Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake: Bound For Europe

As soon as we drove the Mercedes-Benz CLA sedan, we were unanimous: the car is stylish, it drives really well and the AMG version is equipped with the most powerful 4-cylinder engine on the market. However, 2 major points spoiled the fun: pricing can go up quickly, and the rear seats are not very roomy for a four-door sedan.

The manufacturer listened to those reviews and unveiled the CLA Shooting Brake, an estate version of its entry-level sedan.

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First of all, the extended roof will not only provide more space for the rear passengers' heads, but it also adds a lot of cargo space: with more than 1354 L of capacity, the CLA Shooting Brake rivals some SUVs. The car is available with a large selection of engines: with 3 diesels and 2 gasoline engines (not counting the AMG model), there is a CLA wagon for everyone. The car comes standard with front-wheel drive, and the 4MATIC option is available.

But the icing on the cake is the CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake: with 360 horsepower sent to all four-wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the wagon can scoot from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and hit 250 km/h, which should get your groceries home fast enough.

But like a lot of nice cars, there is a catch: the CLA Shooting Brake will not be sold here, and will remain a European exclusive. Just like the CLS Shooting Brake, the small CLA wagon has been added to our list of forbidden fruit.