Category: Exotic Sports 
Price Range: £33,411 to £68,923
Huge power, understated style, extensive range of gadgetry and refinements
Price, maybe too discreet, not an out-and-out sports car
Fast, subtle and expensive
You'd have to be pretty hamfisted to get it wrong in this car - it really flatters its driver, and won't bite back like many rear-engined sports coupes. There's an extensive arsenal of electronic aids - ESP (electronic stability programme) and Brake Assist - plus motorsport-spec brakes. The driving position is, of course, excellent, all the controls are easy to find and use, and the five-speed automatic transmission (with Tipfunction manual override and Speedtronic cruise control) is cleverer than you are. The steering is very slightly remote, but still gives plenty of feedback. If you accept that this is not a hairy, no-holds-barred, tail-happy monster, the CLK AMG 55 is very rewarding within the luxury grand tourer parameters. There's plenty of power to play with, and the uprated sports suspension keeps you well in touch with the road, even if it's not a seat-of-the-pants experience.
With 0-62 mph acceleration in 5.4 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph, what else could you ask for? The CLK 55 AMG is built for rapid progress and comfortable cruising - it's not an out-and-out sports car like the slightly faster 911, but it is every inch a proper grown-up grand tourer.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mercedes CLK-Class Cabriolet
wrote on 17 07 2006