1 week 1000 miles 1 CLS350cdi (old shape)

[pjs]

Had a bit of a incident with the wifes BMW which meant the provision of a CLS loan car last week. Must admit I was looking forward to driving it when I saw the '60' plate on the paperwork, but sadly not the new shape.

Have to say what a strange car it is. It certainly attracts a few looks and comments but boy is it dull to drive, infact if this is supposed to be a 'sports' coupe its a big failure. It simply cannot tackle corners, roundabouts or anything remotely straight without wallowing like a boat. The steering is more wooden than the horrible dash, and far too many turns lock to lock. And worst of all, no cupholders and the sat nav so low its dangerous. Throttle response is poor and the sports mode on the gearbox hardly makes any difference.

On the plus side you can tell its built like a tank, the engine is very refined, pulls strong, and despite doing 80-90 most of the time its done 35 mpg.

Just not for me.

 

[st4]

Fair play I got a 59 reg loaned to me and thought it drove very well and how at the time I prayed I wouldn't get my E class back so I could rock around in that.

Each to their own and I agree re the sat nav and unresponsiveness. It's a V6 diesel thing but don't worry, everyone will tell you they are great....

 

[bpsorrel]

Each to their own I guess, but I love the way the CLS drives. Never felt that it wallowed at all and both straights and corners present decent handling characteristics... Maybe the OP's one was a dud..

 

[clk208]

^+1 completely love the way the CLS drives. Completely effortless on the motorway plus I can't fault the way it takes bends for such a giant car. Seems to be very stable and planted taking corners smoothly at speed - no doubt helped by the wide rear track and in my case 285 width AMG wheels/tyres. Completely agree about it feeling like it is built like a tank though, got to love this.

I found the brand new W204 C250 loan car I had the other day more responsive but a little twitchy for my liking and also nowhere near as capable at ironing out bumps in the road as the heavier CLS. It was a nice drive but just felt a little insubstantial in comparison, each to their own I guess!

 

[st4]

My C class will out drive a CLS but not by a huge amount. Both are good cars

 

[clk208]

^ for sure. The smaller dimensions (esp width) of the C mean that one can be more confident in pressing on I found, especially on narrower lanes. If that's your thing. Whereas the CLS seems to make for a more relaxed drive.

 

[C240Sport97]

My C class will out drive a CLS but not by a huge amount. Both are good cars

are you sure?

shall we test this theory out

 

[Simon_M]

are you sure?

shall we test this theory out

I'll be up for that Sean!

Us C Classes have to stick together...

 

[st4]

AMG vs AMG my peashooter isn't a fair comparison but on wee back roads my C220 would get away from a diesel CLS.

On Saturday Sean you're on gun it past me duty so a) I can hear your car thunder b) you can be the police cannon fodder, not that you've been here before...LOL!!!

 

[Paul/]

Admittedly my recent acquistion of an 09 CLS 320cdi was largely prompted by its looks and indefinable “ambience”, but like some of the others here, I don’t find the performance or handling inadequate, and really enjoy driving it. My personal benchmark for performance and handling is my Integrale, significantly modded to deliver 330bhp through 4WD in a fairly compact package, a nice raw experience but on real roads, few opportunities to sensibly (never mind legally) exploit it, so it rarely gets out, and even then 95% of the time I’m thinking “what a waste, if only I had this road to myself”.

By comparison, the CLS comfortably deals with most situations, but even when it can’t, I’m not likely thinking “wish I was in the Integrale”, instead it’s “this is a nice place to be”…

 

[C240Sport97]

On Saturday Sean you're on gun it past me duty so a) I can hear your car thunder b) you can be the police cannon fodder, not that you've been here before...LOL!!!

I cannot afford any more points as they don't mean prizes!!

 

[bpsorrel]

My wife put it well this morning when we were talking about the CLS and why we like it. The truth is, the CLS is more than the sum of it's parts, in that it's truly just a 211, but it's looks, ambiance and "feel good" factor is way more than the package it's made from . Good point I think.