Introduction

The CLS is the stylised version of the Mercedes cars offering that extra bit of drama that is missing from their premium lineup. While the looks have been a hit with the Indian buyers, the big petrol engine and high price tag has been a spoilsport.

Mercedes tries to fix both the issues with the facelifted CLS. The new 250 CDI diesel is more efficient and also significantly more affordable than before. We drive the new CLS to find out if it is an apt replacement for the standard and boring looking (in comparison!) luxury cars.

Looks

Since its inception back in 2004, the CLS has been the prettiest car in the Mercedes-Benz lineup. There may be sportier cars with the three-pointed-star logo at the front, but that is not what Mercedes cars are all about. Mercedes-Benz, as most customers know, is a luxury brand and the CLS is a fine blend of both its luxury and sporty lineage.

It is a large sedan by the set standards, measuring almost as much as the S-Class and its rivals, yet with the sloping roof offering that sporty touch that none of them can offer. It is the basic design itself that makes the CLS look so exquisite, despite relatively ordinary looks.

The CLS uses the new family face of the Mercedes cars with a single horizontal chrome slat at the front flanked by a mesh grille that is common across MFA cars. The front bumper has enough cuts to make most of the Bollywood heartthrobs cover with embarrassment and the bold lines on the bonnet are carved to perfection, subtly showing off the bulk.

While the front hides the size of the car, the three-quarter and side view shows the CLS in its full glory. The near five-metre length dwarfs almost everything on the road while the long bonnet and relatively short sloping rear give it that sporty touch. There is also enough body work on the side, especially towards the bottom half making it look stout. The rear profile is pretty much like the older cars with the only change being to the tail lamp design, which looks nice especially at night. Overall the looks of the car aren’t different from the previous model, the significant difference is only to the headlamps and front bumper.

While my love for the CLS design continues, the car may look obsolete soon. Some might ask – why change if it’s not broken? The thing is the designs have evolved a lot in the last few years and everything has started looking like everything else. The current CLS would do for now, but the next one needs to be radically different to continue being relevant.

Interior

The cabin of all the premium Mercedes cars is pretty similar. The beige is the dominating colour with wooden finish inserts for dashboard and door trims. Almost all surfaces have soft touch leather and they kind of make you feel special, something that should be a given (and is not!) in every car costing over Rs 50 lakh.

The CLS is a four seater with the centre console going all the way and splitting the rear into two separate zones. There is enough space at the front and back, both in terms of legroom and headroom. Initially, we were of an opinion that headroom might be a problem at the rear with the sloping roofline, but we made Pratheek sit there (who is 6.2 feet) and he gave us a thumbs-up. The ingress-egress though is not very easy, firstly the car sits low and then the slanted roof means one needs to make extra effort to access the car.

There are plenty of features in the CLS starting with the updated COMAND with the bigger screen that sits awkwardly on the dashboard. It is better than the previous one and offers navigation, 360 view camera, tons of apps for and a brilliant Harman Kardon music system with 14 speakers.

Performance

As the nomenclature suggests, the CLS250 uses the 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine tuned to produce 204bhp and 500Nm of torque. The power is sent to the rear wheels via the 7G-tronic dual-clutch gearbox, and though there is plenty of it, the performance doesn’t feel as exciting. Statistically speaking, the car can get to 100kph in 7.5 seconds that is quick, but feels extremely mechanical.

The 500Nm of torque is enough to move the car from standstill pretty quickly, but this is not a rev-happy engine and that takes a toll on the top-end performance. The car takes extra time to get beyond speeds of 120kmph and couple of downshifts using the paddle shifters for good measure is advisable. There is a sport mode as well that alters the engine mapping and gear shift points for performance, but we are going to miss the performance of the V6 diesel of its predecessor.

There is muted diesel clatter at idling through the well-insulated cabin though it disappears as the revs climb. Driving in the city does take a toll on the efficiency, but out on the highway it is a comfortable tourer cruising at 120kph under 2,200rpm. We managed to clock over 780km with a full tank and with an efficiency of over 11kmpl before reaching the reserve full.

Ride & Handling

The CLS is a comfortable car, especially at high speeds on a long journey; the car absorbs all the undulations on the roads without any fuss and minimal body roll. At city speeds, the ride is a little harsh though it gets negated to some extent with an increase in ride height to tackle the speed humps.

The airmatic suspension is one of the key features in the usability of the CLS. The fully-loaded sporty looking, low-slung CLS managed to ride over all the speed humps without once scrapping, courtesy the feature that allows increasing the ride height. Suspension can also be set up for a comfortable or a sporty ride though the latter becomes too harsh for most situations on the Indian roads.

The steering is precise, though there is hardly any feedback and needs to further weigh up with speed. The CLS can go around the corners fast with the sporty setup, but it requires lots of efforts and concentration and all the weight can be felt going around the corners. The braking is good with sufficient feedback and there is hardly anything more that one can expect from a car of this size.

Verdict

Apart from some tweaks to the front, the CLS doesn’t seem any different from the predecessor, but that is in a way a good thing, since it continues to be an exceptionally good looking car. The interior is plush and definitely feels special and our only grouse is the drop in power. However, the switch from V6 to inline-four has also significantly reduced the price; the new one is priced at Rs 76.50 lakh, over Rs 18 lakh cheaper than the previous model.

The CLS is not a car for all occasions, it can’t provide the adrenaline kick on performance or even take a fifth person on a short ride. It might be big, but the CLS is a personal style statement, one that would not only bedazzle the onlookers, but also keep the owner in awe for a really long time.