Mercedes car Mathematics: What is Class C Coupe plus one Class E Coupe, minus both? Answer: 2024 Mercedes Benz CLE. This model replaces the coupe and cabriolet versions of both the long-running C- and E-Class. It makes sense to merge; coupes are no longer popular, there are fewer options. And while all sorts of SUVs call themselves coupes, and Fordeven toying with the idea of one Mustang four-door (except for the other four days) Wild horse), the CLE actually has only two doors.
That makes it one of two true coupes in Mercedes’ lineup, along with the AMG GTIt was the only car with a back seat.
MSRP is $66,800 including destination charge; the CLE Coupe I drove for a week was optioned up to $77,090. Who is the CLE for? Perhaps someone looking back on their career and looking for a nice car to retire in, someone with a little gray hair who no longer cares about utility or hauling kids. He or she wants an elegant personal luxury coupe that looks good parked on the clubhouse porch. Here are some thoughts after a week in Mercedes Benz CLE 450 4Matic Coupe. My colleagues in Detroit are currently driving the CLE Cabriolet, and you’ll hear from them soon, too.
1. It’s beautiful
There’s just something lovely about a coupe. They’re sleeker with fewer doors to ruin the lines. They flow. They’re a joy to drive.
There are obvious compromises – the longer doors make it harder to get in and out of tight parking spaces. You sit lower. The back seat is harder to get in and out of, although the CLE makes it as easy as possible with the seatback tethers that slide forward. With the sloping roof, the rear headrests almost touch the rear window. So you’re giving up some usability, to be sure. But what’s the price of beauty?
There are still some utilities. There is a surprisingly large chest (even on convertibles). I didn’t try to fit golf clubs in there, but they seemed to fit, at least lengthwise. That’s probably an important consideration for the target demographic.
The AMG 20-inch multi-spoke wheels make the car look even better, at a reasonable $850. For some reason, this car also has the AMG logo floor mats.
2. Ah!
This CLE Coupe is painted in Starling Blue Metallic, a beautiful color. colorand no extra charge. However, the white Nappa leather is $2,590. There’s also a $950 charge for the Multicontour seats with massage function and an additional $450 for ventilation, so the total is $3,590. But they’re a perfect complement to the blue exterior. Black wood trim with vertical aluminum trim on the dashboard rounds out the nautical look.
Mercedes has illuminated the road with LEDs in the cabin, and the CLE is decorated. The rearview mirror lights up a large puddle with the Mercedes star. Inside, someone has thoughtfully set the blue tone for this car, to match the exterior. The door panels stand tall to emit backlighting, and blue light even spills out of the air vents. The white leather reflects it all. The light tone makes the car look special, even futuristic, assuming coupes have a future.
3. It has six smooth strands
Mercedes’ turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six produces 375 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque through a nine-speed automatic transmission. Smooth hybrid The system delivers up to 23 horsepower, eliminating turbo lag and making stop-starts imperceptible. And typical of inline-six engines, the power delivery is smooth, matching the car’s luxurious character. So smooth, so good.
Two things to note about driving: First, this car brake not very responsive; in a week I never got used to them and had to press hard at the end of a brake profile to stop. Also, in CLE first test drive reviewJohn Beltz Snyder notes that it’s difficult to find the corners of the car when driving in tight spaces. Agreed! You’ll get a better feel for it over time, but I’d caution against it. This car has the $600 surround view option. Buy it, you’ll need all the help you can get.
4. Don’t feel it
That engine is well suited to a luxury coupe. What doesn’t feel luxurious is the use of capacitive controls, a common refrain about the direction Mercedes has taken with its cabin.
So, OK, the Formula 1 steering wheel has a lot of buttons, but F1 The driver is a superhero. The Mercedes steering wheel has four rows of capacitive controls, two on each side. The steering wheel controls seem to be designed to be operated without looking, but it’s hard to believe that’s easy here. Still, for the simple task of adjusting the radio volume, neither the sliders on the steering wheel nor the ones on the infotainment stack allow for precise adjustments, but at least they summon a slider control panel on the touchscreen that works better. What’s better? A plain old knob.
And even if you like the way these controls work, they don’t feel The concept of a luxury personal coupe seems a bit dated, doesn’t it? Physical shift knobs with a solid feel to them would be more in line with that feel.
5. The polite car
We have learned from a recent survey that car buyers view a phone charger as their most desired feature in a vehicle new car. It’s confusing. I find these things finicky, they don’t always seem to work through my phone case, they can get your phone really hot, and they don’t fast-charge via a wire. But people apparently like the idea, at least in theory. The CLE has a charging pad, and it’s in an interesting location—in a recess at the front of the center console. So your phone is basically in a dark, out-of-sight little phone cave. It’s probably a deliberate safety measure—you can’t look at the thing if it’s all the way in there. The problem, of course, is that you won’t remember to bring it with you. But Mercedes, as the disembodied female voice in the car says, has you covered. When you get to your destination, she politely speaks up and says, “Excuse me, don’t forget your phone.” I think she even phrased it a few different ways just for conversation, because you’ll hear it a lot. If you’re like me, you’ll prefer to use a wire.
6. Backup camera distortion
I didn’t get a picture of this, but the rearview camera often gives a super distorted view, like a funhouse mirror. At one point, when backing up toward my house, it made my garage door look half as wide as it actually is. Maybe it’s there to make you focus more on the camera’s guiding lines. Or maybe it has something to do with making space on the screen for the view around you. The distortion seems better or worse depending on your angle of approach. But it’s disorienting, and I should have taken a picture of what it looked like. I mention it, though, because if you’re interested in the CLE, you should do some backing up on a test drive and see what you think.
