Whats going on with the Mercedes CLS (C218)?

The Mercedes Benz CL is one of my top 3 Mercedes Products. The Cl was the Grosser Mercedes of the 21st century. A 2 door coupe nearly the size of an S-class with a large engine purely there for cruising. The Cl is a legend but, what the hell is a CLS? Well, since the CL is the coupe version of the S class, you’d imagine that would be named the CLS but turns out the CLS is the 4 door coupe version of the e class which incidentally has a coupe version called the e-class coupe. So its basically a 4-door version of a two door version of a 4 door car. In essence, its a middle child between the E and the S. This sounds like a redundant position in the Mercedes line but is the CLS actually a redundant car?

Well…I kind of love the CLS and its not for reasons you’d imagine. I actually think that the CLS is not that special to drive. The version i drove was the CLS 220d and although the figures suggest that it was fast, it just didn’t feel fast at all. I mean sure the traffic seamed to be in my rear view mirror but this does not drive like a sports car at all! Don’t get me wrong however because it does feel like a fairly light vehicle. I noticed the lack of significant body mass that i’m used to getting from huge vehicles.

The C218 was made from 2011 to 2018 so you’d expect that generation of ‘Mercedes Benzness’. It definitely looks it on the outside although the inside is 50/50 bridging the gap between e and s class of those years.

The steering wheel is super light. It’s basically S-class steering softness and the ride quality is also excellent. The one i drove had the air suspension which was standard from 2015 although the sport mode was not working so i hope it wasn’t deleted. Either way the ride quality was fantastic and the vehicle rides higher off the ground than you’d imagine so theres a sense of comfort to it. I don’t know why people say this is a big car because it simply isn’t. The S class is a big car, CLS? not really. I think its the perfect size car especially for everyday use. I do not particularly like small cars because they make me anxious and this car bridges that line between the anxious feeling of a small car and unwieldy feeling of a big one.

The main reason i like this car is the styling. I think this is the best looking Mercedes of its day alongside the G wagen. In neutral colours it looks really good! I absolutely love the way this car looks and compared to an e class, you can never tell that they have the same platform. The interior speaks volumes as well because its far better than an e class. Its closer to s class levels of niceness inside minus the massive screens. I think this will age far better than the S-class.

The CLS is equipped with a decent amount of technology. It has an amazing stereo with bluetooth for once. It also has blindspot monitoring and intelligent headlamps. The thing i like about it really is that it doesn’t over do it. I don’t understand why people want an iPad on wheels. Technology is nice but its ruining cars as we know it. Too much tech takes away from a vehicle’s charisma and charm. I particularly like the analog clock and the physical buttons. The CLS is a really suave car and i love that.

We also cant forget the way the driver feels. This is the perfect vehicle for a fairly young person that just wants a nice car. It feels ‘fly’. I understand that theres people that buy these to impress people but theres more to this car than that. I think if i were buying it, I’d sit down everyday and appreciate it on my own. Appreciate how good life can be if you can just persevere. The CLS is a well sorted car and the way it feels speaks volumes.

So, is it actually better than an E class? well, yeah! The E class is no where near as stylish and i think this car can be a problem for the bigger S class too because its a better size and it looks better. Also, if you’re gonna drive yourself, you’d be better off in a CLS because a CLS is not typically used as a chauffeur car. It has that CL d-n-a in that regard. Its a personal luxury car with 4 doors so you can bring 2 friends along.

I would recommend that you buy the CLS 350 and onwards because the 220d was just a disappointing performing engine. I believe it will be cheaper to run that engine than actually walking or riding a bicycle because at 61 mpg, its super efficient! Surely if you were walking 60 miles you’d stop somewhere for food and drink and with this cost of living crisis, the food you’d eat will cost far more than a gallon of fuel! If you never drive quickly then sure! buy the 220d but the CLS350 is the one i’d recommend. The CLS 500 (550 in the US) has the 4.7l V8 that the Gl has which is an amazing engine. There is of course a CLS63 AMG but i have a feeling that that version is unnecessary in everyday use.

So yeah! i would totally buy the CLS if i were looking for a car! I think its an excellent car with not too many issues and with a great badge and great features. Im eager to try out the rivals because although i have a mild review of the Panamera, the Panamera is a much bigger car.

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