Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake revealed: The Benz wagon reinvented as an EV, but will SUV-mad Aussie care?
The 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake has been unwrapped as a more spacious take on the German brand’s state-of-the-art sedan.
Cleverly, it sacrifices none of the four-door’s tech and still manages to cover an incredible 761km on a single charge.
European sales begin this March 2026 but, according to Mercedes-Australia the new Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake is “still under consideration”, with no decision made if we’ll get it.
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In Europe it will be available with both the brand’s all new EV and next-generation mild-hybrid tech, which combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and a 20kW e-motor.
The new CLA Shooting Brake measures in at 4723mm long (+35mm), 1855mm wide (+25mm) and 1469mm tall (+27mm), with a long 2790mm long wheelbase.
That makes it 35mm longer, 25mm wider and 27mm taller than the first-gen CLA wagon it replaces while, crucially, offering an extra 61mm between the two axles for more interior room.
Despite being bigger overall, boot space has shrunk to 455 litres available (-30 litres). Happily, the electric version (that carries ‘with EQ Technology’ badging) provides an extra 101 litres of stowage space under the bonnet.
Drop the second row and total space expands to 1290 litres with the 40:20:40-split rear seats folded.
With practicality out the way the CLA Shooting Brake is identical to the sedan right up to the B-pillars.
Clever design details include a new panoramic roof that looks like it extends from the windscreen rail all the way to the rear screen. That’s thanks to the sneaky painting of the rear spoiler black on the inside and body colour outside.
That new one-piece glazed roof can also switch from opaque to clear, while at night 158 illuminated stars twinkle within the glass, thanks to light piped in via LED modules.
The petrol-electric hybrids land later after launch.
Mirroring the new sedan, just two versions of the CLA Shooting Brake will initially be offered – a rear-wheel-drive CLA 250+ with 200kW/335Nm of torque that can launch from 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds.
Meanwhile, an all-wheel-drive CLA 350 4MATIC bolts on a small front e-motor and combined they produce 260kW and 515Nm of torque for a brisker 0-100km/h sprint of just 5.0 seconds.
Both are limited to a top speed of 210km/h, while the small wagon can tow up to 1800kg (braked).
If you suffer from range anxiety, choose the rear-wheel-drive CLA 250+ that can cover the headline 761km before it needs plugging in.
The CLA 350 4MATIC can still travel an impressive 730km before it needs its battery replenished.
Maximising efficiency is the wagon’s low-drag body, new ultra-low rolling resistance tyres and a Porsche Taycan-style two-speed transmission.
Fresh brake-by-wire tech, meanwhile, ensures the motors’ regenerative function is prioritised over the mechanical brake discs and pads, with up to 200kW of energy recovered.
Like the sedan, the Shooting Brake version of the CLA features an 800-volt electrical system that allows for ultra-fast charging of the 85kWh Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) battery, providing for super-quick top-ups.
Plug into a fast DC charger and the CLA charges at more than 320kW, with as much as 310km of range added in little more than 10 minutes. A 10-80 per cent recharge takes around 22 minutes.
If you can only find a 400-volt DC charger, don’t fret – Benz will fit a converter, although that reduces speeds to just 100kW.
Home charging is up to 22kW using a wall box.
Inside, the CLA Shooting Brake mimics the firm’s latest S-Class and gets a 14-inch central touchscreen, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a third optional 14-inch infotainment screen for the front passenger.
The front passenger can now stream movies on the move, although Netflix is paused abruptly if the driver focused camera detects the person behind the wheel’s gaze straying.
The system also can’t be fooled by wearing sunnies, engineers claim.
There’s a large 12.2-inch head-up display available as an option, with all the tech relying on the car-maker’s latest MB.OS operating system that embeds ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing and Google Gemini.
If the new 2026 Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake is green lit for Australia it will have little or no rivals for the all-electric version as battery-powered wagons remains a niche segment.
Since pricing for the CLA sedan has yet to be released by Mercedes Australia it’s almost impossible to guess how the new EV wagon will be positioned within the market.
But we think the advanced four-door range sedan would kick off with a price tag above $85,000. Sales could begin in the second half of next year.
