A brand-new car with two doors and a diesel engine… Can this really be 2024?
MATT PRIOR @automattictransmission
TESTED 17.12.23, GLOUCESTERSHIRE ON SALE NOW
The new Mercedes-Benz CLE Coupé, effectively the replacement for both the C-Class Coupé and E-Class Coupé – because traditional, low-slung two-doors are now niche offerings – has arrived in the UK.
Our test car is of one of the rarer versions of it, too, and it gives me an almost mid-2000s feeling, because it’s a 2.0-litre diesel: the 220d. It has rear-wheel drive, a nine-speed automatic gearbox and 48V mild-hybrid assistance. It’s priced from £49,060 in base AMG Line form, while a Premium variant offers plusher interior materials from £52,810 and this Premium Plus more interior technology from £56,810.
It’s a relatively feel-good and look-good interior, and whether you feel satisfied by the fact that it’s derived more from the C-Class than the E-Class will depend on how exposed you’ve been to other Mercedes.
It has been a while since I drove any non-electric one, and it feels fine enough for me, with the company’s flair and colour and pizzazz largely overshadowing any deficit in perceived material quality, of which there is a little compared with a relative Audi or BMW.
An obligatory paragraph: the big, portrait-oriented central touchscreen has too much to do but is at least relatively clear to navigate in its latest form, plus it has some very big icons and buttons that partly but not entirely make up for a paucity of the real things.
You can turn off the speed limit recognition (and its tendency for false positives) via voice control, but the steering assistance (and ditto its tendencies) has to be deactivated via the screen. At least the process is swift and the icons are big.
The touch-sensitive buttons on the attractive, small steering wheel aren’t uniformly responsive, and I preferred also having Mercedes’ old scroll wheel down to my left, but there are many more onerous systems out there.
Otherwise, fit and finish is very good, and the front seats are big, supportive and comfortable.
The rear seats offer limited head room, but if it were that or walking home in the rain, I reckon you’d cope. The boot is 420 litres – 60 litres bigger than the old C-Class Coupé’s.
Overall, the CLE is 4.85m long, about 50mm longer than the BMW 4 Series Coupé and a thumb width longer than the old E-Class Coupé, and 1.86m wide, which is 50mm wider th
