Mercedes-Benz CLA - long-term report

Sorry to interrupt your scheduled programming, but I’ve been unfaithful to the blue saloon CLA.

Truth is, I’d barely had the blue one a week when some odious berk reversed into it, scuffing the rear bumper and cracking the ‘diffuser’ panel beneath.

Obviously there was no apologetic note on my windscreen, and sadly the CLA’s iPhone app, which can alert an owner if the car detects a collision has occurred and even activate the on-board cameras, didn’t notice. Must’ve been a gentle kiss. To have a car wounded so early into its life is galling. Poor lil’ Benz.

While Mercedes UK had the blue saloon back at HQ to swap in a new bumper, I subbed in what I suspected might be a better car. The CLA Shooting Brake. With more power.

Bodystyle-wise, it’s no contest. You should buy the Shooting Brake, not the saloon. From where I’m standing it looks more resolved, better planted on the road. Less melty, somehow. The rear visibility is dramatically improved thanks to the more upright back window, and in dodgy weather it has a rear wiper which is handy on spray-covered motorways from October to April…

Then there’s the practicality. The rear seats remain cramped because the CLA’s enormous battery eats room, but there’s a slightly improved ‘sense’ of space in the long roof, even if the quantifiable headroom has only enlarged by 7mm and Mercedes only claims 11mm extra legroom. Which is |______| that much.

I’d choose it for the boot alone. The saloon CLA offers up a 405-litre cargo bay. The Shooting Brake lifts that to 455 litres, or 1,290 litres with seats flipped not-quite flat.

The boot floor isn’t intruded into by any powertrain gubbins. There’s load-lashing loops aplenty. It’s still tiny compared to a VW Golf Estate’s boot and you don’t get anything clever like a cargo-management fencing system or extra power sockets out back. But I love estate cars and in the fortnight I lived with the CLA wagon, it carried a dog and a broken fridge-freezer (not at the same time) that the saloon couldn’t have dreamt of.

What’s the cost? Hefty I’m afraid. You pay about £2k extra for the Shooting Brake, though browsing the myriad trim lines and finance offers on Mercedes UK’s vast leasing cost calculator, the uplift in monthly payments seems negligible. There’s a tiny range penalty because the taller tailgate causes more wake turbulence, which equals drag, but this is currently the longest-range electric wagon on sale in Britain. The small-battery one claims 318 miles, and the most efficient big-battery version tops 460 miles.

Perhaps I can save you a few quid. Mercedes didn’t just loan a CLA-SB. They also made sure it had a different powertrain – the CLA 350, with twin motors, four-wheel drive and a hot hatch-sized 349bhp, up from 268 rear-drive horsepower in the TG Garage saloon.

It’s not worth it. You only sacrifice about 20 miles of claimed range, but average efficiency was 3.7 miles per kWh compared to the 4.3 I’m averaging in the lower powered car (with the bodystyle drag caveat). I don’t think all of that can be attributed to lugging a whitegood to the tip.

So I’d spend the extra for the Shooting Brake body, but save myself a tidy £4,000 and stick with the 250+ powertrain. It’s not that much slower because the CLA’s weight smothers its acceleration, so I’d sooner have the range than the poke.

Question is, now the Shooting Brake has gone away and been replaced by the healed saloon, will I warm to the less spacious, less versatile version?