Mercedes CLS review: a long range motor that's got its mojo back
The updated Mercedes CLS gets new lights and bumpers and the wheel choices have been revised
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MERCEDES CLS |
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Rating |
★★★★☆ |
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Price |
from €83,090 - €85,369 as tested |
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Engine |
a very sprightly two-litre diesel delivers an impressive 194bhp |
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The Spec |
very thorough even in standard AMG Line guise |
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Verdict |
a long-range driver, not a cross country sprinter |
Once upon a time there was a very beautiful car. It was originally a frog, of course, but then it was kissed by a Swabian princess and it turned into an automotive vision, a four-door coupe that for some time was amongst the prettiest production cars of the early 21st century.
The car was called the Mercedes CLS and for many the first version, which was originally seen in 2004, was an embodiment of visual four wheeled splendour.
But then the magic wore off and the princess’ kisses no longer had their magical quality and the second generation of the CLS tried hard to emulate the graciousness and svelte lines of the original. It turned back into a frog instead.
Then, in 2018, the princess from Swabia regained her magical powers and the CLS once more turned into a thing of splendour and now, four years on, she pursed her lips once more to give the facelifted version added loveliness.
Of course one man’s meat is another’s murder and the CLS has not been anything other than a niche model for Mercedes and even the most committed fans of the brand were unsure about this beast, beauteous and all as it nearly always was and continues to be. In truth, the car and its many models have been something of an exercise in Marmite-ism, i.e. something which is not to everyone’s tastes.
Now Mercedes owners have traditionally been a conservative bunch, even though the manufacturer has tried over the years to dilute this natural instinct among its fans and bring them kicking and screaming into the modern age of SUVs, SUV coupes and the like.
To this end the company now has a model line-up which is almost as confusing as a Lego catalogue, so many and varied are the products on offer. The CLS has suffered as a result of this confusion and perhaps fallen between a couple of stools along the way.
Initially its beauty was an immediate sales point, but then its lack of practicality (it was only a four-seater and if you were anything over 5’5” tall, you banged your head every time you got into it). Small factors like this dulled the impact of an otherwise brilliant piece of kit. And when the second generation came along, what with its naff styling cues and lack of previous gorgeousness saw it losing ground to such as BMW’s 8 Series coupe.
When the third generation came along – beauty fully restored – the CLS had lost much of the sales gloss it once enjoyed. It was, after all, little more than an E-Class coupe, albeit with S-Class leanings and technology.
And with a new E-Class coming out of the starting blocks, a lot of Mercedes patrons preferred the regular machine rather than the fancy-dan one.
Thus, the CLS has been hiding its light under something of a bushel for the last couple of years and the new facelift which we test this week is aimed at bringing the car back to the sort of popularity it once enjoyed.
To this end the Stuttgart giant has given the model line-up a quite distinct wash and brush-up without diluting the overall prettiness of the thing. So, lights, bumpers and wheel choices have been revised; the interior has been given a thorough make-over with open pore wood trims for the dash and many technological upgrades; and, there’s a revised selection of engines as well.
The tester was the CLS 220d with an AMG Line kit and it is expected to be the big – I use the term loosely – seller here in Ireland.
It might seem strange that a seemingly bog-standard two litre diesel might be a big draw for Mercedes patrons, but that’s what Mercedes think will be the case in this country.
But don’t let the seeming ordinariness of the power plant put you off, because what’s on offer here is actually a bit of a minor beast.
There’s a nine-speed auto ‘box as part of the package and the engine itself delivers an impressive 194 bhp and a very useful 400 Nm of torque. This in turn translates into a top speed of 235 km/h, a 0-100 km/h time of 7.5 seconds and a 5.5 l/100 km (51 mpg) consumption rate.
There are other engine options available, up to and including the CLS 53 4Matic+ petrol which has a straight six engine producing 435 bhp, but as the tester costs in the region of eighty grand anyway, it is easy to see why it is expected to be the main seller.
Kit levels here are very generous and included in the package is the twin-screen MBUX infotainment package which, while it might not be of the same grade as that in the new S-Class, is nevertheless a very complete and compelling package. You also get stuff like adaptive LED lights, 19” alloys, an AMG braking system with larger front discs and parking aids with a 360-degree camera.
What you do get is an active lane keeping assist package which has to be turned off every time you start the car and a repair kit instead of a spare tyre. Both are issues for people who don’t live in cities.
On the road, this is very much a grand tourer rather than anything else and its true metier is long distance motoring, so it’s not really something for slinging around B-roads on the door handles, although it doesn’t shirk when asked to do so. But high mileage highway trips are what this thing is best at.
Sure the handling and ride are good, but best on an uncorrupted surface but can get a bit out of kilter when face with some of the roads Ireland has to offer. In general, however, it is well sorted, despite the lowered suspension.
One thing you do have to bear in mind is that because of the low roofline, you’re still going to crack your head off the roof every time you climb aboard and because of the smaller windows vis-a-vis other Mercs, you will find vision limited in tight spots. Also, the seats are a mite more snug here than in a regular E-Class, so if you’re a bulky sort, this might not be the best fit, as it were.
On the upside, the rear seat now accommodates three adults and the boot is huge too, so there’s no worries about the golf clubs or other bulky accoutrements you might need to ferry about the place.
As a non-coupe coupe, the CLS looks great and is decidedly practical for what it is. What it is not, however, is something as sporty as it might look. If you’re looking for an absolute motoring experience in terms of thrills and shrieking performance, look elsewhere.
That Swabian princess might have got her lip mojo back in terms of the car’s look, but she didn’t endow the CLS with the sort of cross-country derring-do that many would like, giving it a rather more long-legged highway cruiser demeanour instead.
If that’s what’s required then, as Hall and Oates might have had it, her kiss is on your list.
