An interesting concept, the CLS fills a hole for those who like the appearance of a coupe, but find the practicalities daunting. What Mercedes have done is design a coupe and add two more doors so that you can actually use the space in the back.
The dramatic design, with its strikingly thin side glass, is sat on the chassis of an E-Class. Power comes from a range of high-end Mercedes engines: a 3.5ltr V6, a 5.5ltr V8, a 3.0ltr V6 diesel and the high-performance 6.0ltr naturally aspirated V8 AMG.
The CLS doesn't appear to have fallen foul of Mercedes' build problems over the past few years and has a solid and refined build both in and out.
This refinement is shown in the drive, a perfect blend of ride and handling helped by a huge array of electronic equipmen. All this helps the car to 60 miles an hour in 7 second even in the slowest diesel. The smallest petrol does it in a little over 6, but manages 31mpg in the process.
All the gadgets are there to keep passengers safe and the car out of harms way.
ESP stability control, which monitors wheel rotation and intervenes if it detects the symptoms of a skid, a braking system that detects a sudden switch from throttle to brake pedal and pulses the brakes to clear water if it rains. There is also the Hill Start system and the Pre-Safe system as standard - the latter braces the car against a crash by tensioning the seatbelts and closing the windows.
Insurance from 18 to 20 (AMG).
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