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The collective distaste for the Mercedes-Benz CLA and GLA is known among the B&B and the wider automotive world – but now, Mercedes has dropped a collective bomb on the psyche of enthusiasts everywhere.
A reflexive love of all things station wagon/shooting brake pervades the gearhead mentality. Will they accept a station wagon version of the Mercedes CLA? Mechanically, it’s identical to the standard car, and the sloping roofline might even make it less practical than the GLA in terms of cargo hauling ability. But it’s suitably obscure enough to send a tingle through the loins of the kind of enthusiast that professes their adoration for the wagon, but fails to buy them when they are released for sale on our shores.
51 Comments on “Mercedes-Benz Releases Automotive Rorschach Test...”
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Regardless what the “auto enthusiasts” think…the CLA is selling.
People who probably aren’t even in the market for a M.B. look at the CLA’s advertised price at “$29,999” and call it “cheap”, but the truth is, most dealers order these cars with options bringing the price closer to $40,000.
People who’ve never driven it remark at how bad the engine’s “eco” mode is, but the simple fact is: it can be turned off if you don’t like it on.
This concept looks like it could be a hit as well – especially if the price is right!
Mercedes is flooding the market with alternatives to the traditional, expensive luxury barge and I applaud them for it.
Yup. And assuming the US credit market improves at all, Gen-Y’s and Millennials that haven’t been able to buy a new car for years are going to be all over these variants.
“A reflexive love of all things station wagon/shooting brake pervades the gearhead mentality. Will they accept a station wagon version of the Mercedes CLA? Mechanically, it’s bla bla bla”
WTF? This must be a joke.I want my click back. Acting like there is some monolithic gearhead opinion that approves of one type of machine over another. There’s a regular rocket scientist for ya. I hope these writers don’t get paid this “writing”. Some people dig the A45 hatch, some like old novas and yes some people like these european shooting brake monstrosities.
God look at the photo of the white one from rear 3/4 view. Ghastly. I MEAN GHASTLY. Like someone shrunk the R-class 40% and then stomped on the back. And the interior is utterly tasteless with that red striping.
Yep, mini-me R-Class, my very first thought
I like it. It will sell well in the cities where parking is tight. I thought you people liked hatchbacks?
Which you people would that be?
The people who like wagons, which this is, I think…
you people = the lower 99%
Oh, right. That fifteen year old up there has it all figured out with his 1% ;).
This is Mercedes we’re talking about here, we’re ALL 1%ers, or so we’d like you to think
Or just regular folks wishing to take the plunge with their “acceptable or better” credit.
You don’t have to be in the 1% to lease a car at $350/mo.
squashback != hatchback
I prefer “hunchback”.
Says my cute, non-enthusiast, ex-wife.
Yup, she coined it.
Actually it is a quote from Frasier.
Niles Crane used the term.
“cute ex-wife”
Never heard that one before either
Yup, good looking.
But that’s where the compliments start AND finish!
Regarding Niles from Fraser and the use of the term “hunchback”: I stand corrected.
I don’t really like *anything* in the current MB lineup, much, and I *like the brand*.
The E is tolerable, and the current SL is actually an improvement.
(And the G, of course, but it hasn’t changed in, what, 40 years?)
(To expand, I don’t think this is *hideous*, but I don’t really like it, either.)
I find the g attractive for what it is.
Up here in the Great White North we get the B class. And it sells (actually probably leases) in respectable numbers. The interior volume of the B is comparable to a first generation mini-van.
I’ll give $35,000 internet dollars for it if they offer it in brown and with a manual.
I’ll give them $50k in internet dollars if it’s an automatic in reed green.
I consider myself an automotive enthusiast having personally owned (no leases) 37 different automobiles/trucks including 7 Mercedes-Benzes ranging from S-Class to SLK to Gwagen and now a CLS. Methinks Mr. Kreindler, at times, sticks his head where the sun does not shine.
Want.
I am a wagon fan (and own one!… a ’04 Passat 1.8T M/T; not in brown though) and I think this is lame.
What’s with that ginormous D-pillar? One of the nice things about a real wagon is the excellent rear visibility… not so this beast. Looks more like a sedan that they pumped with air to raise the rear some.
I thought they all had the unpinned grenade motor under the hood, I was wrong… Looks like an ok car if that is your thing… Like an ugly accord with a fancy logo…
“A reflexive love of all things station wagon/shooting brake pervades the gearhead mentality.”
Is this true in real life, or does the internet just allow a small group of people with the same fetish to find each other?
I wonder this because IRL it really seems that gearheads don’t give too much of a sh1t about wagons.
“Is this true in real life, or does the internet just allow a small group of people with the same fetish to find each other?”
The latter, except that “small group” probably overstates how many of them that there are.
Nah, just internet BS, we’d all have brown diesel wagon sticks, but you know, it’s the wife, she just won’t drive one… Whew, lucky us ;-)
I get it, wagons are useful and maybe slightly more interesting than a CUV, but I never see them as more than an interesting footnote in the enthusiast community.
“A reflexive love of all things station wagon/shooting brake pervades the gearhead mentality.”
When I was younger, any car with more than two doors, hatchbacks and wagons were old boring people’s cars. Now it looks like we can add young hipsters to the mix.
