You’ll find Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake safety levels hard to beat. This car has not been tested by Euro NCAP yet but you can expect five stars when it does. The CLS Shooting Brake’s crumple zone has four independently acting impact levels which enables forces to be distributed over a large area in the event of an accident, while the whole passenger cell has been so well constructed that it should give occupants extra peace of mind.

As well as nine airbags and standard-fit child-seat fittings the Shooting Brake is fully loaded with systems to try to keep you out of trouble and they include stability control, brake assist, drowsiness detection and adaptive high-beam assist that changes the headlamp beam automatically when oncoming vehicles are detected. There’s also active blind spot assist, lane-keeping assist that warns the driver if he or she has drifted over the white lines without any indication.

Mercedes’ Adaptive Brake that features hill-hold assist is also standard. Buyers can opt for Brake Assist Plus that provides additional braking if need be as well as Distronic Plus, a radar-based adaptive cruise control system that brakes the car if it thinks it’s getting too close to the car in front. Other options include Speed Limit Assist that tells the driver what the speed limits are at any given time, the anti-whiplash Neck-Pro system and Night View Assist that helps to identify pedestrians or other objects in the path of the car at night time.

The CLS also features Pre-safe Brake that automatically brakes the car if it thinks an accident is imminent.

CLS Shooting Brake practicality is excellent thanks to the sheer amount of amount of loadspace on offer. With the rear seats up there’s a total of 590 litres available and that mushrooms to 1,550 litres when you put the seats down. That’s pretty impressive and the Mercedes-Benz holds its own when compared with the BMW 5 Series GT that offers 440 litres with the seats up and 1,700 litres with the seats down.

It’s pretty useful when you compare it to the Infiniti FX that only has 410 litres with the rear seats up and 1,305 litres with the seats down too. There’s a token middle rear seat, so it is to all intents and purposes a four-seater. There’s plenty of legroom in the back and Mercedes has also designed a step in the roof lining to give rear-seat passengers more headroom.

Inside, there’s a pleasing amount of storage space dotted around. There are two cup holders in the front and a central storage box in-between the driver and passenger. The electronic tailgate that shuts and opens at the touch of a button is a welcome addition.