SINGAPORE –

Mercedes began August with a bang as it launched the newest addition to its line-up, the CLA Shooting Brake, a station-wagon version of the CLA sedan, from a roof.

There was no hard landing, except for people waiting for the punchline: The car’s launch event, which was held on the evening of August 1, saw the rooftop area of People’s Park Complex turned into a miniature carnival of sorts.

The event was themed around the recent trend in ‘open markets’ with numerous stalls selling everything from fine wines to miniature moss gardens, and there were also live performances by local bands and Mediacorp artistes.

Like the champion-selling CLA sedan, the CLA Shooting Brake (SB) is based on the small, front-drive architecture from Mercedes (called MFA) as seen in the GLA compact SUV and the B-Class MPV.

The SB keeps the same 2,699mm wheelbase as its sedan counterpart although it’s slightly longer and taller, which results in an additional 40mm of headroom in the rear. That’s a noteworthy addition, given the CLA’s plunging rear roofline – read our review for more on that. The SB is also 30kg heavier.

As a result the boot space expands from 470 to 495-litres, not a huge amount, but the shape of the load space is more practical, and you can fold all the seats down for a nifty 1,354-litres of space in total.

Two regular models are on the price lists currently: The CLA 200 and CLA 250 Sport, which retail for $182,888 with COE, and $198,888 with COE respectively.

Specs for the CLA 200: 1.6-litre turbocharged engine with 156bhp, 250Nm torque, 0-100 8.8 seconds, top speed 225km/h, fuel consumption 5.5L/100km and 128g/km CO2 emissions.

The CLA 250 Sport has a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine with 211bhp and 350Nm of torque, does 0-100km/h in 6.9 seconds with a 240km/h top speed and fuel consumption of 6.8L/100km and 158g/km CO2 emissions.

Both cars come with seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes, although the 250 model has 4MATIC all-wheel drive.

The CLA 200 SB has keyless entry/start, Artico leather sport seats, bi-xenon headlamps, lowered ‘comfort’ suspension, tyre pressure monitoring, a reverse camera and ‘Audio 20’ CD stereo system. The CLA 250 SB model adds on AMG-branded bits, like its body kit and 18-inch wheels, red brake callipers and leather-microfibre sport seats with contrast stitching in red as well.

Also listed on the Mercedes-Benz Singapore website, but not priced as yet, is a CLA 180 Shooting Brake variant with the same engine as the CLA 200 but with a Cat-A friendly power output of  122bhp. Given 180 models, like the CLA 180 and C 180, have powered Mercedes-Benz to second place on the mid-year sales charts, it’s only logical for Mercedes to offer the lesser variant.

Like the small-but-monstrous CLA 45 AMG and GLA 45 AMG there’s also an AMG variant of the Shooting Brake with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that has 360bhp and 450Nm of torque. It hits 100km/h from zero in just 4.7 seconds and has a 250km/h top speed. List price for the AMG model is $296,888 with COE.

READ MORE: AMG Power Duo Show Up In Singapore – AMG GT and C 63 S

Direct rivals to the CLA SB aren’t numerous as the car’s almost in a class of its own here, the ‘small luxury station wagon’ segment. Audi’s A3 sedan and hatchback come to mind, but there is no Sportback version of that as yet. On the horizon, Volkswagen’s to-be-launched Golf Variant and Sportsvan are contenders, although it’s likely they’ll be significantly cheaper.

Mercedes representatives told CarBuyer that the Shooting Brake, like its big brother the CLS Shooting Brake, is a niche model and obviously won’t set the sales charts alight like its sedan brother still does, but that the car is being pitched as a unique alternative for individualists, like the sort of people attending the event and that it had already brought some ‘interesting conquests’ to Mercedes.