Mercedes CLS 320

5:58pm Friday 9th January 2009

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WITH ITS cool, concept-car looks, the banana-boat CLS coupe has been a hit with well-heeled drivers who crave something different but still need the saloon-car practicality of four doors and a big boot.

Four years after it first went on sale, Merc’s unusual fourdoor coupe gets a mid-life refresh, mainly a few cosmetic tweaks to keep it in line with the latest models in the Benz range and a few nips ‘n tucks around the cabin.

Externally, the grille now contains two horizontal bars instead of four, the doors mirrors are a bit bigger and contain arrow-shaped direction indicators, and around the back there’s a trapezoidal exhaust tailpipe instead of an oval muffler.

The bumpers have been smoothed out and chunky 18- inch alloys are now standard.

As re-styles go, this is hardly a daring change of direction, but Mercedes reckons there wasn’t much to put right in the first place. Its big coupe was always a handsome beast and the latest tweaks are minor, but useful, improvements.

Equipment levels are more generous, too. Every CLS features heated seats and a sportier three-spoke steering wheel replaces the old four-spoker which looked as though it belonged on an oil tanker.

The cabin is roomy for a coupe but compromises have been made for the sake of the dramatic bodywork. In the front everything is fine but the curvature of the body cuts into rear head room. Taller passengers complained that their heads brushed the roof lining but no one moaned about leg room front or back.

Compared with most coupes the CLS has acres of space to stretch out in comfort. It is certainly better than the BMW 6- Series, which shoehorns rear passengers into deeply-scooped bucket seats so they can barely see out the windows.

That’s because the CLS is based on the architecture of the old E-Class saloon, a car that always had plenty of cabin room, so the enginers had a very practical starting point.

The CLS line up still consists of three juicy petrol engines and a single diesel. We tested the 320 CDI because it outsells the rest combined several times over. Eight in every ten CLS models sold in the UK come with the delightful 3.0-litre diesel beneath the bonnet.

In common with modern diesels there’s hardly any downside to 320D ownership.

It’s quiet, even from cold, flexible and quick, thanks to a generous 221bhp, which is delivered at 3,800rpm, the perfect foil, in fact, for the CLS’s seven-speed automatic gearbox.

With every CLS model electronically limited to a 155mph maximum speed, I have to wonder why anyone would splash tens of thousands more on the 6.2-litre AMG version for a theoretical two-mph increase in top end.

Of course, no one in their right mind would drive a CLS at those speeds in the UK anyway, so why not sit back and enjoy the drive at 70mph when a 320D feels every bit as effortless as the hairy-chested AMG?

My reward for taking things easy was an average weekly fuel consumption of 35mpg, which meant the CLS was barely more expensive than the Burton family’s diesel MPV. Granted, higher running costs would irrevocably tip the balance but, in day-to-day use, a CLS is surprisingly frugal.

The big Benz rides very well, too. Despite now coming with chunky 18-inch alloys it doesn’t crash about around town and smothers the worst British roads have to offer with aplomb. And thanks to a quicker steering rack, the latest models feel a bit friskier when you’re in the mood for some fun.

It’s still a big car, and you can never quite forget the fact, but the CLS is a fun steer on sweeping country lanes. It is refined, too, even when you are going for it.

Tyre noise could have been a problem, thanks to the increase in wheel size, but it is very well surpressed. Wind, road and engine din are similarly subdued.

In the time it has been around all Mercedes’ competitors have woken up to the propsect of a big coupe.

BMW’s 6-Series has the looks but none of the practicality, and the Audi A5 matches the Merc for space but its wall-flower looks do it no favours.

Only the Jaguar XF has both the film star looks and the cabin room to take on the CLS blow-for-blow.

The Jag is also a bit cheaper but I’d bet the Merc will retain its value better in the medium term.

Specification

Price: £46,225
Engine: 2,987cc V6 Turbodiesel
Max power: 221bhp @ 3,800rpm
Max torque: 398lb/ft @ 1,600rpm
Top speed: 153mph
0-62mph: 7.0 seconds
Claimed combined fuel consumption: 37.2mpg
Test mpg: 34.8
Equipment: Electric windows, climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels, heated seats, premium audio, trip computer