Yet another coupe-styled four-door at the upper end of the luxury market, the CLS-Class is essentially a midsize E-Class sedan that's spent extra time in the design studio. It's an undeniably beautiful cruiser than now comes in a lower-priced V6 model known as the CLS400.
What's New For 2015
The CLS400 is an all-new addition to the existing CLS-Class, which gets a facelift and interior freshening this year.
Choosing Your Mercedes-Benz CLS400
Like most regular coupes, the CLS400 is designed to carry four passengers and features a dramatic sloping roofline. Front passengers enjoy the same spaciousness as in the E-Class sedan, but there's slightly less headroom and smaller windows in the rear. Such are the sacrifices you make to get the enchanting exterior styling.
Before now, all CLS-Class models carried V8 engines. With the arrival of CLS400, you can get a 3-liter twin-turbo V6 with 329 horsepower. A seven-speed automatic transmission is standard, and you can can opt for the 4MATIC all-wheel drive system. The V6 delivers 20 mpg around town and a laudable 30 mpg on the highway. Perhaps more significantly, the CLS400 costs about $7,200 less than the "base" V8 model.
The CLS400 comes in a single trim level that's luxuriously equipped with features like leather seating with front heat and driver memory, wood interior trim, a sunroof, auto-dimming mirrors, bi-xenon headlamps, a power adjustable steering wheel and HD radio. An adaptive air suspension and 18-inch wheels are also standard.
The Premium 1 package adds ventilated front seats, a rearview camera, power-folding side mirrors, a power-closing trunk lid, keyless access and ignition, and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon surround-sound system with satellite radio. The Premium 2 package gets you all that plus a navigation system, voice controls, digital audio storage, a six-disc DVD/CD changer, a power rear sunshade and adaptive full LED headlamps with automatic high beams,
Turning to safety, the Lane Tracking package comes with blind spot monitoring and lane departure warning. The Driver Assistance package includes those features, plus adaptive cruise control and active lane keeping assist. You can also order the Parktronic package with front and rear parking sensors and an automated parking system. Finally, the Wheel package tacks on 18- or 19-inch AMG wheels, a sport steering wheel, aluminum pedals and paddle shifters.
The pallet of individual options includes infrared night vision, heated rear seats, massaging front seats and a premium Bang & Olufsen surround-sound system.
The CLS400 carries fewer standard features than the V8 models, but adding the Premium 2 package makes the 400 just a plush as versions costing many thousands more.
Choose your Mercedes-Benz CLS400 »