Mercedes-AMG CLA45 S Shooting Brake joins Mercedes’ A-Class 45s

The Mercedes-AMG CLA45 S Shooting Brake arrives to fill the tiny gap in Mercedes range not yet filled by other AMG 45 versions of the A-Class range.

It’s only a coupe of weeks since Mercedes revealed the new A45 and CLA45, but now there’s another member of the Mercedes ‘A’ range of ridiculously powerful small cars – the Mercedes-AMG CLA45 S Shooting Brake.

Just in case you think a hot hatch is a bit to yobbie, and a CLA a bit too swoopy, Mercedes has the answer with a car that gives you the best of both worlds, with hot hatch power and swoopy estate looks and lugging ability.

Under the skin it’s the same as the A45, with its daftly powerful 416bhp 2.0 litre turbo delivering drive to all four wheels in the S, and the same engine with a more paltry 377bhp in the regular model.

The CLA45 Shooting Brake may be a more sensible family estate, but it still gets Mercedes ‘Drift’ on tap with a clutch pack on the rear diff sending all the power to the proper end to wreck the tyres when you’re on opposite lock. Which could cause havoc if you have a boot load of ‘stuff’.

So if you really need a compact, swoopy estate car with almost supercar performance, you now have the answer. Expect to be forking out around £50k if you want to play.