Road Test: The director’s cut – slick version of Mercedes CLA

Philosophically, we've been here before, and it was about 15 years ago. It was then that Alfa Romeo launched the heartbreakingly gorgeous 156 Sportwagon, an estate car so beautiful that every true car enthusiast wept at its approach. At last, we thought, Alfa Romeo was going to give us a car that could be practical and beautiful . . . but hang on, why was the boot on the Sportwagon actually slightly smaller than the one on the saloon? At which point a lot of Italian shuffling and shoe inspection would occur, and someone would attempt to distract you with a perfectly made Ristretto.

Here we go again with the Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake. Now, Germans being Germans, and Mercedes being very Germanic, its engineers couldn't quite bring themselves to make it actually less practical than the four-door coupé upon which it is based. So, beneath that rather elegantly swooping rear roofline and tailgate, there does indeed lie a bigger boot than what you get in a four-door CLA. Twenty litres bigger. Twenty. All that effort for an extra 20 litres. There should really be some Germanic shuffling and shoe-gazing about now . . .

Of course, it’s never quite that straightforward, and the pleasant thing about the quasi-estate CLA Shooting Brake is that it could be considered as the director’s cut version of the CLA. For crowd-pleasing and coffer-filling though the CLA is, it has a couple of notable flaws.

First, for a coupé, it has some especially unlovely aesthetic angles, ones which mean you really can see that this is a four-door shape extruded from the five-door hatchback A-Class’s bones.

Second, it tends to ride as if the suspension has been crafted by bricklayers, not those conversant with metal springs.

Meeting issues

The Shooting Brake goes a long, long way to meeting and defeating those issues. The looks I shall leave you decide on for yourself, but, for what it’s worth, I think it prettier and better balanced than the four-door. That extra length in the roof and the clamshell rear end takes away the tacked-on effect of the coupé’s boot, and even in the basic and unadorned shape of our CLA180 Urban test car, it all looked pleasantly handsome.

Much, too, has been done to make the ride one that befits a car with the three-pointed star. In spite of some handsome 18in alloy wheels and the low-profile Continental tyres wrapped around them, this CLA Shooting Brake rode with grace and refinement, rather than the filling-threatening clatter of the last four-door CLA I sampled. Firm it certainly is, but it's nicely dampened, nicely springy and nicely judged.

The engine, a 1.6-litre turbo petrol, is also decent – certainly it’s quieter by far than Mercedes’s diesel offerings, and pleasantly punchy too. Claimed fuel consumption of 55mpg and CO2 emissions of 134g/km show that diesel need not have it all its own way when it comes to running costs, too. But perhaps it’s better to spend the extra on the automatic version – the shift quality of the manual gear box is quite good, but reverse has an annoying lift-and-back-to-the-left movement which both grates and makes quick low-speed manoeuvring all but impossible.

Likewise, the steering, which, although light (and lacking a little in overall feel), is quick and direct. The Shooting Brake offers drivers a little touch of verve into which to bite. It’s not overly sporty or aggressive (there are AMG versions to deal with that sort of thing), but it’s enjoyable and engaging.

Inside, the dash is a little plain and I think the white-faced dials look slightly inelegant, but the interior is comfortable and cocooning and there seems little about the quality that would raise any quibbles. The rear seat space is on the tight side, pretty much as you would expect for a car based on a compact hatchback, but kids will be fine and no one aside from lanky teenagers or over-fed motoring correspondents (ahem) should find much to complain about.

Nicely upholstered

Out back, the boot is nicely upholstered and the rear seats split and fold to make trips to

Ikea

that bit easier, but the loading lip is very high and the actual space left by the tailgate is rather small. If you were expecting it to be practical, prepare for disappointment.

Still, no one ever bought a designer handbag because it was practical, and that’s kind of the way you have to look at the CLA Shooting Brake. It’s a fashionable trinket, and one that will sell on the basis of its looks and style, not its loading bay. For all that, it’s probably the nicest car yet spun off Mercedes’s front-drive platform and a more interesting, better-sorted version of the CLA itself.

Prices start from €31,490 and it doesn’t really have any direct rivals yet. Perhaps an alternative to a Mondeo or a Passat estate for those who rate glamour above space?

Of course, if you want practical, glance across the hall. Mercedes has also just introduced its new V-Class MPV. Based on the new Vito van, the V-Class gets a rather more classy interior than the commercial version (as good as, or better than, anything in the saloon range) and a spacious, comfy seven-seat cabin. It’s also reasonably good to drive (lots of roll and wallow, but hey, it’s a van), with decent refinement. It’s also one of the few cars around with seats for seven adults plus actual, real luggage space out the back.

Steep

You will pay for it though: while the standard equipment list is quite generous, and the motor tax price has more than halved compared with the previous version, €53,000 minimum for a van, even a luxurious and comfy one, seems steep. Most of the 50 to 60 expected to be sold will go to hotels and chauffeur services, as you might expect.

Still, there are a few well-heeled families out there who will buy one, and at least it's proof that in among the shooting brakes and four-door coupés, Mercedes can still do big, bluff and supremely practical. The lowdown:Mercedes-Benz CLA180 Shooting Brake Urban

Price: €37,386 as tested (range starts at €31,490).

Power: 120hp.

Torque: 200Nm.

0-100kmh: 9.4sec.

Top speed: 210kmh.

Claimed economy: 5.1l/100km (55mpg).

CO2 emissions: 134g/km.

Motor tax: €280.