Second-generation Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake unveiled at Geneva

ABU DHABI: One of the vehicles that were set to debut at Geneva was the Mercedes X118 CLA Shooting Brake, based on the C118 CLA coupe. The Shooting Brake has now broken cover at the Geneva Motor Show with the complete details.

This second-generation model is larger than the outgoing one being 48 mm longer, 53 mm wider, and sitting 2 mm lower. This makes the dimensions 4,688 mm long, 1,830 mm wide and 1,442 mm tall. Design wise the Shooting Brake is very similar to the coupe, up to the B-pillar. There are no character lines at the sides making the design cleaner and more sophisticated to look at.

Jump inside, and you are greeted with an interior that looks very similar to the CLA. This means turbine-styled air-conditioning vents and a wide free-standing touchscreen display. The unit comes with the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) system with a host of features including voice control.

Space on the inside has also increased, front passengers get a 9 mm increase in headroom while the rear passengers get 8 mm raise. Elbow room increases to 35 mm in the front and 44 mm at the back, shoulder room increase to 9 mm and 22 mm front and back, respectively. While the boot space has increased by 10 litres to 505 litres, it’s not the space but the boot opening width that sees a big jump in size. The boot compartment opening sees a 236 mm increase in width to 871 mm, making loading/unloading your luggage much easier.

The latest Mercedes driving assistance systems are found on the CLA Shooting Brake. Features like Active Steer Assist, Active Lane Change Assist, and Active Distance Assist Distronic are present, some of these have been borrowed from the S-Class.

The car on display at the Geneva Motor Show is the range-topping CLA 250 which makes 224 bhp and 350 Nm. The mill is mated to a 7G-DCT dual-clutch transmission. When the Shooting Brake is launched in September, there will be a number of petrol/diesel engines to choose from along with manual/dual-clutch transmissions and front/all-wheel drive options.