Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake 2013 Review - International

Mercedes-Benz's E-Class-based CLS started the trend of calling sedans with swooping rooflines four-door coupes. And now Benz has gone one better – or worse, depending on which side of the divide you sit.

The CLS Shooting Brake is the latest addition to the Mercedes-Benz passenger car range and, despite the fact it is a wagon, with luggage capacity that approaches prestige wagon offerings from BMW and Audi, it sits within the Stuttgart brand's coupe portfolio. Its model designation is X218, a derivation of the C218 four-door on which it is almost entirely based.

Globally, the CLS will be launched in a range comprising two V6 variants (one petrol, one diesel), with a four-cylinder diesel CLS 250 CDI and petrol V8-engined CLS 500 book-ending the sixes. AMG's twin turbo petrol V8 tops off a line-up that also includes two 4MATIC all-wheel drive versions.

Australian buyers will get to see the new CLS Shooting Brake in local showrooms in rear-drive only from as early as November (2012), though saleable volumes will not arrive until January 2013.

Benz will limit the variants offered Down Under. A single petrol V6 will make it here, as will the AMG 63 variant. There will be no CLS 500 variant, though buyers who insist on the non-AMG eight will be able to order up a bespoke example.

Of most interest will, however, be the 250 CDI entry-level version that has been confirmed for Australia. Boasting 500Nm and economy-car fuel consumption, it is the pick for 'sensible' CLS Shooting Brake buyers.

The good news for other CLS fanciers is it won't just be the Brake that gets this four-cylinder turbodiesel option – expect the CLS four-door to also be so equipped before long.

Despite this, the hefty price tag will limit the popularity of the Brake. Benz insiders expect four-door CLS models to outsell the wagon, appropriately, four to one.

 By way of comparison, BMW charges around $10,000 to step from sedan to Touring in the 5 Series, while Audi's A6 Avant is around $4000 more than its four-door counterpart.

MECHANICAL

The CLS four-door achieves a drag coefficient of 0.26Cd and the wagon is just a little less slippery at 0.29. Benz experts reckon this is about as slippery as a wagon can get, since the two-box shape is less efficient in aero terms.

Powerplants are unchanged from the four door, incorporating fuel-saving features like electric steering and auto stop-start.

The 350's V6 petrol engine is a 3.5-litre unit with peak power and torque of 225kW and 370Nm respectively. The 250 CDI's excellent turbodiesel four is rated at 150kW and 500Nm and the CLS 63 AMG can be had with 410kW and 800Nm, if you tick the right option box.

Fuel consumption figures in combined-cycle testing are 5.3L/100km (CLS 250 CDI), 7.3L/100km (CLS 350) and a still impressive 10.1L/100km for the AMG 'Shooting Star'.

All Aussie variants drive through the 7G-Tronic seven-speed epicyclic automatic transmission to the rear wheels. The transmission features a sequential-shift facility and shift paddles.

PACKAGING

That said, in a sop to practicality, the Shooting Brake eschews the CLS four-door’s two-person rear seat – replaced by an E-Class Estate style 60:40 split-fold three-person bench. No skiport is offered.

Benz insiders call the rear seat set-up "2+1". Most adults will not be all that comfortable in the rear centre position – not for long anyway.

The rest of the packaging story is all behind the C-pillar. Flying in the face of the emphasis on “style”, from a practical viewpoint the Brake offers a 590-litre luggage area and an automatic rear tailgate. The rear seats tumble to increase load capacity to 1550 litres.

Pneumatically regulated, self-levelling rear suspension is standard across the Shooting Brake line-up and there's even an optional tow bar.

By way of comparison BMW claims 560/1670 for the 5 Series Touring, while Audi's stats for the A6 Avant are 565/1680. For the cooking model, E-Class Estate (which will still be sold Down Under), Mercedes quotes 695 litres and a massive 1950 litres with all seats folded.

The E-Class's occasional rear-facing third row is not available in the Shooting Brake. The load area is also narrower. No attempt has been made to deliver extra space around the CLS's wheel wells for example. Instead, leather and carpet trimmed side bolsters frame the load floor.

Of course the bare statistics of the CLS Shooting Brake are unlikely to have much to do with whether it succeeds or not. As we said at the car's unveiling at Brooklands earlier this year, "This is a designer handbag on four wheels".

As such Benz has ramped up the level of interior detailing – chiefly the way the load area is kitted out. In the finest tradition of Riva speedboats and high-end carriages of centuries gone by, the load area can be optioned (at near $4000 we're told) to feature a planked, wooden deck of polished American cherry – complete with oak and rubber inlays, plus an alloy load-retention system.

A telling fact is that the luggage bays of cars at the launch were augmented by a carpet mat – lest the journos' luggage scratch the 'furniture'. Under the timber floor is a void which on Aussie (non-AMG) cars will be filled with space-saver spare.

Another plus of the Brake is the higher room line. Despite echoing the four-door's swooping roofline, rear headroom is actually increased by a substantial 57mm.

Vision to the rear isn't great but is no worse than many SUVs or the CLS four-door. Reverse parking sensors with acoustic guidance and reversing camera compensate in part.

Myriad active and passive safety systems are offered in Europe with the lion's share likely to be standard equipment by the time the CLS arrives Down Under. For more on SAFETY see our CLS four-door launch coverage.

Mercedes-Benz's marketing honchos are keen to point out that the CLS Brake is about offering even more 'Look at Me!' within its line-up. Interestingly, the car will not be offered in the USA, with around 75 per cent of all volume expected to be sold in Europe.

In the flesh the Brake is a handsome, masculine looking machine. It sits wide, low and purposeful – especially with the AMG accoutrement that will come standard on all Aussie five-doors. Of course the AMG 63 variant looks even meaner, but even the 'modest' 250 works in the metal.

The drive is pure CLS four-door. Don't look in the mirror and you'll have no idea you've added a load area or potential for an extra guest. There's none of the extra wind or road noise some might associate with a wagon. Inside any 'boom' that might be generated by the larger cabin volume is totally absent across the range of real-world speeds.

Up front the wrap-around cockpit effect that defines the CLS is still a winner and, for a large car the CLS Brake points with impressive precision, despite its over-assisted and largely artificial electric-power-steering.

The 63 is possessed of unnatural pace but the most notable impression was of the calm and ride quality of the 19-inch shod 250 CDI. What an accomplished package – even on Tuscany's pock-marked and far less than perfect roads.

The addition of a five-door variant to the CLS family is a sensible move on Mercedes' part. It widens the appeal of the nameplate and delivers a more emotive product than would be possible via the E-Class alone.

The only thing devaluing the new five-door CLS is its Shooting Brake name. This most sporting and surprisingly versatile of wagons deserves better than to be saddled with a moniker most Australian consumers don’t know or understand.

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