Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake Electric Review & Prices

The Mercedes CLA Electric is here in a new form; as a Shooting Brake estate, that is, to complement the swoopy saloon we’re all familiar with. It has a strong range in big-battery guise, features a high-tech cabin and it’s just as good to drive as the saloon, but you’ll have to drive like a saint to match Mercedes’ efficiency claims.

Think of the CLA Shooting Brake Electric as buying exit-row seats on your flights. It’s almost identical to the regular economy options, but you have a little more space to play with.

Just like exit-row seats aren’t as numerous as the regular option, there are fewer small electric estate cars to choose from compared to saloon cars. Sure the Peugeot e-308 SW and Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Electric are around, but they can’t match the Mercedes’ badge pedigree, while the BMW i5 Touring and Audi A6 e-tron Avant are larger and more expensive than the CLA Shooting Brake. You’ll probably end up cross-shopping against the Tesla Model 3 and the BMW i4 - until the all-new BMW i3 Touring comes on sale.

Another string in the CLA Shooting Brake Electric’s bow is its styling, because none of the aforementioned estate cars looks quite as svelte or slippery. The light bar and low-set grille aren’t for everyone, but we think the Merc’s pert tail looks far more elegant than that on the saloon version.

Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake Electric: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 299-469 miles
Efficiency: 4.2-4.7 miles per kWh
Battery size: 58kWh, 85kWh
Max charge speed: 320kW
Charge time AC: 9hrs, 10-100%, 11kw
Charge time DC: 22mins, 10-80%, 320kw
Charge port location: Right rear
Power outputs: 272hp - 354hp

It’s a shame about the thousand-and-one three-pointed stars around the exterior which appear to have been fired at the car with a shotgun. Seriously, reign it in Mercedes, everybody knows that it’s one of yours.

Still, that’s not as out-there as the cabin, which is dominated by a near-vertical dashboard featuring two (or three, in posher versions) crisp, clear, 14.0-inch displays, book-ended by a pair of turbine-shaped air vents. For tech lovers, it’s one of the Merc’s stand out features. For technophobes, it’s also one of the Merc’s stand out features…

At least the menus are easy to understand, though the screen-bound climate controls and the touchpad on the steering wheel are a faff to use. Material quality is high, too, save for some scratchy plastics below the dash.

Tall adults will find it easy to get comfortable up front, especially in the great sports seats in AMG-line models. The CLA Shooting Brake Electric isn’t lacking in storage space, either, while the longer roofline compared to the saloon affords rear passengers more headroom.

Another benefit of its new shape is the 455-litre boot, up 50 litres on the saloon. This is unimpressive when the i4 offers 470 litres of cargo space, but the 101-litre front boot in the CLA is enormous. Unlike the CLA Electric saloon, you can fit up to 75kg of cargo on the Shooting Brake via roof bars, too.

You can choose from two battery options, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, with range varying between 321 miles to 469 miles.

Verdict

The Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake Electric is another feather in Mercedes’ electric car-cap. It takes all of the saloon’s good qualities and improves them with a bit more space, without sacrificing much electric range in the process. It's still bested for boot space by the BMW i4, though.

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The Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake Electric starts at £40,150 in entry-level 200 guise, with the smaller battery and lower electric range. The CLA 250+ (bigger battery) starts at £44,250 while the CLA 350 4MATIC (bigger battery and all-wheel drive) can be had from £52,800.

That’s around £1,000 less than the saloon, like-for-like, which is strong value against the non-estate BMW i4, though the Tesla Model 3 is still more affordable.

Whopping price difference for battery and motor options aside, the CLA Shooting Brake Electric varies massively in price depending on which trim level you choose. In fact, the top-rung AMG Line Premium Plus costs a mighty £9,200 more than the lowly Sport, with Sport Executive, AMG Line Executive and AMG Line Premium trims splitting the difference.

