The third generation Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake is a quirky but interesting and very advanced small estate. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Review

There's lots to like about Mercedes' third generation CLA, but some might think that the four-door model lacks a bit of visual pizzazz. It gains a dose more of that in this Shooting Brake estate form.

Background

The CLA Shooting Brake has proved to be a small but profitable seller for Mercedes. In case you're not familiar with it, the idea here was to create a compact but more stylised interpretation of what a small estate could be. With a design based of course on the CLA four-door coupe. The first CLA Shooting Brake arrived back in 2015 and sold well enough to be reprised in second generation form when the MK2 CLA arrived in 2019. Here, looking at the third generation model announced in May 2025, introduced as the brand's very first all-electric estate but also available in full-Hybrid form. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Spec

The engineering here of course is the same as with the CLA four-door coupe and there are plenty of headlines. This EV version of this model is offered with a choice of three powertrains. The base CLA 200 electric has a 221hp front motor energised by a 58kWh battery which offers up to 321 miles of range (about 10 miles less than the coupe version). The single motor alternative is the mid-level CLA 250+ electric, which has a 268hp motor energised by a larger 85kWh battery which offers a range of up to 469 miles. Lots of clever engineering lies behind these attention-grabbing stats, the front-mounted motor working with a Porsche Taycan-like two-speed gearbox, rather than the usual single-speed EV transmission. The idea is that this provides a short first ratio for quick launches and extra efficiency at town speeds; and a much longer second ratio to improve consumption at a cruise. 0-62mph in the 250+ takes 6.7s on the way to 130mph. As you'd expect, the brand also offers a twin motor EV model, the CLA 350 4MATIC electric. This gets an extra 107bhp motor with a single-speed gearbox on its front axle, giving a combined output of 349hp, which cuts the 0-62mph sprint time to just 4.9s. It also uses the larger 85kWh battery and range remains impressive at up to 451 miles. If you're not quite ready for the EV switch, then you can talk to your dealer about the alternative of the brand's new self charging full-Hybrid engine in this car, which is mated to an equally new 8-speed eDCT auto gearbox. Mercedes makes no apology for the fact that the Hybrid CLA had to fit very much into the design parameters of the EV; the petrol version's 1.5-litre engine was specifically created to fit into the same front-end space as the EV's front motor. This four cylinder unit seems uncompromised as a result though, assisted by a little 1.3kWh battery energised by a 27bhp electric motor. These work together to send either 134bhp or 161bhp through the front wheels or, in the top 4MATIC version, 188bhp to all four wheels. Diesel-like economy is promised. For the future, there may be an entry-level 58kWh CLA EV with a lower price but less advanced LFP lithium-ion-phosphate cells and a shorter range (expect about 300 miles). And you can also expect a flagship Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4MATIC+ EV with a pair of Yasa-developed axial flux motors developing over 500bhp.

Design and Build

This is a significantly bigger kind of CLA Shooting Brake, 35mm longer (at 4,723mm) and 27mm taller (at 1,469mm) than its predecessor. Roof rails are standard. As is a panoramic glass roof. There are some nice detail touches - like the three-pointed stars in the headlights and tail lamps. And the EV version's front grille is illuminated with a 142 individual LEDs. Inside at the wheel, you're faced with a huge full-width panel that incorporates a 10.25-inch driver instrument cluster and a 14-inch central infotainment display. In this panel's full (optional) 'Superscreen' form, there's a further 14-inch passenger-side display on which your fellow traveller can watch films, go online or set navigation destinations. With the standard set-up, this passenger screen is replaced by a glass panel with LED back-lit star logos which match the ambient lighting. Media connectivity is of course cutting-edge; there's the brand's very latest MB.OS software, Virtual Assistant voice control using generative AI and Google Maps built-in. What else? Quality is taken a step up and the style of the seats and steering wheel champion a sporty vibe, particularly if you select one of the more exuberant cabin colour choices. Obviously all this is the same as with the four-door coupe model; the Shooting Brake differences of course lie in the back. There's 26mm more headroom than in the four-door CLA and compared to the previous generation Shooting Brake, head room is improved by 7mm and (thanks to a longer 2,790mm wheelbase) leg room is up by 11mm. As for luggage space, the 455-litre total is 50-litres more than the CLA coupe but disappointingly, 30-litres down on the MK2 Shooting Brake. It's up to 1,290-litres with the rear bench folded. In EV form though, this MK3 Shooting Brake also offers a 101-litre under-bonnet 'frunk'.