I’ve never owned anything but a coupe, convertible or 2 door pickup and will keep it that way until I die.
Daimler hates wagons or us I can’t be sure. Combining a stupid roof-line with an equally stupid taillight/rear bumper setup designed to remove 25-33% of potential cargo loading open space says to me they are not serious. Just as Crosstour was not serious with its thick D-pillars (limiting cargo room and cargo loading room) on the rear hatch where the CR-V does not have this inherent design flaw.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.ed.edmunds-media.com%2Fhonda%2Fcr-v%2F2012%2Flt%2F2012_honda_cr-v_crg_lt_10713_600.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edmunds.com%2Fhonda%2Fcr-v%2F2012%2Flong-term-road-test%2Fcargo-space.html&h=400&w=600&tbnid=H9WfCMqgdWo-FM%3A&zoom=1&docid=t1KfGtIZU7Wo5M&ei=UbR0VNm0HIahyQTcvILQCg&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CGUQMyg9MD0&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=376&page=4&start=55&ndsp=20
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.washtimes.com%2Fmedia%2Fcommunity%2Fimage%2F2013%2F03%2F19%2F2013_honda_crosstour_rear_cargowt_r640x453.jpg%253Fc9f6f7c2167372918b42622c875fdab25859e137&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcommunities.washingtontimes.com%2Fneighborhood%2Ftrekking-down-wine-lifestyle%2F2013%2Fmar%2F19%2Freview-2013-honda-crosstour-ex-l-v6%2F&h=453&w=637&tbnid=Qk3uUFyt8Z8ALM%3A&zoom=1&docid=NDUQu0NITJsqXM&ei=i7R0VMK2JJWmyATZ4oII&tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&ved=0CBIQMygKMAo4ZA&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=1900&page=6&start=95&ndsp=20
FYI, if you click “view image” from the google results, then copy and paste that link, it should be way shorter.
For what it’s worth, I think the Crosstour looks way better than the CRV, but it does have one gigantic ass.
The interior materials in the CLA were so disappointing, I don’t care what form factor the car adopts- it will not be on my shopping list in it’s current state.
The fact that the rear 3/4 view is horrendous, as CoreyDL mentioned, and the slope of the hatch obliterates storage means this doesn’t even register on my radar.
I dunno, but I like whatever it is Benz has been drinkin’ lately.
Polarizing design. I have seen the CLA and GLA “in the flesh” and find them as horrible looking as the photos have led me to think they would be. This “wagon” form looks like a hogging ship.
The entry-level xLAs are rubbish.
I don’t hate the CLA and I’m big fan of all “sport wagons” but this thing is something else. Still I hope MB sells a lot of them and more wagons/hatch backs are made available.
Why not just import the B class into the USA?
They are, electric only though.
For people who need the Benz ring on their car and to bring home Best Buy stuff.
It will sell well.
I dont think u could fit a 40″ TV in this thing. Trunk aperture is probably no bigger than a high schooler’s bookbag.
The interior looks like a Pontiac. And that hatch opening is useless.
Wagon does not trump cheap-feeling and poorly executed. This is still on the CLA platform and will still, accordingly, feel more like a 2000-era Hyundai than a luxury car.
That’s a 5-door/hatch, not a wagon.
An FWD Mercedes wagon? Words that I never thought would fit in one sentence.
Having been in both a few CLAs and A3s, I find it slightly bewildering that the Benz is considered a cheap, shoddy sellout and the A3 is a respectable addition to the brand. I mean, I haven’t gotten either of them out on the road, so I can’t comment on that, but inside, there doesn’t seem to be a huge gap between the two (except the A3’s centre console is a big piece of plastic that sounds hollow when you knock on it). That said, I’m probably swayed, as the CLA is a huge step forward over the previous-gen B-Class we got in Canada, while the A3 doesn’t quite feel as nice as the first-gen hatch.
Now, the CLA wagon has my interest. I mean, automatic-only and a price tag around double what my current car costs renders it sort of irrelevant, but I like that it exists. I’d still hold out for a W204 wagon though.
I don’t know if it’s because the CLA is a big step forward from the first-gen B-class we got in Canada, or because the A3 sedan feels cheaper than the A3 hatch (just knock on that giant piece of plastic it uses for the centre console), but I can’t entirely buy into the idea that the Benz is this worthless sellout machine and the A3 is an amazing little car. But then I’d also prefer their cheaper 5-door variants (B250 and GTI).
So, having no problem with the CLA, I’m pleased there’s a wagon version now. My interest is purely hypothetical, between being automatic-only and costing about twice my current car, and what I’d really lust for is a C-Class wagon (I have an unnatural love for the W204), but still.
I don’t know, this car MIGHT look better in a color like dark grey, but as it stands, I’d pass.
I’d have bought the previous AMG C-Wagon in an instant if it had been available here.
It just looked better.
Does no one see what they’re doing? The CLS sedan and wagon were hits, so the same design language has been applied to the CLA (and related) in a common stick-with-past-success German design school (led by our friends at VW). Problem is, the design doesn’t work on the shorter wheelbase and just looks frumpy.
Yay. It’ll sell like hotcakes.
(Frumpy: technical term)