Even in entry-level guise the little Mercedes features a panoramic sunroof, LED lights with high-beam assist, privacy rear glass, park assist and 18-inch alloy wheels. AMG Line cars all feature a sportier body kit and flush-fitting door handles, while only the top-spec CLA comes with the third interior display and a full-width LED rear light as standard.

It’s comfortable and very easy to drive, but the CLA Shooting Brake Electric is less fun than alternatives

In town

The CLA Shooting Brake Electric is just as easy to drive in town as its saloon sibling, thanks to its light low-speed steering, powerful yet smooth electric motors and well-judged suspension. It’s a piece of cake to flick around tight roads, nip away from the lights and it’s comfortable over bad roads and speed bumps.

That being said, rough road sections do jiggle the car around a bit, while deep pot holes and drain covers resonate through the cabin with a dull thud - no matter the wheel size. Mercedes has done a decent job with the CLA’s brakes; once you’re past a touch of initial vagueness as you press the pedal they’re less grabby than in other EVs.

Standard-fit parking cameras and assistance software helps when parking, but it’s the augmented reality system which takes the guesswork out of judging the size of a parking space that helps the most. Rear visibility is better on the Shooting Brake than it is on the saloon thanks to a much larger, wider rear window.

On the motorway

It’s a quiet companion on a motorway cruise, the CLA Shooting Brake Electric. Though it’s not quite as sleek as the saloon, there’s little wind noise at high speeds, while tyre roar barely makes a dent into the cabin.

The Merc is an easy car to drive on a long distance cruise thanks to its suspension, which is even more comfortable at high speeds than it is around town. A trick two-speed gearbox helps efficiency at the national speed limit.

On a twisty road

It never feels particularly sporty, but the CLA Shooting Brake Electric has plenty of grip, accurate steering and keeps body lean in check on a country lane, making it a reassuring car to drive quickly.

The CLA isn’t unsettled by lumpy, bumpy lanes, either, so it fills you with confidence as you make your way down a tight, twisty road. The powerful brakes make it easy to scrub off speed, but no matter how capable it is, a BMW i4 is more fun on a good B-road.

For extra driving thrills, opt for the most powerful, all-wheel drive CLA 350 version. It’s not ballistically quick in the way the BMW or a Tesla Model 3 is, but it grips tenaciously around corners and there’s noticeably more shove than in the lesser models.

It’s comfortable and very easy to drive, but the CLA Shooting Brake Electric is less fun than alternatives

In town

The CLA Shooting Brake Electric is just as easy to drive in town as its saloon sibling, thanks to its light low-speed steering, powerful yet smooth electric motors and well-judged suspension. It’s a piece of cake to flick around tight roads, nip away from the lights and it’s comfortable over bad roads and speed bumps.

That being said, rough road sections do jiggle the car around a bit, while deep pot holes and drain covers resonate through the cabin with a dull thud - no matter the wheel size. Mercedes has done a decent job with the CLA’s brakes; once you’re past a touch of initial vagueness as you press the pedal they’re less grabby than in other EVs.

Standard-fit parking cameras and assistance software helps when parking, but it’s the augmented reality system which takes the guesswork out of judging the size of a parking space that helps the most. Rear visibility is better on the Shooting Brake than it is on the saloon thanks to a much larger, wider rear window.

On the motorway

It’s a quiet companion on a motorway cruise, the CLA Shooting Brake Electric. Though it’s not quite as sleek as the saloon, there’s little wind noise at high speeds, while tyre roar barely makes a dent into the cabin.

The Merc is an easy car to drive on a long distance cruise thanks to its suspension, which is even more comfortable at high speeds than it is around town. A trick two-speed gearbox helps efficiency at the national speed limit.

On a twisty road

It never feels particularly sporty, but the CLA Shooting Brake Electric has plenty of grip, accurate steering and keeps body lean in check on a country lane, making it a reassuring car to drive quickly.

The CLA isn’t unsettled by lumpy, bumpy lanes, either, so it fills you with confidence as you make your way down a tight, twisty road. The powerful brakes make it easy to scrub off speed, but no matter how capable it is, a BMW i4 is more fun on a good B-road.

