Category: Large Executive 
Price Range: £45,950 to £74,555
A style sensation, with the added benefit of extra doors and a spacious boot.
Relatively cramped rear seat. And you'd better be ready for lots of attention.
Bold looks with significant practicality, although it's no family car.
The CLS-Class has a deceptively simple mission: it gives you the style and drama of a luxury coupe, but with a dose of practicality afforded by an extra set of doors in the back. In fact, the company insists on calling it a four-door coupe, which is stretching the point a bit. On the style and drama front, though, this is definitely the most striking Benz (if you discount the SLR) to come along in years. That roofline is a good 40mm lower than the E-Class saloon's and combines with the dramatically shallow side glass to create a California custom look.
The CLS sits on a heavily modified E-Class platform and slots in to the range above the E-Class and CLK coupe. It's a direct rival for the BMW 6-Series coupe but is also tempting buyers away from Audi A6s and Jaguar S-Types.
The initial engine line-up didn't last long, and has now been replaced by a selection of the latest Mercedes-Benz units: 350 CGI (a 3.5-litre V6), 500 (5.5-litre V8), 320 CDI (3.0-litre V6 diesel) and the high-performance 63 AMG (6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8). All models come very well equipped, with no choice of spec level but a lot of options to choose from if you have more money than you know what to do with.
