2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake – EV first, CLA250+, CLA350 4Matic, bigger all-round than before

You’ve seen the new third-gen C178 Mercedes-Benz CLA, you know for now it’s an EV, you know 48-volt mild-hybrid versions will come later, and you know the class opens with CLA 250+ and CLA 350 4Matic variants, both with the tedious ‘with EQ Technology‘ tag to signify electric propulsion.

Now it’s CLA Shooting Brake time. The roof has been lengthened from the B-pillar to include a full panoramic glass panel – besides being made of heat-insulating safety glass with an infrared-reflecting and low-emissivity coating on the inside, there are 158 illuminated ‘stars’ for bragging rights. An optional electrochromic function can change the glass from clear to opaque.

It’s 35 mm longer, 25 mm wider, 27 mm taller and has a 61 mm longer wheelbase than the previous CLA Shooting Brake. There’s 26 mm more rear headroom, and with the back seats folded, 1,290 litres of cargo space. That’s much better than the CLA sedan’s 405-litre boot (which is already 55 litres less than before), although both the sedan and the estate benefit from a 101-litre frunk.

You can have your CLA Shooting Brake as a CLA 250+ (one-motor RWD, 272 PS/335 Nm) or a CLA 350 4Matic (two-motor AWD, 354 PS/515 Nm). Both top out at 210 km/h; both use an 85 kWh (nett) NMC battery that can charge up to 320 kW DC. These all mirror the sedan.

Now for the differences. The Shooting Brake accelerates a tenth of a second slower to 100 km/h (6.8 and 5.0 seconds for CLA 250+ and CLA 350 respectively) and its WLTP ranges are 761 km for the CLA 250+ and 730 km for the CLA 350 – smack dab in the middle of the sedan’s claimed 694-792 km and 672-771 km windows.

So, where the new Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) for compact models is concerned, it’s two down (sedan and shooting brake), two to go (GLA and GLB). Sorry, no more A-Class hatchback, but do you really miss it?

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