Market and Model

Expect CLA Shooting Brake in EV form to sit in the £40,000-£57,000 bracket and you won't be far out. There's a choice of five trim levels - 'Sport', 'Sport Executive', 'AMG Line Executive', 'AMG Line Premium' and 'AMG Line Premium Plus'. The Hybrid version will cost you much the same as the EV, but price comparisons with the Electric model are difficult because outputs and trim levels are different. Expect the 250+ EV variant to be priced somewhere between the CLA 200 and the CLA 220 4MATIC Hybrid models, if you get comparable trim. There's an awful lot of new technology included here. Take MBUX Surround Navigation for instance, which the brand describes as a feature that 'seamlessly integrates the driver assistance view with a 3D representation of the surroundings and route guidance in real time on the driver display'. Then there's the Virtual Assistant with its generative AI system, which uses ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing for internet searches for the questions you might ask it. Drive assist tech has also taken a step forward. All CLAs come with the brand's DISTRONIC Distance Assist and there's the option of the company's latest 'MB.DRIVE ASSIST' system. This complements Distance Assist DISTRONIC with Steering Assist, making it a state-of-the-art Level 2 driving assistance system. New in the CLA is Lane Change Assist, which facilitates lane changes with a simple click of the indicator lever. Standard safety features include active brake assist, lane keeping assist, speed limit warning, attention assist and a reversing camera.

Cost of Ownership

Proof that this CLA Shooting Brake in EV form takes frugality onto the next level is delivered by a claimed efficiency figure for the CLA 250+ electric model that manages to better 5.0mpkWh. Mercedes says that three keys to achieving that impressive stat include the slippery drag coefficient, the advanced two-speed gearbox and a clever rear-mounted permanent magnet motor. The latter uses a new silicon carbide inverter that develops greater output from a smaller package, reducing weight. And the engineers claim its torque density's boosted by the magnets being inserted in an innovative double-V formation, concentrating their field. There's also a powerful regen braking system that can provide up to 200kW of stopping power off-throttle, helping to keep the battery topped up. And the 4MATIC EV model retains impressive range because it's additional front motor is decoupled from the front axle when it isn't needed, reducing energy losses to friction by 90%. The carbon footprint of the new all-electric CLA is reduced by 40 percent over the entire value chain compared to its non-electrified predecessor. At the right public charging station, the CLA electric's 85kWh battery can be DC rapid-charged at up to 320kW thanks to its adoption of an 800V electrical architecture. This enables a 201 mile top-up of the CLA 250+ in just 10 minutes and a 10-80% charge in 22 minutes. A full AC charge from a 7.4kWh home wallbox takes 13.45 hours. The 58kWh CLA 200 electric has a 200kW DC charging speed and can be DC-charged from 10-80% in 20 minutes. A full AC charge from a 7.4kWh home wallbox takes 9.25 hours. What about the combustion Hybrid model? Well don't expect the efficiency figures for the CLA Shooting Brake Hybrid to be much different to those of the CLA 4-Door Coupe Hybrid. For reference, those stats show both the CLA 180 and the CLA 200 returning 56.5mpg on the combined cycle, with CO2 emissions of 114g/km. For the CLA 220 4MATIC 4-Door Coupe, Mercedes claims 52.4mpg and CO2 emissions of 123g/km. The Hybrid powerplant includes a system that can provide several miles of engine-off propulsion. So much so that the brand has decided not to offer a Plug-in Hybrid derivative this time round. "We think Hybrid is the best combination we can offer for those who aren't completely ready for electric", says transmission engineer Jan Becker.

Summary

The CLA is a key model for Mercedes. Bluntly put, it's a car that appeals to customers who'd never normally think of buying from the brand. They might feel that typical 'Benzs are too staid and conservative, but the CLA is cut from some pretty funky cloth and the Shooting Brake is anything but traditional Stuttgart tackle. The engineering beneath the car is hard to fault, especially in this third generation form. Plus the EV drivetrain is class-leadingly frugal, the infotainment technology is difficult to better and it's probably as practical as you'll need it to be. Whether you're warm to the CLA Shooting Brake in this third generation form is clearly going to depend on whether you agree with Mercedes that it 'delivers a contemporary interpretation of sensual purity' or whether you think it's just too odd for words. We like it here. Your opinion may vary.