Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake to get surprise facelift

Mercedes-Benz will facelift its CLA Shooting Brake less than a year after it was launched, according to new design patents leaked to British magazine, Autocar.

Despite only going on sale in Australia in late June, according to the new patent, the German car-maker has decided to revise the small wagon to bring it in line with the recently facelifted A-Class hatch.

Externally, this means new headlights and tail-lights that gain a revised light signature, plus the option of full LED lamps.

The majority of the changes are expected to happen beneath the skin, with both the CLA 250 Sport and AMG 45 variants receiving a power boost.

The all-wheel drive 250 is expected to see power boosted to 160kW, while the rapid AMG wagon's peak power will be boosted by 15kW to 280kW and torque increased by 25Nm to 475Nm.

Inside, satnav is expected to become standard equipment while Mirrolink and Apple CarPlay is added to the standard equipment list.

Emergency autonomous braking and blind spot assist are also introduced as standard and a new Dynamic Select system allows drivers to choose from pre-configured Comfort, Sport and Eco. The mode modifies throttle response, gearshift speed and the suspension (where adaptive dampers is fitted).

The AMG 45 is also expected to follow in the tyre tracks of the A45 by gaining a RACE mode in its Dynamic Select. Buyers might also be offered the chance to option a mechanical limited-slip differential that boosts track performance.

The CLA 45 AMG is also expected to be as much as 0.4 seconds quicker than the current car thanks to new, shorter gear ratios for its seven-speed dual clutch transmission.

Finally, according to Autocar, the diesel-powered CLA Shooting Brakes will drop the ‘CDI’ from their badging, instead, gaining ’d’ after the model name, indicating it’s diesel-powered.