Mercedes CLS stands out from routine executive crowd
There are certain cars that truly say something about the person driving them. Some of course tell everyone else that you have no imagination, class or style; others mark you out as someone of distinction, taste and refinement.
The Mercedes CLS definitely stamps you out as one of the latter. Indeed, an acquaintance of mine who owned (and dearly loved) a CLS, before the necessity of business found him seated in a Jaguar XF, still pines longingly for it, saying it was not just the three-pointed star on the front which endeared him so much, it was the sheer bravado of the fastback look that hooked him.
Since the four-door coupe idea was first sprung on an unsuspecting public in 2004, the CLS has nurtured a large band of dedicated followers — and not just of fashion.
No, these were people of considerable substance and some flair who wanted something different from the norm — something with a soupcon of panache, a dollop of elegance and no end of chic. And not an E-Class.
For many people, their ownership of the CLS embraced something more than just shelling out lots of dosh for an expensive car; rather, it marked them out from the routine executive crowd who happily drove their E-Class/5 Series/A6 to the golf club and were happy enough with their lot.
The CLS added a new layer of lustre to ‘executiveness’ and it separated the ‘boy’ badge-oriented buyers from the ‘men’ four-door coupe buyers whose appreciation of style and grace was obviously so much more finely honed than their lessers.
Through three generations now the CLS has cut a dashing swathe across a social milieu and found great favour in doing so. The fact of its gorgeousness was one thing; that it was also great to drive possibly an added bonus. Who knows?
Well, having found the formula of the saloon-as-coupe sleight of hand, Mercedes must be hugely flattered that so many others have dipped their toe in this particular drop of water. BMW, with the 4 and 6 Series Grand Coupe and Audi, with their A5 and A7 variants, were traditional competitors trying to get in on the act.
Other non-traditional rivals have also riffed on the theme. There is such as the divinely beautiful Aston Martin Rapide S, or the pug-ugly (to these eyes, anyway) Porsche Panamera, or even the smart Tesla Model S and each has taken Mercedes’ idea and run with it. For God’s sake, even lower orders like Volkswagen have tried their hand at it, with their novel and very good-looking Passat CC.
But somehow, the CLS has always been THE one. The original stunned the world in 2004 and, when face-lifted in 2011, Mercedes wisely didn’t trick around too much with the successful formula, adopting instead a cautious hand with the redesign and a new nice engineering additions.
But now we have the third generation of the CLS and while the look of the car is an obvious — and pleasing — evolution of the original design, it is still a pretty unique thing. Initial teaser shots of the new car suggested something a little on the bulbous side with an arse like a Belgian Blue on it. Fans worried.
They need not have. In real life — and while still looking a little big in the derriere department — it is magnificent. It has a definite air of elegance and sophistication, but in the AMG trim level we tried, it also exudes hints of menace and aggression. The frameless doors and the very swoopy roofline define it as a CLS and the curvy — not huge — bum certainly does not ruin it as we initially feared.
All good on the looks front then, but what of the mechanicals? Well, in many markets it comes as standard with both air suspension and 4WD — via Mercedes’ 4Matic system — but here in Ireland neither are standard on the basic entry model, the CLS 300d.
As has always been the case, the car shares a lot with sister machine, the E-Class. That is no bad thing at all given how good the current E-Class actually is, but you always got the feeling that the CLS deserved something better than a two litre turbodiesel, steel suspensions and two wheel drive, which is what you have here, despite the addition of nearly twelve grands’ worth of additional spec.
That said, this news is not as bad as it might seem. The engine outputs some 245 bhp and a healthy 500 Nm wodge of torque and top speed is limited to 250 kph, while the 0-100 dash is achieved in an impressive 6.4 seconds.
Throw in an emission figure of 142 g/km (for an annual tax bill of just €390) and a 5.2 l/100km consumption figure (53.8 mpg) and you’ve got a very acceptable performer indeed.
I DID find that in ‘comfort’ setting the CLS was a little too wallowy for my tastes and much preferred the stiffer ‘sport’ option which I felt gave the driver much more control on proceedings, but once you got the car into your groove — and fully appreciating the abilities of the nine speed auto ’box — it was a very nice cruise indeed.
The choice of the word ‘cruise’ there will be significant to people who truly want to engage with their cars, because the CLS in this guise is a ‘cruiser’ rather than a ‘driver’. Certainly the car is fleet, but get it out of its comfort zone on a poor surface and you’ll soon find fault.
Elsewhere, the interior décor is of a very high order, but this ambient lighting fashion craze thing is getting a bit ridiculous. The Parisian louche feel when you have the purple shades in full bloom inside your CLS is something the Folies Bergere would be jealous of.
Fripperies aside, the class of the interior and the quality of the materials used therein is uplifting; the most outstanding thing is the ‘widescreen cockpit’ which is fantastic to live with and use. Simple and intuitive, it is a thing of wonderment. Stuff like the stylised air vents — shared with the Cabriolet and Coupe versions — are also very easy on the eye.
This is then a worthy successor to an innovative and daring original idea and while in standard mode it might be a touch watery when mastery of the road is asked for, it is still something very special and still something that many will hanker after. And rightly so.
