CL500/600 & child seats

[TAIPAN320]

CLS is a best of both worlds solution IMO, coupe ish styling, with reasonable 4 door practicality. I have a child seat fixed permanently in my CLS, and whilst you have to be careful of the sloping C pillar, it works very well.
I guess it rather depends on how much you want coupe style, many minor inconveniences can be tolerated if you really want something, above all else, but if the coupe look is your preferred option, then you may just find an e or s class a tad too conventional looking??

 

[AMGBlack]

Hi
I found myself in the same position in that I had a CL63 and the wife became pregnant.

So I took the plunge and bought a Mercedes Child seat, and the wife is more than happy to sit in the back alongside the baby in the seat.

They both sleep and scream together in the back without any issues.

Whats a little bit of fuss getting in and out of the back when its the car you want.
Practicality verses driving what we both want wins anyway. Its not as if the baby has a say or could care less.

Enjoy.

 

[V12]

When our first born was 6 months old we used the W215 CL55K on the weekends and it was perfectly fine to get him in and out of whilst he was in a rear facing seat. Once he moved up to front facing he was happy to climb in the back to the seat that was left in there permanently and it wasn't too bad to reach back and strap him in.

On the other hand, when he was born my daily driver was a W209 CLK. Although it is pillarless and access to the rear is better than the previous W208, it wasn't ideal.
It was replaced with a LWB W220 S class within a month of him being born.

Best decision ever. Acres of room for kids and their stuff.
Now we have 2 boys and although we still have a CL55K and CL600 bi turbo in the family, it is just too much hassle to bother getting the kids in compared to the s class.
The S class has become the default go to car for any family journeys. Lots of other cars have come and gone since such as e class estates of different generations and a W124 saloon...

 

[IwanttobuyaCL]

Thanks for the stories folks! The CL is the only shape that I kept going back to when looking to buy.

By way of background this is my first car having lived in city centres all my life. Have wanted a Mercedes ever since my dad bought a new 380 SEL in 1985...that same year I remember one trip he took us in the West of Ireland...they were building Knock Airport at the time...my dad persuaded the site manager to let him drive in and he drove along the new runway to see what it could do...hit about 125mph until my mother made him slow down (there were 5 kids in the back under 10 and not a car seat in sight!)

 

[V12]

I'm not sure how you'll get on with a CL as a first car.
The footprint of it is very large compared to 90% of vehicles on the road.
It is also impossible to see any of the 4 corners of the car.
Manoeuvring it is all down to experience and guess work.

Don't want to sound patronising, just realistic.

 

[poormansporsche]

I used to sell baby stuff and apart from the actual securing of the baby seat to the rear seat a lot of my ladies actually preferred a 2 door to a 4 door due to the longer front doors which allow you to lean forward as opposed to sideways in a 4 door.

 

[IwanttobuyaCL]

I'm not sure how you'll get on with a CL as a first car.
The footprint of it is very large compared to 90% of vehicles on the road.
It is also impossible to see any of the 4 corners of the car.
Manoeuvring it is all down to experience and guess work.

Don't want to sound patronising, just realistic.

I should add that I am 40 and learned to drive when I was 13 (grew up in the country)...worked in a garage/dealership part time for a few years also shifting cars around all day. Have always driven, just never owned!

That being said, it is a large car meaning you have to take care in city centre driving - and not one I would take into a multi-story car park!

 

[renault12ts]

I used to sell baby stuff and apart from the actual securing of the baby seat to the rear seat a lot of my ladies actually preferred a 2 door to a 4 door due to the longer front doors which allow you to lean forward as opposed to sideways in a 4 door.

I totally agree.

When my kids were kids the XR3i was easier to access than the Sierra.

 

[Swotty]

I'm not sure how you'll get on with a CL as a first car.
The footprint of it is very large compared to 90% of vehicles on the road.
It is also impossible to see any of the 4 corners of the car.
Manoeuvring it is all down to experience and guess work.

Don't want to sound patronising, just realistic.

I agree it's a large and bulky car.

If it's got the front and rear parking sensors, though, it's a doddle ...... you can see and hear when you're too close. I can get the CL in and around the small streets in "town" here (it's a village really), even on market day when the roads are clogged (by French standards!) whereas I couldn't dare try it in the XK, which is about the same size, but with only aural rear parking sensors.

Once you get use to it, the Merc parktronic system is rather good, imho.

However, on REALLY busy days, the Fiat Panda has the clear edge!

Stuart

 

[garymj]

The best car I have ever had the CL500, had it 4 and half years from new Got it up on auto trader now, only done 17500 miles, hope I'm not making a rick selling it.

 

[Howard]

With those sort of miles I'd be tempted to put it away somewhere. The w215 and the w219 are the most beautiful MB shapes in recent years and I suspect will eventually become a design classic.

Lock it away for 10/20 years and look after it.