Price: $80,000 to $135,000
Competitors: Audi A6 Avant, BMW M5 wagon
Powertrains: CLS 350 CDI: 3-liter V-6 turbodiesel, 204 hp, 457 lb-ft; CLS 500: 4.6-liter V-8, 408 hp, 443 lb-ft; CLS 63 AMG: 5.4-liter, 557 hp, 531 lb-ft; seven-speed automatic; 4Matic AWD available on CLS 500
EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): N/A
What's New: Shooting brakes derive their name from the carriages used to break in difficult horses back in the 19th century. Today, the term refers to a svelte version of a sedan, notably the 1975 Lancia HPE, 1968 Scimitar GTE, 1972 Volvo 1800ES, and 2004 Chevy Nomad concept. Along with the four-door hatchbacks, the shooting brake is one of the more popular body styles in automotive industry because it offers the chance to sell what is essentially a sleek and pricey wagon to markets that have eschewed them in the past, such as North America and Asia.
The CLS Shooting Brake is based on the second generation of the CLS four-door coupe. What you've got here is a radically curvaceous and big five-door hatchback occupying pretty much the same footprint as the CLS. Weight gain could have been an issue with this car, but Mercedes engineers have replaced the CLS coupe's steel doors with frameless aluminum units and kept the gain down to less than 200 pounds.
Tech Tidbit: Mercedes claims the CLS Shooting Brake is the world's second car (the first was the CLS coupe) to have full LED dynamic lighting as an option. These LEDs are seen as the next thing in premium automotive lighting, and though they require careful installation with heated front glass and cooling at the rear, they are highly efficient and should last the life of the vehicle.
Driving Character: Climb into the sumptuous cabin and you're greeted with a mix of glossy wood, soft leather, and cream-faced dials. It's familiar Mercedes fare, just bigger and better. For those with a spare roll of cash, the available options include a plutocrat's list of trim materials, including American cherry wood with black inlays on the trunk floor, which would run you $6500. "Just like decks of luxury sailing yachts," said Marcus Beck, the project's engineer, rather than the sides of an American woodie.
It's comfortable and spacious, though you need to be careful not to head-butt the low cant rail on the way into the rear seats. Two adults will fit comfortably but a third would be a squeeze. There are acres of space in the trunk?590 liters (20.8 cubic feet) with the rear seats up and 1550 liters (54.7 cubic feet) with them folded, which beats rival wagons from BMW and Audi.
Start up the Benz and the big 4.6-liter V-8 purrs obediently. With the seven-on-a-tree gearshift on the steering column, you simply move a finger to engage drive; there are small paddles behind the wheel rim to change manually. At 195 inches long and 74 inches wide, it's a big car and, with a weight of 4310 pounds for the CLS 500, it feels heavy. You need a good prod at the throttle to get this monster moving; once rolling there's an impression of unstoppable inertia. When you get used to the amount of throttle required, however, this is a rapid and fairly precise machine.
The ludicrously entertaining CLS 63 AMG version is something of a hot rod, but for most, the 155 mph, 0 to 62 mph in 5.3 seconds performance of the standard V-8 will be more than enough. For the economy minded, the V-6 turbo diesel will make the same 155 mph top speed and go 0 to 62 mph in 6.7 seconds, all with a combined gas mileage of 39.2 mpg. The seven-speed standard automatic transmission on all models copes admirably, with accurate and timely shifts and a lockup at speed to increase fuel economy.
The electrically assisted steering is well weighted and accurate. Push hard through a series of tight turns and you can feel the car's top weight, but on sweeping bends it feels planted, with enormous reserves of grip. The all-round disc brakes are enormously powerful as well.
The shooting brake rides firmly but not outrageously uncomfortably on rear air suspension and conventional springs and dampers at the front. There's the option of semi-active air suspension for an additional $1863, which calms the initial bump absorption but leaves the ride quality and precision intact.
Favorite Detail: What a great-looking car this is. It's the sort of Mercedes that makes other Merc owners jealous. Car designers love to boast that their designs start with a single line on a sheet of paper, but here you can virtually see the designer sketching that line in the side profile.
Driver's Grievance: The views out of the heavily sloping rear window are better than you might expect, but that curved rear window and thick B and C pillars mean there are blind spots. You need to be cautious if you're making a fast pass, though Mercedes offers a blind-spot detection system.
The Bottom Line: "No, we cannot give a price or an on-sale date in America," Mercedes' Beck says. Apparently the Benz sales and marketing guys in the States see this as a wagon, despite Germany's best efforts to convince them that it is an all-new car aimed at an all-new market segment. Try the American tourists who flocked over the car in Florence, Italy, where the launch was based, that it's "just a wagon." They were so convinced the CLS Shooting Brake would be a hit over the pond they were virtually signing up for the car on the spot.
This is an achingly beautiful car with a practicality that makes it perfect to fill the gap that the Mercedes R-Class never really did. It comes with all the ride and handling qualities of a top-of-the-line Mercedes, plus effortless performance and an options list that will leave you in a debtor's prison. With all-wheel drive, it could easily appeal to the skiing folk of the snow states. But while it doesn't take too much effort to imagine CLS Shooting Brakes parked nose-to-tail in Aspen, Colo., that seems not to be, at least for now.
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