I cashed in the S class yesterday and collected a ‘new’ 59 plate CLS on lease from Mercedes Direct near the NEC. A manager from MB had gently run the car in for me and in doing so had shaved the guts of £17k from the list price.
I say gently as the mpg meter which had not been reset since the cars birth was reading a very un-thrashed 38mpg.
The car is, unsurprisingly, as new and has all the toys I like including xenons, memory pack, nappa leather, spangly wheels and the new COMAND system with linguatronic. The hand over was very quick and straight forward with all paperwork prepared in advance. After a quick look at each others cars to check they were both as described, I was on my way to bank a nice fat cheque.
My impressions so far are really good. If I’m honest the ride has a slightly firmer edge to it than the Airmatic S and there is just slightly more tyre and wind noise, but we are discussing the difference between ‘library’ and ‘cathedral’ here.
The car certainly feels every one of its 200kgs lighter when it is pitched into a roundabout and fully deserves the ‘sports coupe’ tag. The new HDD COMAND system is a good step forward and plays almost every form of media. I was pleased to see 46mpg as a trip average on my way back to Norfolk at mostly legal speeds. Anyone who uses the A14 will know the reason for that….
When the snow has finished, my wife will be using the car for a week to see if it fulfils her current requirements any better than the ML, then she will get the choice. Whatever she chooses I don’t think I will feel short changed with either for my more spasmodic use! 
As a footnote on the S Class, I have been driving it for the last few days back in standard form including the ride height. Not only does it seem to roll a lot more without any discernable benefit in ride quality, but it was producing about 3mpg shy of my normal expectations. Lowth works!
I say gently as the mpg meter which had not been reset since the cars birth was reading a very un-thrashed 38mpg.
The car is, unsurprisingly, as new and has all the toys I like including xenons, memory pack, nappa leather, spangly wheels and the new COMAND system with linguatronic. The hand over was very quick and straight forward with all paperwork prepared in advance. After a quick look at each others cars to check they were both as described, I was on my way to bank a nice fat cheque.
My impressions so far are really good. If I’m honest the ride has a slightly firmer edge to it than the Airmatic S and there is just slightly more tyre and wind noise, but we are discussing the difference between ‘library’ and ‘cathedral’ here.
The car certainly feels every one of its 200kgs lighter when it is pitched into a roundabout and fully deserves the ‘sports coupe’ tag. The new HDD COMAND system is a good step forward and plays almost every form of media. I was pleased to see 46mpg as a trip average on my way back to Norfolk at mostly legal speeds. Anyone who uses the A14 will know the reason for that….
When the snow has finished, my wife will be using the car for a week to see if it fulfils her current requirements any better than the ML, then she will get the choice.
Whatever she chooses I don’t think I will feel short changed with either for my more spasmodic use! As a footnote on the S Class, I have been driving it for the last few days back in standard form including the ride height. Not only does it seem to roll a lot more without any discernable benefit in ride quality, but it was producing about 3mpg shy of my normal expectations. Lowth works!
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