2020 AMG CLA Shooting Brake Looks Awesome but Gets No U.S. Love

YouTubers Carwow breaks down what makes the 2020 CLA Shooting Brake an appealing new vehicle for those who live in Europe.

This is the 2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 Shooting Brake. If you live in the United States and you like its swoopy wagon design, get as big an eyeful of it as you can. According to our friends at Motor Authority, Mercedes-AMG will not offer the CLA 35 and the entire CLA Shooting Brake model lineup here. For those of you who live in a country where the automaker will sell the CLA 35 Shooting Brake, carwow‘s Mat Watson has made a sort of highlight reel of the hot hauler.

As an AMG model, the 35 is more visually aggressive than its less performance-focused Shooting Brake siblings. “To the standard car’s swept roofline and frameless doors, the A 35 adds a stealthy body kit, 18-inch alloy wheels, and a pair of large exhaust pipes,” Watson said. If those enhancements are too tame, you can pick from three 19-inch wheel designs and add a Night Package with black trim and/or Aerodynamic Package with sportier front and rear bodywork.

Inside, the CLA 35 features leather/Dinamica seats, glossy black trim, and the beautiful turbine-style air vents found in other Mercedes vehicles. Large infotainment screens with AMG-specific readouts and ambient lighting are available. You can upgrade the cabin with a full leather package and your choice of a trio of sport seats “that clamp your body in increasingly tighter increments,” according to Watson.

If you’re wondering where the CLA 45 went, don’t worry. It’s coming eventually. Until it does, the CLA 35 will hold down the fort as the most powerful Shooting Brake. Its turbocharged 2.0-liter I4 generates 306 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, and puts that to the road through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and all-wheel drive with an electro-mechanical clutch that can quickly shift power to the rear wheels. Flat out, the CLA 35 can hit 60 mph in 4.9 seconds.

That extra sheet metal and glass in the back is not just there for looks. It gives the CLA 35 additional storage capacity and rear seat room. “Its 505-liter boot is nearly 50 percent larger than hatchback’s. Also, its opening is bigger to make loading easier,” Watson said.

The CLA 35 Shooting Brake will arrive in dealerships in June and carry a starting price of £40,000 (approximately €45,000). It’s a bummer that we Americans won’t be able to see it in the metal over here, but the good news is we’ve got the new Mercedes-AMG A 35 Sedan and CLA 35 Coupe to look forward to.

Photos: Screenshots

Join the MB World forums now!

Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Twitter