Mercedes has kind of adopted a "same sausage, different length" approach to designing cars. However, the all-new 2020 CLA Shooting Brake is a car that breaks the mold. There's no other model in the range that looks like this.
We're about to witness the birth of a new CLA four-door coupe/sedan at the 2019 CES. But the shooting brake is still a way off and comes as a bit of a surprise. You see, Mercedes gave up on this body style, and we think they're keeping it around not as a source of profit, but of appeal and reputation.
The latest spy video from Stuttgart shows that the prototype is not yet in the advanced stages of development. When we saw the regular CLA last, it had production paint and LED headlights, which are lacking here.
Even so, we're impressed with the proportions, which are not unlike the Kia Proceed GT. Apparently, if you're going to make a shooting brake based on a compact platform, it's going to end up looking like this. Both models have various pinches of the bodywork around the back, accentuating the curves.
The powertrains should be quite similar to those of the A- and B-Class, launched last year. But since this is a bigger car, around 4.7 meters long, Mercedes might choose to ignore low-output setups like the 1.5 diesel. If you look at the Shooting Brake as a glorified wagon, you'll understand that it will be popular in Germany and surrounding countries that have high-speed road networks.
That's why we predict the 2.0-liter diesel, boasting either 150 or 190 HP, will be the most popular unit. However, Mercedes surely has plans to offer at least one plug-in hybrid system, which is to be based around the 1.3 turbo from Renault-Nissan.
At least one AMG model will be offered, the 35, which will boast 306 HP and 400 Nm going through all four wheels. We have specs for a potential 45 AMG-made setup, but this hasn't yet been seen undergoing testing in Shooting Brake format.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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