Mercedes-benz CLE 300 4Matic
The new CLE is one coupe that Mercedes hopes will do the job of two. So, has it pulled it off?
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN IT WAS easier to list the sectors Mercedesbenz hadn’t launched a model in, such was its desperation to be represented everywhere. Up until recently you could, for example, choose between an A-class saloon – a conventional three-box, four-door saloon – or a four-door CLA – a saloon with a coupe-ish sweeping rear window and a boot. And that was on top of the regular A-class hatch and the CLA Shooting Brake (a slightly bigger hatch trying to be a swoopy estate).
And when the product planners took a microscope to customer research, they concluded that customers who weren’t buying the AMG GT coupe were skipping on by to the Porsche dealer to pick up a 911 instead because they wanted two rear seats with which to torture friends and family. Mercedes-amg’s solution was to go one better and offer not only a four-seater GT, but one with four doors, too. That didn’t work either. This approach to product strategy also meant there were C-class and E-class coupes (and cabriolet variants) to rival Audi’s A5 coupes and BMW’S 4-series and, latterly, 8-series. Now there’s a single model to do all of this: the new CLE coupe.
At a glance, you’d think it was a two-door C-class, but it’s actually bigger (in both overall length and wheelbase) than the outgoing E-class coupe, a fact demonstrated by the rear profile and three-quarter, which look out of proportion with the rest of the car. Overall, though, it’s not offensive to look at and it’s distinctive enough without being jarring to allow it to stand out from its saloon and estate car relatives.
Inside there’s more C than E-class present, with the former’s interior lifted wholesale, including the mammoth central screen and the majority of the remaining buttons being squeezed onto the steering wheel. An intuitive Mercedes-of-old interior it isn’t. The haptic steering wheel controls take time to find the right amount of pressure required to achieve the result you were after.
Everything you need to engage with on the touchscreen is borderline infuriating the first time you want to make a change. Although Mercedes has worked tirelessly on its ‘Hey, Mercedes’ software, to the point where it’s trained to understand the command ‘turn that bloody speed limit warning bong off!’.
If you’re coming from a previous-gen C-class coupe you’ll appreciate the extra room on offer here, less so if you’re downsizing from an E, although there’s little in it. And as with many of the current generation of Benzes, the interior doesn’t feel as robust as you were perhaps expecting. Surface materials feel a little thin and cheap, with hard and harsh edges easily found by a wandering finger during those idle moments on a journey.
Engine choice in a world of limited ICE options is restricted to two variants of Mercedes’ 2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, plus a four-cylinder diesel and two six-cylinder motors, one saved for the AMG
CLE 53. A full-blown AMG 63 is also coming; whether it has the disappointing four-pot from the C63 or if a bent-eight will find its way from the GT remains to be confirmed.
Performance from the 255bhp four-pot in our 300-badged CLE was adequate rather than startling. Its low cylinder-count results in an unremarkable engine note, a little hardedged with none of the smoothness you’d hope for in a sleek Benz coupe. Its 295lb ft offers enough pull with the nine-speed auto working unobtrusively in the background. The 4Matic four-wheel-drive chassis (the only drivetrain option in 300 trim) hides in the background with plenty of grip offered up by the Goodyear Eagle F1s fitted to our test car, albeit with little engagement to be had.
Refinement takes priority over performance, the CLE at its strongest when doing some very traditional Benz things: covering big miles in comfort very much at your pace. Which is when you will probably wish the four-cylinder was a more relaxed straight-six, replacing the former’s lacklustre engine note with a more cultured tone only multi-cylinder engines deliver. The 450 mild-hybrid, with 404bhp and 369lb ft, appears to have the credentials to deliver on such expectations.
There’s a suppleness to the CLE 300’s ride that’s missing in many new cars today, appearing as they do to have been set up by former Zip Kart employees. Softer-edged than anything with an AMG badge, there’s little that jars in terms of how the CLE composes itself on the road. It’s all very calm, very relaxed and totally unobtrusive. It makes it all feel very late-1990s, when lap times and acceleration figures weren’t the be-all and end-all as they are today. Further proof that less can be more and all the better for it.
BMW’S 4-series has more dynamic personality than Merc’s new coupe and more focus on trying to be a performance car (it’s not really, unless it has an M340i badge), whereas the CLE is simply a very good all-round coupe that takes a step back to the Mercedes of old. Its biggest downside here is its rather uninspiring four-cylinder engine that isn’t up to delivering the refinement expected of such a car. It’s why the six-cylinder 450, which costs from £66,000 compared with the CLE 300 4Matic’s £59,750, would be our first consideration.
Engine In-line 4-cyl, 1999cc, turbocharged Power 255bhp @ 5800rpm Torque 295lb ft @ 2000-3200rpm Weight 1855kg (140bhp/ton) Tyres Goodyear Eagle F1 0-62mph 6.6sec Top speed 155mph Basic price £59,750
+ Refinement levels, old-school calmness - Engine lacks distinction, performance is tepid evo rating ★★★★☆