Mercedes readying CLA Shooting Brake
All-new small wagon will be fifth Benz model from MFA platform, following A-, B-, CLA- and GLA-ClassA wagon version of the long, sleek CLA small sedan is deep into development as Mercedes-Benz finds niches within niches to double its sales volumes by 2020.
Daimler sources have revealed that Benz engineers are hard at work validating the CLA Shooting Brake, with the concept car set to be shown for the first time at the Paris motor show in September next year.
The production version of a smaller sibling for the CLS Shooting Brake is still more than a year away, with sources suggesting it will hit showrooms in Europe immediately after the Geneva motor show in March 2015.
Its engineering and its range of engines will be almost a direct match for the CLA sedan, which means the petrol-powered range will begin with a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine and top out with the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol in the CLA 250, while Benz will also offer a range of power outputs from its 2.1-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder.
Benz insiders expect the CLA Shooting Brake to weigh between 1440kg and 1520kg, depending on the engine and the specification.
Like the CLA sedan, the CLA Shooting Brake will share its front/all-wheel drive architecture with the A-Class and B-Class hatches, which will dictate a relatively short 2699mm wheelbase.
That will hamper rear seat legroom (as it does in the sedan), but Benz will change the sheet metal of the Shooting Brake from the B-pillar back to the tail-lights while retaining the rear door design and dimensions.
The CLA sedan is already longer than the existing W204 C-Class sedan, but the Shooting Brake will to be stretched even longer and its luggage space enhanced.
The CLA sedan already carries 11 litres more luggage than the C-Class sedan, but insiders expect the CLA’s 470-litre cargo capacity to leap to around 600 litres in the Shooting Brake.
The core chassis set-up will include MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension – the latter with three control arms and a trailing arm on each side to independently take care of longitudinal and lateral forces.
The under-floor technology will be more than reasonable, with lightweight aluminium wheel carriers and spring links, plus electro-mechanical power steering.
Like the sedan, the CLA Shooting Brake will be offered in both Comfort and Sport packages, with the Sport version aping the sedan by lowering the ride height 15mm at the front and around 10mm at the rear, while running stiffer springs and dampers.
The CLA sedan will follow the A-Class hatch and B-Class people-mover on sale in Australia next month, but don’t expect the CLA Shooting Brake to arrive here for another two years – after the all-new GLA compact SUV next April and the first of five body derivatives of the redesigned C-Class next year.
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