Mercedes-Benz Review Roundup: CLS 350 CGI, E550 And C-Class Estate
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[06/03/2008] Just when you thought you had your fill of Mercedes reviews, we're bringing you not one but two installments of our Review Roundup segment this morning. In total, three models - the CLS 350 CGI, the E550 and the C-Class Estate - are all tested, thus giving those of you considering the purchase of any a small taste of what to expect from each. As always, you can find excerpts from each review as well links back the full articles immediately below.
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Just when you thought you had your fill of Mercedes reviews, we're bringing you not one but two installments of our Review Roundup segment this morning. In total, three models - the CLS 350 CGI, the E550 and the C-Class Estate - are all tested, thus giving those of you considering the purchase of any a small taste of what to expect from each. As always, you can find excerpts from each review as well links back the full articles immediately below.
Mercedes-Benz CLS 350 CGI (via Auto Express)
Reviewer's rating: three stars
"Benefiting from cutting-edge direct injection, the CLS has diesel-like thrust and petrol levels of refinement. The engine is whisper quiet and never feels underpowered, although this wasn’t evident at the test track. In the 0-60mph sprint, the Merc was slower than all its rivals bar the X6, with a time of 6.7 seconds. This is partly due to the seven-speed auto, which makes the car slower off the line; the trade-off is that the box is great at maximising the V6’s 365Nm of torque at speed.
In the real world, you’ll wonder why you would ever need to opt for a more powerful CLS variant, but tackle a corner, and all becomes clear. Air-suspension is standard on the V8 models, and it’s sorely missed on this entry-level car. With conventional dampers, the Mercedes pitches and rolls more than its BMW and Audi rivals, so fails to inspire confidence. The steering also seems to suffer more numbness the faster you go. A soft brake pedal only adds to the sense that this CLS is more of a cruiser than a performance saloon.
At £46,995, the Mercedes costs more than all except the Porsche here. Standard equipment is generous, but as the 350 CGI needs the £1,295 optional air-suspension to polish its dynamics, you could be left feeling short-changed."
Read Full Review »
Mercedes-Benz E550 (via Motor Trend)
Reviewer's rating: 2nd place out of four
"Similar to a three-liter double magnum of Bordeaux, the E550 isn't bashful about its no-replacement-for-displacement attitude, stomping up to the bar with 382 horses pouring from 5461 cc. Suffice it to say, the Mercedes doesn't lack punch, tying the BMW for the quickest 0-to-60 sprint and the Jag for the second-best quarter-mile time. Moreover, with 391 pound-feet available at just 2800 rpm and a telepathic 7G-Tronic seven-speed auto divvying up the torque, the Benz always feels ready to run, whether in first or seventh gear. "Barely need to change cogs, such is the V-8's torque band," notes St. Antoine. But when full command is demanded, simply click a steering-wheel paddle or nudge the gearshift from side to side. The only minor fault, as St. Antoine says, "If you're charging and click the upshift paddle, the transmission waits to execute the command until the engine reaches redline."
Tranny nitpick aside, we find a lot to love with the E. The styling, inside and out, still looks clean and classy. The adjustable Airmatic suspension can be dialed in for the optimal ride-handling compromise, be it plush or sporty-either way, the Benz never beats up its occupants and always behaves in a composed manner. "This car comes close to the others in pace, moves fluidly with no buzzy nervousness, and yet rides splendidly," concludes Reynolds, who also views the E's 10-way power driver's seat to be "the best." As for the backseat, the Mercedes treats three riders to the most accommodating and supportive bench. Thanks in part to all-season rubber with more sipes than on a snow tire, the Mercedes posts the longest braking distance, the feeblest lateral acceleration, and the slowest figure-eight time, specs that contradict the aura of our tester's optional AMG sport package. Proper summer tires, we surmise, would remedy most of these shortcomings and enliven the E's somewhat heavy steering and overall sense of weightiness.
Along with Mortara, Reynolds states he'd buy the $70,305 Benz if money were no issue. But since it is, there's a 2009 vintage that's a bit easier to swallow."
Read Full Review »
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate (via Yahoo! Cars)
Reviewer's rating: 2nd place out of two
"Both Mercedes-Benz and Audi have recently introduced estate models of their D-segment contenders. That's the C-Class from Mercedes and the A4 from Audi. They will each sell in big numbers, particularly in diesel guise compared here - Audi suggesting that turbodiesels make up around 75% of its A4 estate car sales. The A4 is badged Avant, which is simply Audi's posh name for an estate car. Mercedes isn't so prosaic, simply calling its more practical machine the C-Class Estate. Both obviously offer significant carrying capacity advantages over their saloon relatives, while to many, the lines of an estate are more appealing and the additional practicality merely a bonus.
Obviously being estate cars ultimate load lugging capacity matters. Here the Mercedes wins, its 1,500 litre seats-down loaded to the roof capacity bettering the Audi by 70 litres. But that difference is only about the size of a medium rucksack and Audi counters by offering the better rear legroom when those rear seats are actually in use. Novel luggage holding solutions are offered as an option in both, each using a combination of adjustable straps and bars to stop whatever you're carrying in the boot moving around.
