2015 Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 Shooting Brake 2.0L 4MATIC 7AT AWD (360 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Mercedes-Benz introduced the first generation of the CLA in 2013, and in the following year, at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show, it unveiled the shooting brake version, which also came with AMG flavor.

The German automaker revamped the four-door coupes craze when it introduced the CLS, but that wasn’t all. In 2013, it also produced the small-sized CLA, which was based on a front-wheel-drive platform developed together with the French automaker Renault. When that wasn’t enough either, it made the station wagon version of the CLA and named it Shooting Brake. It was the only premium automaker that offered such a vehicle. Moreover, besides the Mercedes-Benz models, Mercedes-AMG also produced a line of products based on this small-sized premium vehicle, and that’s how the CLA 45 Shooting Brake appeared.

There was a new design language in the German automaker house, and the CLA followed it. As a result, the front fascia featured swept-back headlights that combined curved lines and sharp angles. In addition, the AMG version sported an upper grille adorned by a double horizontal slat that supported the three-pointed star badge. Moreover, a second grille under the bumper helped to cool the engine, while the broad side scoops cooled the front rotors. However, the most significant difference between the CLA and the CLA Shooting Brake was for the greenhouse. While the former featured a short roof and a sloped rear windscreen, the latter came fitted with a longer roof and a raked forward tailgate at the back. Underneath the bumper, Mercedes-AMG installed two pairs of rectangular exhausts on each side of the vehicle, flanking the center-mounted diffuser. The wide taillights didn’t cross onto the tailgates and looked like they were carried over from the four-door CLA model.

Inside, the automaker included the ARTICO man-made leather as a standard feature to cover the dashboard to reduce glare. Moreover, the door cards also sported the same material. Since it was a sporty four-door coupe, AMG considered offering a set of high-bolstered bucket seats at the front. There, the driver fronted a flat-bottom steering wheel and an instrument cluster filled with two large dials for the speedometer and tachometer, which flanked an LCD and housed the fuel and the temperature gauges, respectively. On the center stack, the automaker placed a 7” screen for the infotainment system mounted in a free-floating position. In the back, the automaker installed a split-folding bench seat profiled for two but fitted with seat belts. The AMG CLA 45 Shooting Brake featured a 496-liter (17.5 cu-ft.) trunk.

But the most significant change was under the hood, where the two-liter inline-four engine gained 20 ponies compared to its predecessor, thanks to the new twin-scroll turbocharger. As a result, it shaved 0.3 seconds from the 0 to 62 MPH (0-100 kph) time. Power went in all corners via a standard seven-speed (dual-clutch) AMG SPEEDSHIFT gearbox.