel like you’re driving a smartphone? That depends on what value customers will extract from having a UI focused interior. Some may appreciate it for all the onboard tech it offers and others may want less screen time when driving.

The new CLA Shooting Brake is the second vehicle to use the new Mercedes‑Benz Operating System (MB.OS). Connected to the Mercedes‑Benz Intelligent Cloud it enables regular over-the-air updates, improving the car overtime.

The fourth generation of the Mercedes‑Benz User Experience (MBUX) infotainment system uses an artificial intelligence assistant from Microsoft and Google for natural language voice commands with some functions integrated into the car and changeable just by using talking to it. This is a feature making its way into a lot of cars lately and can be very useful for planning multi-stop routes, for example. Just tell it where to go, where to stop and it will work it all out.

Whilst the CLA Shooting Brake adds a touch of practicality, it does bring an estate-like variant to a very small segment in the electric car market, adding a very useful amount of range, as well as bundles of technology in a premium package.

Prices have yet to be announced, but undoubtedly they will be similar to the saloon version. Details are filtering through to the Mercedes website where you can request to be kept up-to-date with the latest information prices and launch dates.

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