2009 Mercedes-Benz CLS

Although the styling of the Mercedes-Benz CLS isn�t universally loved, but there�s no doubt that this addition to the lineup has been both successful and influential, with several competitors readying similar models. I�ll admit to being put off by it at first�in pictures it looked like an E-class that had melted. In person, though, I find the body design sleek and dramatic. The CLS is essentially a rebodied E-class (for about $10,000 more). Wisely, Mercedes-Benz didn�t just change the exterior, but gave the car a new interior as well, with a compound-curve dashboard that echoes the flowing exterior. With a design that stresses fluidity, inside and out, one might expect the same from the driving experience, but Mercedes has opted to send the CLS down the sports sedan road instead.


Unlike the E-class, there is no six-cylinder CLS, only the V-8 CLS550 and the rocket-like CLS63 AMG. Too much power isn�t really a problem (is it ever?), but the CLS�like the E-class V-8s�comes standard with Mercedes� Airmatic semi-active air suspension with adaptive damping system. Although its adaptive damping feature promises the best of both worlds�a smooth ride and firm cornering�in practice, the air suspension is stiff and jiggly, with frequent side-to-side rocking motions. The driver can select among three different damper settings, and strangely the car actually rides a bit better in the firmest setting, as the rocking motions are lessened (but not eliminated), at a cost of somewhat greater impact harshness. The disappointment here isn�t that the ride is horribly stiff, it�s that the design sets you up to expect one thing, and the chassis dynamics deliver another. Sorry, but after I flicked up the elegant little door (with its cool, frameless glass) and settled in facing the artfully curved dashboard, I was expecting to glide on down the road with the fluidity of a Jaguar XF�or at least a steel-sprung E-class.