Pros: very quick, very smooth, very quiet, very stylish
Cons: not very cheap, not very thrilling, not very spacious
Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake Electric Design
Across both previous generations of the car since 2013, the Mercedes CLA has always been a swoopy, attractive machine and the current version is no exception to the rule. It’s available as a four-door ‘coupe’ or a small, stylish estate known as the CLA Shooting Brake, the latter being something unusual in the premium sector of the marketplace in which the Mercedes competes. Its sleek roofline, low stance and steeply raked tailgate all give the CLA Shooting Brake plenty of presence, while fully electric versions like our test car have 142 small three-pointed stars on the nose panel, which can light up at night.
Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake Electric Interior
High-quality fixtures and fittings are the hallmark of Mercedes-Benz, so the plush cabin of the CLA Shooting Brake is not a surprise. Perhaps more eyebrow-raising is the absolutely huge digital interface the car possesses, which Mercedes calls the Superscreen. Even base-grade models have a 10.25-inch instrument cluster alongside a 14-inch infotainment screen for the centre of the cliff-face-like dash, but options include another 14-inch screen that goes in front of the passenger and a head-up display for the driver with an effective 12.2 inches of view. Altogether, with the pin-sharp graphics and slick responses, it’s certainly a high-tech cabin in the CLA.
It’s not, however, the most spacious car in the world. The emphasis on exterior form over interior function is nowhere better displayed than in a boot which isn’t much bigger than you’d get in a Volkswagen Golf hatchback, despite the fact this CLA is an estate, and there’s also not an excessive amount of either leg- or headroom in the second row of the Shooting Brake.
Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake Electric Performance & Drive
In the fullness of time, there will be hybrid-petrol models of the Mercedes CLA joining the Irish line-up, but for now there are three full EV powertrains available for the Shooting Brake.
The first is a 58kWh LFP battery car with a single rear motor making 224hp and 335Nm, and it’s called the CLA Shooting Brake Electric 200. It can go up to 525km between charges and runs the 0-100km/h sprint in 7.6 seconds.
The other two CLA Electrics both use a much larger 85kWh NMC battery pack, so can go more than 700km to a charge. The outright range champion is the 250+, which has a solitary rear-mounted motor with the same peak torque as the 200, but power increases to 272hp. This model can go up to 761km between charges and has a 0-100km/h time of 6.8 seconds.
At the top of the Shooting Brake Electric tree is the fastest third-gen CLA we’ve seen so far. It’s a dual-motor variant with 354hp and 515Nm of torque, called the 350 4Matic – as it has all-wheel drive. The 0-100km/h time comes down to precisely five seconds, although the cost to range is not too bad – the 350 is still able to go up to 730km between electrical top-ups.
Every CLA Electric has conventional suspension, with no adaptive dampers, and a two-speed reduction-gear transmission, and they focus mainly on comfort over speed or handling acuity. This is good news, because the CLA 350 4Matic is light on its feet, impressive as it cushions out imperfections in the road, and it remains really quiet and hushed at all reasonable driving speeds. The only problem is that it’s not very exciting to drive, despite the car’s racy-looking bodywork on the outside.
Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake Electric Pricing
No Mercedes is ever what you’d call out-and-out cheap, and the CLA Shooting Brake lives up to this reputation with a starting price just shy of €60,000 for the Electric 200. The 250+ is about €5,000 more again, while grand-spec examples of the 350 4Matic can approach the €75,000 marker.
In the CLA Shooting Brake’s favour, though, is that there are few, compact, premium estates like it – and even fewer that are powered by electric drivetrains. Certainly, none of Mercedes’ traditional prestige rivals, such as Audi, BMW, Volvo and Lexus, produce anything similar to this wagon, and you have to go looking for oddballs like the Subaru E-Outback if you want something with similar performance to the CLA Electric.
Carzone Verdict
A cultured, composed and classy operator with superb driving range, the Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake deserves serious consideration. Don’t buy this car if you need to regularly carry huge, bulky objects in its boot area, or if you’re purchasing a new vehicle on a tight budget – but do give it a whirl if you just want something supremely easy-going and technologically advanced, in which you can while away the stresses of day-to-day life as you travel along in exceptional comfort.