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He Drove, She Drove
Mercedes throws curveball
Sexy four-door CLS masquerades as a coupe, with a price tag right around $70,000.
Type: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive, four-passenger sedan.
Price: Base, $66,920 (inc. $720 destination charge, $1,300 gas-guzzler tax); as tested, $72,999.
Engine: 5.0-liter V-8; 302-hp; 339 lb-ft torque.
EPA fuel economy: 16 mpg city/22 mpg highway.
Where built: Germany.
Key competitors: Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Cadillac STS, Infiniti Q45, Jaguar XJ, Lexus LS 430, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Volkswagen Phaeton, Volvo S80.
12-month insurance cost, estimated by AAA Michigan: $2,162 (Rates may be higher or lower, depending on coverage and driving record.)
Anita 's ratings:
Likes: Lots of personality -- draws attention everywhere. Air suspension provides cushy ride. Cool "halo" overhead lighting front and rear. Good rear-seat amenities, including dual temp controls. Great four-year/50,000-mile warranty with 24-hour roadside assistance. TeleAid emergency call system.
Dislikes: Complicated seat controls. Rear seat feels claustrophobic, especially with high belt line and sloping roof. Difficult to reach the rear of the trunk. Frightfully expensive.
Paul's rating:
Likes: Voluptuous exterior shape redefines the European touring sedan. Powerful 5.0-liter V-8 with sensational seven-speed automatic transmission. World-class safety, including optional adaptive headlamps. Comfortable heated and cooled front seats.
Dislikes: Surprisingly limited rear leg and head room. $1,300 gas-guzzler tax. Thick rear pillars, narrow side glass limit visibility.
Unacceptable, 2. Subpar, 3. Acceptable, 4. Above Average, 5. World Class
2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500
What do you think of the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS500?
Comment on this story
Mercedes-Benz refers to the new CLS-Class as a "four-passenger coupe," but we know a four-door sedan when we see one -- even a sedan with the curvaceous lines of a coupe.
Slotted in size and price between the mid-range E-Class and flagship S-Class sedans, the CLS-Class is just reaching U.S. dealers as an early 2006 model. The base price of $66,920 includes a $720 destination charge and a federal gas-guzzler tax of $1,300. Our well-equipped test vehicle came in at just a whisker under $73,000.
SHE: Our next-door neighbor's Florida room overlooks our driveway, where they see a constantly changing cavalcade of foreign and domestic hardware. There is almost nothing they've asked us to drive in three months -- with one notable exception. That was the CLS500, which is no surprise, considering they own an SLK. They took a test drive with us in the pouring rain and afterward allowed that they may become "a two-Mercedes family."
HE: They probably fit the CLS demographics as well as anyone -- a well-educated couple in their mid- to late-30s with no kids and two pretty decent incomes. I can't imagine they'd be caught dead in either an E-Class or an S-Class -- way too conventional-looking for their taste. That's part of the appeal of the CLS, which is really a sexy four-door masquerading as a coupe. With that voluptuous exterior shape, the gorgeous cabin and the exquisite powertrain, it redefines the European touring sedan.
SHE: I don't care what they call it. But I can tell you the CLS is the antithesis of traditional four-doors like the Jaguar XJ or the Lexus LS 430. It's certainly no family sedan -- unless we're talking Donald Trump's family. The CLS is a hottie, but at $73,000, it's far beyond the reach of most consumers.
HE: I have to say a word about the engine/transmission combination, which is one of the nicest we've tested this year. Mercedes marries its powerful 5.0-liter V-8, which makes 302 horsepower and 339 pounds-feet of torque, with a sensational new seven-speed transmission that provides pinpoint-precision shifts in automatic or manual mode. The down side is fuel economy, which at 16 miles per gallon in city driving, is subpar. Thus the hefty guzzler tax. Mercedes has also engineered in an exquisite ride with exceptional control, thanks in no small part to a sophisticated air suspension system.
SHE: You can talk nuts and bolts all night. Let me rave about cabin, which looks like the inside of a concept vehicle with that halo lighting in the ceiling and the unusual materials. The cockpit of the CLS doesn't look or feel like any other vehicle I've been in. As much as I loved being in the driver's seat, the rear compartment has plenty of amenities, too, including dual-zone temperature controls.
HE: How about those heated and cooled front seats that did everything except the rhumba?
SHE: I thought they were a bit too complicated, with two different sets of controls -- one on the door panel and one on the leading edge of the seat. But I appreciated some of the other high-tech goodies, including the TeleAid emergency communication system, which is Mercedes' answer to OnStar. Some of the stuff you have to pay extra for, like the adaptive headlamps, which help you "see" around curves and corners. But even the base CLS is pretty lavishly furnished.
HE: It's also up to the company's usual high standards for safety, with features like electronic stability program, side air bags for all occupants and full-length side curtains.
SHE: As we suggested earlier, the CLS is not for all tastes. For one thing, I did find the rear seat a bit claustrophobic. The beltline is too high and the side glass is too narrow because of the sloping roof. Kids especially run the risk of getting carsick back there. I also had a hard time reaching stuff in the back of the trunk, which is really deep.
HE: I noticed that fast roofline and the thick rear pillars also seemed to impede visibility. We had a devil of a time trying to change lanes in a driving rain. You didn't mention the lack of head room in the rear, which is another downside to the sexy profile with the rounded roof. And I had a difficult time squeezing my legs into the rear behind a long-legged front-seat passenger.
SHE: But now we're really picking nits. There really isn't a direct competitor to the new CLS, although we understand a number of companies, from Audi to BMW, are looking at potential "quad coupes" that could play in this space. For now, the CLS500 totally rules.
He Drove, She Drove Anita and Paul Lienert are partners in Lienert & Lienert, an Ann Arbor automotive information services firm.
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