Category: Large Executive 
Price Range: £59,975 to £153,050
Ride quality, understated appearance, superb engineering, very civilised
Cabin not that special, a bit too tame for some
This is a very fast car, but it doesn't always feel that way as you're so insulated from the outside world
The CL-Class feels much smaller than it really is and wonderfully capable of cruising demanding roads without hassle or fuss. There is excellent all-round vision, but Mercedes still hasn't sorted the long-running cruise control/indicator stalk confusion problem. The now-standard COMAND control system is not as over-complicated, however, as BMW's i-Drive. A full armoury of ABS with Brake Assist, ESP with ASR (anti-skid reduction), Parktronic parking sensors and Active Body Control (ABC) keeps the CL under control, and the revised Tipfunction automatic gearbox means you don't have to exert your left foot - until you need to operate the parking brake, that is. The CL-Class is light enough and so beautifully engineered that it will happily hurtle around corners and twist around country lanes if you want it to - it's as at home charging through the Schwartzwald as storming down the autobahn, within the limits imposed by its size. The tyres are grippy and balance excellent, and the Active Body Control (ABC) helps keep all of that immense power and torque under control. It would be most undignified to drive this car like a boy racer, but it will respond to rough treatment with rapid, smooth acceleration - hardly its raison d'etre, though. You can just about hear the engine noise - distinctive V12 growl or V8 roar - but this won't get the adrenaline pumping. We haven't yet driven the CL 55 AMG, with its sportier suspension, F1-style steering-wheel-mounted gearshift controls and tuned ABC and brakes; this should be a little less civilized and a bit more demanding.
Awesome all round. The 5.5-litre bi-turbo V12 (500 bhp, 590 lb ft of torque, as fitted in the new S-Class saloon) is predictably quick, and sounds great too, its growl quite distinct from the more raucous V8s in the CL 500 and CL 55 AMG. The CL 500 (306 bhp, 339 lb ft) isn't exactly slow; we haven't yet driven the new supercharged CL 55 AMG - now with 500 bhp and 516 lb ft of torque, up from 360 bhp/391 lb ft - but it sounds rather promising. Both the CL 55 AMG and CL 600 promise 0-60 mph acceleration in well under five seconds, although it won't necessarily feel that fast as you're so well insulated from the outside world.
