The last time I sampled a Mercedes CLS I was terribly impressed. It had a silky smooth V8 under the bonnet, plush interior, good looks and one of the best suspension setups I’d come across in a German car for a long time. It wafted along on a cloud, which is exactly what a car such as this should do. It is, after all, a luxury barge.
Now that there’s a new one I expected much of the same. Granted the one that arrived on our doorstep for testing had a 2.9 litre turbo diesel motor, which might not sound quite as svelte as a V8, but practically makes a lot of sense in a luxury barge.
That diesel unit is also a very good one, along with its 9 speed automatic gearbox. Refined, economical yet packing quite some punch should you wish to scratch that kind of itch. 700Nm is no small amount of torque, that’s for sure. But when driven carefully I managed near 8 litres per 100km across a mixture of town and highway driving. Quite impressive I thought and a darn sight better than what a petrol powered V8 could manage.
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The inside of the CLS 400d was equally up to the standards of its predecessor. Mercedes is making some stellar looking dashboards at the moment, albeit made from a deceptively large amount of plastic. For example, those chrome looking air vents are most certainly not the nicest things to the touch. Nonetheless, leather, touch screens and lots of gadgets make it a nice place to spend time. Spacious too with plenty of room in both front and rear for occupants – including head room for taller rear occupants – and a capacious boot.
The last aspect to round off this new CLS – and make it equal, if not better than its predecessor – is the drive. Unfortunately this is where the experience fell somewhat flat. On smooth road surfaces you’d probably say this new 400d was comfortable but as any South African would know, our roads are not always so. Here the Mercedes revealed what in my opinion is a fatal flaw. Over sprung and under damped are words that best describe the ride quality on offer, as road imperfections are transmitted into the cabin as a result. Equally upsetting is how the car is unsettled over uneven road surfaces.Â
Of course the difference is quite simply explained. You see the last CLS I drove was equipped with Mercedes’ air suspension package, while the 400d was not. It’s an option that costs some R32,500, which might seem like a lot of money, until you consider the cost of that Burmester high-end 3D surround sound system at R83,500, or the myriad of driver aids like lane keep assist and other such ‘autonomous’ features that’ll set you back R41,000.Â
Coming on top of a list price of R1,212,175 I must admit that I’d happily forgo pretty much every option in favour of the air suspension package. It literally transforms the car into something I’d want to live with versus the standard suspension which I most certainly wouldn’t.Â