For extra driving thrills, opt for the most powerful, all-wheel drive CLA 350 version. It’s not ballistically quick in the way the BMW or a Tesla Model 3 is, but it grips tenaciously around corners and there’s noticeably more shove than in the lesser models.

Lots of clever tech on board, but the displays can be overwhelming at times

We wouldn’t be surprised if companies started paying you to advertise their products on the digital billboards Mercedes now uses as a dashboard, so screen-heavy are its cabins. The CLA Shooting Brake Electric is no exception, with its standard-fit 14.0-inch pair.

Okay so the tech-fest isn’t quite as distracting to use in person as we thought it would be when it was revealed, and fortunately the software is fast, easy to navigate and features some rather clever features.

Other brands such as BMW are also using it, but the Merc’s augmented reality tech (which overlays graphics over real-life camera feeds around the car) really does make life easier when parking, for example, and quality of the displays are top-notch. There’s even built-in AI which can help answer questions or plot your navigation for you, amongst other things.

Material quality inside is lovely, too. You can choose from some carbon fibre-esque weave to much classier wood or aluminium trims, or even a funky hemp-fibre finish (though it looks a bit like Glade air freshener material). Upholstery ranges from cloth and vegan leather to real cow and Alcantara.

Feel around the lower parts of the cabin and you’ll notice some hard plastics around the centre console, door cards and under the dashboard, but otherwise the CLA’s build quality is solid.

Range varies quite a lot from model to model with the CLA Shooting Brake Electric. The entry-level, single-motor CLA 200 has a 58kWh battery and claims 4.8mi/kWh for a max range of 321 miles, while the most powerful CLA 350 4Matic has dual-motors and an 85kWh battery. At a claimed 4.3mi/kWh it’ll go as far as 424 miles, but that still pales in comparison to the CLA 250+, which can travel for a mighty 469 miles with its large battery, single-motor combination.

We couldn’t get near that on our test drive on some twisty country lanes in the CLA 350 model, which at 3.6mi/kWh would only manage 306 miles of real-world range, or 75% of Mercedes’ claim.

What’s handy for long-distance drives is the rapid 320kW charging tech that Mercedes has fitted to the 250+ and 350 CLA models. The CLA 200 makes do with 200kW charging, but that’s offset by having a smaller battery.

So long as you can find a compatible charger, the CLA 200 will charge from 10-80% in just 20 minutes, while the bigger battery versions manage the same stint in 22 minutes - an impressive figure. Home charging from empty to full on a home charger will take six-and-a-half hours in the CLA 200 or nine hours in the 250+ and 350 versions.

Entry-level models duck under the £50,000 EV luxury car road tax supplement through years two-to-six as standard, but watch out when ticking the options list as that price can quickly rise. Company car drivers will enjoy the lowest Benefit-in-Kind rates as the CLA Shooting Brake is all-electric.

Mercedes CLA Euro NCAP (2025): 5/5

Adult occupant: 94%
Child occupant: 89%
Vulnerable road users: 93%
Safety assist: 85%

The Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake doesn’t have its own version-specific test, but the CLA scored a phenomenal five-star rating when tested by safety experts Euro NCAP in 2026. In fact, it has one of the highest scores of any car on sale at the moment. Very impressive.

Thanks to a comprehensive suite of driver assistance systems, a high-strength body shell and strong pedestrian safety measures, the CLA ought to fill you - and other road users - with confidence.

Mercedes came second place out of 31 manufacturers in the 2025 Driver Power survey, which is a very impressive result. While the CLA Shooting Brake is too recent for any known issues to have reared their heads, the strong result should give you peace of mind.

Mercedes offers a typical three-year, 60,000-mile warranty on its products, though you can extend it on a one- or two-year basis, or pay-as-you-go. The battery is covered for up to eight years or 100,000 miles should there be a fault.