What's all this about?

Things are getting a little congested in the world of the Mercedes-Benz small-cars portfolio right now. We've already got an all-new A-Class Mk4 hatchback, from which a third-generation B-Class MPV has been spun. And the German concern has confirmed that the CLA will be returning for a second outing, which rather begs the question 'what is the point of the A-Class saloon?' And now we've got another one on the comeback trail - it's the handsome CLA Shooting Brake, presented in Mk2 guise.

That's a lot of choice, isn't it?

It is. And don't even get us started on rumoured GLA/GLA Coupe/GLB crossover-SUVs that might be inbound...

What can you tell me about the CLA Shooting Brake Mk2?

Well, it looks lovely - that rakish rear and swooping roofline are most appealing. It's also bigger in every external dimension, barring the width including the door mirrors (it's wider in the body but the mirrors are obviously neater than the old car's items) and height, where the new Shooting Brake is 2mm lower overall. This is all to the benefit of interior space, as there's more room for everything barring the front occupants' legs (-1mm from the old CLA Shooting Brake, so no great issue). The boot is also bigger by 10 litres, at 505 litres overall, and it is accessed by a better-shaped, wider aperture, making the Shooting Brake a proper little lifestyle wagon.

Are you going to start talking about surfboards, kayaks and mountain bikes?

We wouldn't dream of it. But Britta Seeger, member of the board of management for Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars sales, says the CLA Shooting Brake is aimed at younger customers who, some years back, might not have considered a Merc as a family conveyance: "We want to address young individualists with the particularly expressive design of the CLA Coupe and CLA Shooting Brake. Furthermore, the new CLA Shooting Brake offers more space than its predecessor - for sports equipment and much more."

What do we know about motive power and chassis tech?

A few details for now. The CLA Shooting Brake, which will be built in Kecskemet, Hungary, ready for a September on-sale date following its Geneva Motor Show debut, is said to have a 'sportier driving feel' than your common or garden A-Class, mainly because it has a wider track, a lower centre of gravity and the more advanced multilink rear suspension on more models (in the A-Class family, base variants make do with a torsion beam at the back). The Shooting Brake's shape is slippery enough for a decent 0.26 coefficient of drag figure, while wheels will be anything from 16 to 19 inches in diameter. Adaptive damping will be offered as an option, as will a wealth of high-end driver-assist technologies and the glittering MBUX human-machine interface set-up, but we only know of one engine for the CLA Shooting Brake for now.

Which is...?

The same one as found in the A 250 hot hatch. That means 225hp and 350Nm from a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot petrol unit, driving the front wheels through a seven-speed 7G-DCT gearbox. Eco-stats are quoted as 45.6mpg and 143g/km for this little wagon, but there are no performance numbers as yet. And Mercedes says that, by the autumn launch of the CLA Shooting Brake, a 'wide range of petrol and diesel engines' will be available for the newcomer.

Matt Robinson - 5 Mar 2019