The Crank: Mercedes’ don’t-call-it-a-wagon CLS Shooting Brake a go

By John LeBlanc

After trotting it out as a “Vision” concept (code for “we’ve already signed-off on the tooling") at this year’s Beijing show, to no one’s surprise, Mercedes-Benz confirmed that its CLS Shooting Break, above, would go on sale in 2012.

To put Mercedes’ latest, niche-within-a-niche vehicle into context within ‘Benz's burgeoning lineup (remember when Mercedes offered a two-seater, a mid-size sedan, and full-size sedan? But I digress…) it’s a five-door version of the CLS “four-door coupe”, itself based on the mid-size E Class nuts and bolts. (Of note for you anoraks out there: the production version will revert to the more accepted spelling of “Brake”, which according to Wikipedia, means “a custom built 2-door luxury estate cars altered for use by hunters and other sportsmen such as golfers, riders, and polo players requiring easy access to larger storage areas than offered by the typical automobile boot.”) Also unsurprising, the new CLS wagon won’t be cheap. It will likely be sold above the 2011 E-Class wagon, which starts at $66,900. Today, there’s about a $20,000 premium for a CLS over an E Class sedan. So expect the CLS Shooting Brake to be close to $90 big ones when it arrives in Canada next year. For those keeping score at home, that now brings the E Class body count up to six (sedan, coupe, convertible, wagon, four-door coupe, shooting brake). Including the next BMW 5 Series-based 6 Series coupe, convertible and Grand Coupe CLS-ripoff, plus 5er sedan, Euro-only wagon, and the duck-billed platypus Gran Turismo, below, Mercedes is going toe-for-toe with the E’s archrival. [svgallery name="535i_GT_pics"] Speaking of which, I see the new Mercedes as a riposte to the 5er GT: a car for people who need a bit more utility than a sedan, but don’t want to look like one of those trophy-wife, school-run-moms, schlepping around in fuddy-duddy “station” wagons or scorch-the-earth SUVs. BMW's “anything-but-a-wagon”  is priced between $69,900 and $ 79,900, depending if you go for the six- or eight-cylinder model. But which automaker do you think is offering the better “anything-but-a-wagon” solution? Do you like ‘Benz’s "sportsman's wagon" approach, or BMW’s more utilitarian “tall wagon” take? [Source: Mercedes-Benz]

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