Review of the new Mercedes-Benz CL

I'll understand if the first time you see the current generation Mercedes CL, it doesn't instantly register. It may well slip by without drawing any undue attention to itself. Even if you're a car enthusiast, you could well mistake it for the CLS, the saloon with the coupe-like profile. Only upon closer inspection will you spot the lack of rear doors and the larger all round proportions. Low key? Typical CL owners would have it no other way.

If they wanted the eyes of the world staring at them, there are plenty of showier ways to blow their money. While a Porsche 911, a Maserati Gran Turismo or a BMW M6 may well turn more heads, the Mercedes is the car you'd choose if all-out luxury and continent crushing ability were the key buying criteria. There's something very imperious about a CL of any generation, and it acts as a pioneer for all sorts of new technologies that Mercedes are keen to showcase on a car that's never going to sell in the same numbers as the S-Class.

The latest generation car is more elegant in its proportions than its predecessor, a car that could look awkward from some angles thanks to its sharply tapered C-pillars. While the latest car is less extreme in its styling, it's undeniably handsome. It's also big, expanding in every dimension to add not only gravitas, but also some welcome room in the rear seats and the boot as well. At 5065mm from stem to stern, it's 75mm longer than the old car as well as 14mm wider and 20mm higher. This is a serious piece of automotive real estate, the range-topping car tipping the scales at 2,185kg. That's 400kg heavier than the BMW.

"Even through a set of tight corners, the CL will stay in touch with all but the most manically piloted supercar."

Still, it's not hard to see why the car weighs this much. It's absolutely stuffed with technology. Just when Mercedes thought no more technology would fit, they levered in some more. The press release accompanying the initial press photos of the CL featured a four page glossary of comfort, safety and technical features that journalists may not have stumbled across. Some are self explanatory. Others, such as the 'Country Mode' require a little explanation, which is just as well as I at first thought this was a function that ensured the CL would drive into the oncoming carriageway of the roads when in Turkey, stay six inches from the bumper of the car in front when in France, accelerate to top speed and stay there when in Germany and sit in the middle lane of motorways in the UK. As it happens, it was a function in the 'Intelligent Light System' (another glossary entry) that replaces low beam with a beam that illuminates the left-hand edge of the road more brightly. Rabbits will no longer be caught in the headlights, they'll be x-rayed by them.

Leaving the CL's prodigious gadgetry quota aside for a moment, four engines are at present offered. At the top of the range, in typical Mercedes style, sit two AMG versions with more power than Kim Jong Il. The CL 63 AMG has 518bhp and the CL 65 AMG has a gargantuan 612bhp which should tell you all you need to know. The other tow engines are hardly lacking in clout themselves. We get the CL500, the entry level car, which is propelled forth by a 5.5-litre V8 good for 388bhp. Need more power? Step up in that case to the CL600 which tacks on another quartet of cylinders and a pair of turbochargers. This V12, again of 5.5-litre capacity, develops a seismic 517bhp. Needless to say, neither hangs around when put up against a stopwatch. The CL500 will step off the line to 60mph in just 5.1 seconds while the CL600 takes a mere 4.3 seconds to demolish the benchmark sprint.

With an enormous 830Nm of torque at its disposal, the CL600 is one of those cars that ticks the "Unrelenting Acceleration" box, pulling hard right up to its electronically limited 155mph top speed. Mercedes seems quite proud of the fact that this car will eke another 850 metres of travel out of a gallon of fuel, although if you can replicate the 19.8mpg combined fuel figure, you must have the self control of a Trappist monk.

The CL has been designed as a proper four seater and the additional length built into this car's wheelbase gives it decent rear seat provision for adults. It's the front seats that are the real showstoppers though. Opt for the CL600 and instead of just the usual heated sports seats, customers get what can only be described as the last word in car seats. All the seatbelt function is inbuilt, pneumatic lumbar supports and four-way electric adjustment allow for a prefect driving position while active ventilation helps cool your back and posterior on hot days. The best part is the dynamic multicontour facility with massage function that gently mobilises your lumbar vertebrae to prevent lumbago setting in on long journeys.

Active Body Control (ABC) is another system that's been carried over but improved for the latest generation CL. In any car that weighs this much, body control while cornering is bound to be an issue but ABC is a stunning riposte. Using sensors mounted in the air suspension system, ABC uses hydraulic cylinders on each axle to ensure that cornering is divested of the typical roll and lurch of many big cars. The effect is uncanny. Pitch a CL into a corner and it just grips and goes with the minimum of fuss. Above 60mph, ABC lowers the body by up to 10mm to reduce drag, diminish the amount of air running under the car and thus improve high-speed handling stability.

The CL's handbook is like a telephone directory and it would take a review of similar length to fully explain all of the technological features built into this incredible car. Suffice to say if you want a coupe that wants for nothing, bar perhaps a certain ostentation or sense of occasion (call it what you will), here's where to shop. The CL is a car with few natural rivals. It'll remain unobtrusive and, for many, a tough car to understand but there's a loyal bunch of followers. Drive one and you'll probably see why.

TOP 4 CL DEALS

The results below show the top CL deals on buyacar

Mercedes Benz CL CL500 [7] 2dr Auto Coupe
Price £13,040 Read CL Reviews	Save
Mercedes Benz CL CL 500 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY 2dr Auto Coupe
Price £72,956 Read CL Reviews	Save £20,324
Mercedes Benz CL CL 63 Bi-Turbo 2dr Auto Amg Coupe
Price £93,962 Read CL Reviews	Save £22,658
Mercedes Benz CL CL 65 Bi-Turbo 2dr Auto Amg Coupe
Price £135,314 Read CL Reviews	Save £27,231
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