MERCEDES’ FIRST ELECTRIC ESTATE HAS ARRIVED

Mercedes has unveiled a compact EV wagon for the European market, a variant of the CLA they call a Shooting Brake. 'Creative' uses of two-door nomenclature aside, this is new territory for Mercedes-Benz, as the company tries a form factor popular in Europe but yet unseen on any Mercedes electric vehicle. Meant to offer grace and at least some pace, this new CLA wagon is equipped with a raft of luxuries that would be sure to impress those looking for an entry-level Mercedes EV, along with charging speeds and range figures that sound impressive on paper.

A Worthy EV Wagon From Mercedes?

But while the ability to gain 190 miles of range in 10 minutes certainly isn't bad, and the optimistic WLTP test cycle claims a lofty 472-mile range, there are still several significant standard Mercedes EV missteps baked into the vehicle. The most obvious is the bulbous styling, similar to the overly pill-shaped forms of the EQS and EQE. While other automakers, with Lucid being a shining example, have found novel ways of adapting gorgeous styling to extremely sophisticated aerodynamics, Mercedes just seems to build oblong teardrops and call it a day. Oblong teardrops are some of the most efficient aero shapes possible, but a $70,000 car should probably be prettier than a Tic-Tac. Another common Mercedes misstep repeated with this new wagon is treating a purely electric car as if it were an ICE vehicle, though Mercedes has improved on this front. Unlike the massive EQS before it, the CLA EVs have a decent-sized frunk. Packaging throughout the rest of the vehicle still isn't on par with the efforts of the EV startups, but it is an improvement, especially as this isn't a pure-EV platform.

A Flawed Yet Interesting Mercedes-Benz Wagon

Beyond all that, it appears this expensive Mercedes luxury car left out critical components for 400-volt DC charging stations, currently the most common type, for cost reasons. Mercedes says they will solve this for 2026 models. The interior is beautifully trimmed but does seem rather compact indeed, especially compared to the room afforded by cars with similar footprints built by EV-only newcomers to the industry. While those newbies might have better engineering solutions for their less-expensive small cars, Mercedes still has the charms of luxurious features like the starry glass roof.

2025-07-16T08:19:54Z