Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake is the Wagon America Needs

Yahoo! Auto's Bold Ride Blog ^ | November 26, 2014 | Jonathon Klein

[2ndDivisionVet]

The new Mercedes-Benz CLA has absolutely killed its sales since it debuted earlier in the year. Mercedes wanted a new entry-level model that would bring in a younger generation of buyer, and the CLA and GLA have absolutely knocked it out of the park.

Now Mercedes wants to expand the lineup for the cars’ platform. We’ve already seen the CLA 45 AMG, and the GLA, but according to Mercedes, what the CLA needs is a shooting brake. Or what us Americans call “a wagon.”

Gone are the days of dorky wood-lined station wagons. Today’s modern iterations are some of the best all-purpose vehicles you could buy. Wagons maintain a car’s style, small size, and ability to bypass the dreaded soccer mom minivan. They have loads of storage, and generally look better than the regular sedans they are based on. The new CLA Shooting Brake is no exception....

[Blue Jays]

My younger sibling also owns a well-appointed GLK350 and likes it so far.
Concur with you the Mercedes-Benz CLA is certainly "missing" something.
Maybe if they bring the wagon pictured above to the U.S. it will be a sales homerun. We will have to see...
My theory on wagons is that they are not popular simply because so very few are available from which to choose.

I've also been considering the Audi AllRoad A4, yet wish they would lower it to automobile height to boost handling.
Took both an Audi Q5 and Audi Q7 on test drives. They were decent, yet cargo capability was only mediocre for the size.

[sheana]

Actually hubby doesn’t like our GLK. I am driving a 2006 Jaguar and have been looking around for when I purchase my next car. I have almost decided on an Audi, just haven’t decided which one yet but definitely a sedan.

[rbg81]

We are going to be looking for a new small SUV either this year or next. The GLK is a definite possibility. Do you like it?

The thing I respected about the MB dealership is that they didn’t pay stump-the-dummy with the trade-in price. There is nothing that makes me lose respect for & walk out of) a dealership faster when they initially offer you half of what your trade is worth. Of course, it must work for them often enough, else why would they do it?

[central_va]

Hearse

[Blue Jays]

Valuation of trade-in can potentially be very annoying.
A smart dealership recognizes a good customer (especially if a repeat client) and simply provides him/her a fair value.
Far better to secure a huge base of happy customers who return again, again, and again with minimized absurd haggling.
Much nicer to have pleased people signing the dotted line!

[Chode]

now THIS, is my idea of a Shooting Brake...

[ResisTyr]

I love my Subaru Outback “wagon” It’s style, versatility, reliability & cost are beyond compare, IMO. And it laughs at bad weather :) Who wants to spend a fortune on the cost of maintaining a Mercedes, once the warranty expires :-/

[ResisTyr]

SWEET! My first car was a 1956 Bel Air inherited from my beloved Aunt Catherine. Too bad I was 18 then & irresponsible. I totalled that poor car “rolling” thru a stop sign. Ahh, what might have been, now... :(

[Chode]

damn, but i guess you've kicked yerself in the ass more than anybody else could ever over the years for that one...

[Blue Highway]

plastic....

[mabarker1]

SWEEEEETT!!!

[sheana]

I like it. It is a solid vehicle. Feels like a mini tank when driving it.....if that makes sense. lol
The one thing I really do not like about MB is their maintenance cost is high, really high. A Schedule A or B, don’t remember is $300. We don’t put many miles on ours so it’s not that big of a deal but if you are a high mileage driver you’re pretty much screwed.
Our dealer is really good too.
We also have a Jaguar and the maintenance costs on it were really high too. They charged me $140 for an oil change so I took it down the road to a place that charges me $18 with a coupon. lol We only use the dealership for major things.

[rbg81]

You won't get the same quality oil at the $18 place. The MB dealer puts in premium quality synthetic oil. Still, I am paying about $250 per year for the scheduled maintenance because I prepaid. That is basically just a glorified oil change and way too expensive. There is also the issue of having to use premium gas. But I do like the ride. Again, would have had to pay almost as much for a V6 AWD Chevy Equinox.

[rbg81]

I had a Subaru Forester. Was never happy with its vaunted AWD. That, plus had to have some very expensive (and apparently common) repairs after 80K miles. Afterr 100K miles, the AWD stopped working correctly. Subaru does have a great reputation, but I was not impressed.

BTW—The 4WD on my 2000 Chevy Tracker was awesome. Miss it every winter.

[rbg81]

That is my philosophy too. But dealer after dealer pulls the low ball. It’s gotten so predicable, it’s like a farce. One of the few times I feel like shouting “Do you know who I am?” at the salesman. But I know its not him...its the manager.

[sheana]

Neither of our cars can use synthetic oil. The manual says regular old oil so $300 for an oil change and regular maintenance is really high.

[rbg81]

Neither of our cars can use synthetic oil. The manual says regular old oil so $300 for an oil change and regular maintenance is really high.

---

Really? The dealer tech told me that all Mercedes Benz vehicles require fully synthetic motor oil, and Mobil 1 is what they fill it with in the factory, and the recommended oil. I will check my manual though.

Synthetic oil is definitely more expensive but it does not come close to justifying what the dealer charges.

[sheana]

The Jag is a high compression engine and the manual says NO synthetics. The GLK is an AWD and the manual says regular oil. Don’t know if those things have anything to do with it but it is the first thing Hubby checked, what kind of oil. lol