Category: Compact Executive 
Price Range: £33,411 to £68,923
Svelte pillarless looks, ample equipment, refined performance, bulletproof quality.
Handling could be sharper, high-performance versions come at a high price.
Classy if dated and largely uninspiring, although AMG versions are in a different league.
All the engines are relatively fuel-efficient, so fuel bills should be manageable. Servicing needs are modest, but parts prices and main-dealer labour rates will be high. Depreciation, however, will be low so in the long term a CLK won't prove a financial drain.
Insurance starts at group 16 and rapidly heads up to group 20; the rival BMW 3-Series Coupe is generally slightly cheaper to insure, and in many cases more frugal too.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes CLK-Class Cabriolet
wrote on 17 07 2006