New Merc coupe purrs in the Benz
ROAD TEST/ Four-door luxury CLS 400d has one of the finest diesel engines of our time and it’s easy to talk to, writes Phuti Mpyane
When I last swung a MercedesBenz around orange cones at a racetrack launch, I bemoaned how its curvaceous shape ultimately had no business hunting for apexes on the corners of any track.
That was the CLS 53 AMG a silky smooth version that belies that it was honed by the company’s AMG engineers. The CLS 400d on test here has expanded the range to two flavours, and it’s the ultimate testament to that initial protest.
It’s quite serene at idle and crawling speeds, magnifying the ambit of the dreamboat ambitions its maker mercilessly subscribes to.
The CLS arrived on the scene in 2003 at the Frankfurt Motor Show as an elegant and long four-door coupe concept packing a six-cylinder turbodiesel with 195kW and 560Nm on tap and stoked by a seven-speed automatic transmission.
The concept hasn’t changed much, and that engine now outputs 250kW and 700Nm while the auto gearbox is now a ninespeeder. The AMG Line interior fit, finish and MBUX digital interface optioned were top-drawer for aesthetics and functionality.
Ergonomics too are topnotch once you’ve successfully skirted past the slightly lofty door sill and contorted your neck past the rather low-slung curved roofline.
Nevertheless, once ensconced, seated sufficiently low on slightly bucketed, comfortable and electrically operated chairs, you’ll find the cabin a satisfactorily generous and luxurious space.
Despite a slimmer glasshouse, outside visibility from within its 2,939mm-long wheelbase is good. Rear-seat occupant comfort is also considered and the backbench height is lower, while an internal double-bubble carved out of the roof lining increases headroom. The flowing boot yields a useful 520l of luggage space.
Getting to the bottom of this CLS’s technological competencies is easy and familiar. I’ve spent enough time, and reported back on many a Mercedes-Benz fitted with the MBUX command system. It uses a central mouse control, touch or press, to activate its many features.
Ultimately, voice control is the main intuitive, safe and convenient means of communication between driver and car.
The 250kW and 700Nm produced by its in-line 2.9l turbodiesel six-cylinder peaks as early as 3,200rpm, and thanks to the 4Matic all-wheel drive system, it’s an enormously tractable car anywhere and everywhere, no matter the angle of road elevation.
Sophisticated and adjustable damping ensures it wafts all day while robust noise cancellation belies the fact that agricultural fuel courses through its veins.
Though it can hardly be described as sporting, it’s particularly impressive blasting off the line, very strong when overtaking and a surprising and addictive car to drive rapidly.
Its deceptive fierceness can propel it past 100km/h in a claimed 5.0 seconds and on to a top speed of 250km/h.
In terms of thriftiness, the test car recorded an average of 8l/100km, which is good but a far cry from the claims of 6l/100km. It’s among the greatest diesel engines, even though it won’t match its petrol variant for symphonies or outward sportiness.
But this CLS400d has bags of character, expressed instead with quietly devastating pace and a soothing drive quality.
IT’S AN ENORMOUSLY