Of the pair it's the Audi that feels the classier inside. There's not a lot to complain about in the Mercedes' high quality cabin, except perhaps the strange radio flap in the centre of the dashboard, but the Audi feels a class up. The attention to detail in the Audi is superb, making the Mercedes feel a bit ordinary. The seats, though firm in the Mercedes, offer better long-distance comfort, so if big miles are on your agenda you might find the Mercedes more suitable. The Mercedes also rides a little better than the Audi, and the steering is crisper and delivers more feel. The foot-operated parking brake is a bit of a pain in the Mercedes though - unless you've opted for an automatic - the Audi's more conventional handbrake - or electronic parking brake - being far easier to use."
Mercedes-Benz CLS 350 CGI (via Auto Express)
Reviewer's rating: three stars
"Benefiting from cutting-edge direct injection, the CLS has diesel-like thrust and petrol levels of refinement. The engine is whisper quiet and never feels underpowered, although this wasn’t evident at the test track. In the 0-60mph sprint, the Merc was slower than all its rivals bar the X6, with a time of 6.7 seconds. This is partly due to the seven-speed auto, which makes the car slower off the line; the trade-off is that the box is great at maximising the V6’s 365Nm of torque at speed.
In the real world, you’ll wonder why you would ever need to opt for a more powerful CLS variant, but tackle a corner, and all becomes clear. Air-suspension is standard on the V8 models, and it’s sorely missed on this entry-level car. With conventional dampers, the Mercedes pitches and rolls more than its BMW and Audi rivals, so fails to inspire confidence. The steering also seems to suffer more numbness the faster you go. A soft brake pedal only adds to the sense that this CLS is more of a cruiser than a performance saloon.
At £46,995, the Mercedes costs more than all except the Porsche here. Standard equipment is generous, but as the 350 CGI needs the £1,295 optional air-suspension to polish its dynamics, you could be left feeling short-changed."
Read Full Review »
Mercedes-Benz E550 (via Motor Trend)
Reviewer's rating: 2nd place out of four
"Similar to a three-liter double magnum of Bordeaux, the E550 isn't bashful about its no-replacement-for-displacement attitude, stomping up to the bar with 382 horses pouring from 5461 cc. Suffice it to say, the Mercedes doesn't lack punch, tying the BMW for the quickest 0-to-60 sprint and the Jag for the second-best quarter-mile time. Moreover, with 391 pound-feet available at just 2800 rpm and a telepathic 7G-Tronic seven-speed auto divvying up the torque, the Benz always feels ready to run, whether in first or seventh gear. "Barely need to change cogs, such is the V-8's torque band," notes St. Antoine. But when full command is demanded, simply click a steering-wheel paddle or nudge the gearshift from side to side. The only minor fault, as St. Antoine says, "If you're charging and click the upshift paddle, the transmission waits to execute the command until the engine reaches redline."
Tranny nitpick aside, we find a lot to love with the E. The styling, inside and out, still looks clean and classy. The adjustable Airmatic suspension can be dialed in for the optimal ride-handling compromise, be it plush or sporty-either way, the Benz never beats up its occupants and always behaves in a composed manner. "This car comes close to the others in pace, moves fluidly with no buzzy nervousness, and yet rides splendidly," concludes Reynolds, who also views the E's 10-way power driver's seat to be "the best." As for the backseat, the Mercedes treats three riders to the most accommodating and supportive bench. Thanks in part to all-season rubber with more sipes than on a snow tire, the Mercedes posts the longest braking distance, the feeblest lateral acceleration, and the slowest figure-eight time, specs that contradict the aura of our tester's optional AMG sport package. Proper summer tires, we surmise, would remedy most of these shortcomings and enliven the E's somewhat heavy steering and overall sense of weightiness.
Along with Mortara, Reynolds states he'd buy the $70,305 Benz if money were no issue. But since it is, there's a 2009 vintage that's a bit easier to swallow."
Read Full Review »
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate (via Yahoo! Cars)
Reviewer's rating: 2nd place out of two
"Both Mercedes-Benz and Audi have recently introduced estate models of their D-segment contenders. That's the C-Class from Mercedes and the A4 from Audi. They will each sell in big numbers, particularly in diesel guise compared here - Audi suggesting that turbodiesels make up around 75% of its A4 estate car sales. The A4 is badged Avant, which is simply Audi's posh name for an estate car. Mercedes isn't so prosaic, simply calling its more practical machine the C-Class Estate. Both obviously offer significant carrying capacity advantages over their saloon relatives, while to many, the lines of an estate are more appealing and the additional practicality merely a bonus.
Obviously being estate cars ultimate load lugging capacity matters. Here the Mercedes wins, its 1,500 litre seats-down loaded to the roof capacity bettering the Audi by 70 litres. But that difference is only about the size of a medium rucksack and Audi counters by offering the better rear legroom when those rear seats are actually in use. Novel luggage holding solutions are offered as an option in both, each using a combination of adjustable straps and bars to stop whatever you're carrying in the boot moving around.
Of the pair it's the Audi that feels the classier inside. There's not a lot to complain about in the Mercedes' high quality cabin, except perhaps the strange radio flap in the centre of the dashboard, but the Audi feels a class up. The attention to detail in the Audi is superb, making the Mercedes feel a bit ordinary. The seats, though firm in the Mercedes, offer better long-distance comfort, so if big miles are on your agenda you might find the Mercedes more suitable. The Mercedes also rides a little better than the Audi, and the steering is crisper and delivers more feel. The foot-operated parking brake is a bit of a pain in the Mercedes though - unless you've opted for an automatic - the Audi's more conventional handbrake - or electronic parking brake - being far easier to use."
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