Category: Small Family 
Price Range: No data available
Smart looks, rear-wheel drive handling.
Pricey, patchy quality, poor ride, not sporting, limited rear visibility.
CLC benefits from style overhaul, but ultimately lags behind its rivals in drive, performance and quality.
For the enthusiast, the CLC has all the ingredients in place for a drive to savour, especially when fitted with the powerful 268bhp 3.5-litre V6 and a quick shifting six-speed. This arrangement recently left us almost breathless with enthusiasm in the SLK350 but how does it fare with the CLC?
On paper it certainly seems the business sprinting to 62mph in 6.3 seconds and only running out of steam when the limiter halts action at 155mph. It feels a completely different beast to the SLK and it should, because, despite sharing the same capacity as the sporty little roadster, the CLC misses out on the extra 32bhp the SLK's lump boasts.
It's not just the extra power the CLC misses. Gone is the addictive howl, appetite for revs and general enthusiasm the small roadster's SLK V6 dished up.
Handling-wise the CLC 350's steering has been sharpened up by the addition of the variable ratio steering, but rivals have better balance and feel through corners: the CLC may have plenty grip, but it's not very agile, or even engaging, on cornering.
Changing from the petrol V6 to the four cylinder diesel CLC 220CDi SE and the steering, without the Direct Steer, deteriorates. It feels vague and off-centre, but high-speed stability is, however, superb.
We tried both the light, quick-shifting manual and the optional five-speed automatic and preferred the former. The auto saps power noticeably and swaps gears a little too frequently for our liking.
Refinement for the 148bhp version of the 2.1-litre diesel is notably worse than it is in the C-Class, sounding a little clattery when worked hard. It's doesn't have the performance of rivals either - chiefly, the 1-Series Coupe which boasts an extra 27bhp and is 2.1 seconds quicker than the mediocre 9.7 seconds it takes for a CLC 220 CDI to reach 62mph from standstill.
