Mercedes-Benz CLA 180 AMG Line Edition 5dr Petrol Estate

Ten Second Review

Mercedes-Benz certainly hasn't played safe with this second generation CLA Shooting Brake, giving it the sort of bold, exciting styling that characterises its four-door Coupe stablemate. Look a little closer and you'll realise that the slinky roofline is a clever slight of hand from the stylists and there's real practicality on offer.

Background

Like its predecessor, this second generation CLA Shooting Brake aims to offer a stylised interpretation of what a small estate should be. The original version was launched back in 2015 to sell alongside the stylised four-door coupe CLA; this MK2 model arrived in the Summer of 2019 and delivers a high-tech cabin that Mercedes reckon takes screen and infotainment technology to the next level. It gets a slightly bigger boot too.

Driving Experience

Mercedes markets this car as a 'sporty' alternative to its more conventional C-Class Estate. The CLA Shooting Brake's sporty styling leads you to expect that. Though this car shares its chassis, steering and braking architecture with A and B-Class models, it does get its own suspension set-up, with various changes made to improve comfort and make it a bit less crashy over poorer surfaces. There's torque vectoring to help with the handling and 'Direct Steering' to sharpen things up at the helm. The range kicks off with CLA 180 and CLA 200 variants that both use a 1.3-litre petrol engine co-developed with Renault and are respectively capable of producing either 136hp and 200Nm of torque or 163hp and 250Nm. Next up is the CLA 220, which features a 2.0-litre petrol engine with an output of 190hp and 300Nm, this variant available in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive. Beyond that lies another petrol-powered front-driven variant, the CLA 250, which uses a 2.0-litre engine and can generate 224hp and 350Nm. You can also talk to your dealer about diesel-powered CLA 200d and CLA 220d variants. All models were initially launched with a 7G-DCT seven-speed automatic transmission, but you can also talk to your dealer about a 6-speed manual stick shift for lower-range variants.

Design and Build

Mercedes says that the CLA Shooting Brake is 'a designer car', referring to its elegant proportions: a long bonnet, coupe-like window lines, muscular shoulders over the rear wheel arch and a supplely crouched rear, which is intended to show sports car genes. The outline of the frameless windows is identical to the outline of the Coupe's up to the B-pillar. This MK2 model is 48mm longer than the original, plus it's 53mm wider but 2mm lower. The flat headlamps, the low-slung bonnet and the diamond radiator grille with the central star mark the typical Mercedes-Benz sports car look. The interior of the passenger compartment is identical to that of the Coupe. Both CLAs offer unique cabin architecture, primarily thanks to their avant-garde instrument panel: the widescreen display is completely free-standing with no hood on the wing-shaped main body of the instrument panel. This stretches continuously from one front door to the other. At 871 millimetres, the boot opening is significantly wider than in the previous model and the luggage area is 10-litres bigger, measuring in at 505-litres.

Market and Model

Expect to pay somewhere in the £33,000 to £40,000 bracket for mainstream versions of this CLA Shooting Brake. There's a choice of three trim levels - 'AMG Line', 'AMG Line Premium' and 'AMG Line Premium Plus'. Even base 'AMG Line' models come decently equipped, standard kit including the MBUX multimedia system that includes 'Hey Mercedes' voice recognition and is accessed through a 10.25-inch centre-dash touchscreen. This incorporates navigation, a DAB radio and smartphone integration, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There's also a 7-inch digital cockpit display, LED high performance headlights, privacy glass, Thermotronic luxury two-zone automatic climate control, a Parking package and heated front seats with leather upholstery. Standard safety features include Active Lane Keeping Assist and Speed Limit Assist. 'AMG Line Premium' trim adds a larger 10.25-inch digital cockpit display, a dash cam, ambient lighting with a choice of 64 colours and keyless entry. Finally 'AMG Line Premium Plus' spec adds a panoramic sliding sunroof, Multibeam LED headlights, memory seats for the driver and front passenger and an 'Energizing pack' which uses a number of the car's systems to boost driver fitness and wellbeing.

Cost of Ownership

The CLA Shooting Brake almost replicates the economy and emissions figures of the saloon, which means it's very, very good indeed. The kerb weight goes up slightly and, rather surprisingly, the drag coefficent of the Shooting Brake isn't quite as good. Still, it's hard to complain when you have a practical and stylish Mercedes-Benz estate that can return figures like the ones quoted here. The CLA 180 and CLA 200 Coupe variants can deliver up to 47.9mpg on the combined cycle. The CLA 180 emits 123g/km of CO2 and the CLA 200 emits 124g/km. The CLA 220 4MATIC delivers 40.4mpg and emits 149g/km. And the CLA 250 can deliver up to 41.5mpg and emit 139g/km of CO2. What else? Well it's worth knowing that your maintenance outlay can be kept a little in check by going for the optional 'Service Care' package that takes care of routine maintenance, spreading the cost of regular servicing, guaranteeing the price of parts and labour for up to four services and covering the cost of all recommended service items such as brake fluid, spark plugs, air filters, fuel filters and screen wash. There's also an ASSYST dashboard service indicator that monitors engine use and tells you exactly when a garage visit is due. It's also worth mentioning that the included 'Mercedes me' connect services package includes remote self-diagnostic capability, enabling your CLA to monitor wear and tear items and alert your local dealer to let you know if something needs seeing to.

By Jonathan Crouch

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