First Drive Review
Mercedes considers this splendid coupe to be its new flagship -- its unequivocal statement of leadership, innovation, capability, and sheer automotive attitude. Yes, it's slightly smaller than the S-class sedan on which it's loosely based, and at $89,650 (including luxury tax), the CL500 is less expensive than the only V-12 offering for 2000, the SL600 roadster. But the big sedans are, well, so common, and next year's CL600 will once again trump all other Benz sticker prices.
If the CL were simply a two-door S-class, no one would name it the new leader of the pack. The CL, however, has its own distinctive architecture, interior styling, and technology. It's easily the most sophisticated car, technically, on American roads right now.
In the U.S., it will be powered, initially, by the 302-horsepower, 5.0-liter V-8 found in the S-class. A V-12 will arrive for 2001. Interestingly, the V-12 is an entirely new engine, not the current 6.0-liter V-12 available in the SLs. Mercedes seems able to crank out new engine designs the way Ford turns out door handles, and the old V-12 just wouldn't fit under the CL's hood.
True to its sober heritage, the CL is not a car filled with inconsequential bells and whistles, tech for the sake of tech. Leading its list of truly functional, useful electro-wonders is Active Body Control (ABC). And a marvel it is, able to computer-control all four corners of the car in both jounce and rebound to keep the body nearly level no matter how fiercely you corner.
What's interesting is that the selectable sport and comfort settings of the ABC are both highly effective, and the difference between the two is perceptible even to the unturned butt. (Namely mine. There are plenty of selectable shock-setting systems out there that leave me wondering whether the selector is actually connected.) In sport mode, the ABC is taut and instantly responsive. Select comfort, and the body stays just as flat under cornering or hard braking but with a softer, more compliant feel.
CL buyers may not typically be crazed road burners, but at least a few of them are going to suddenly realize they're doing a Schumacher only when the tires begin to sing, since the normal kinesthetic cues of roll, dive, and sway are virtually canceled by the system. This is a car that can be driven at 8/10ths by anyone with a pulse.
Sometime during the second quarter of '00, Mercedes will add a truly precedential -- and slightly scary -- option to the list. Called Distronic, it's a radar-monitored cruise control, with the antenna behind the star in the grille, that will allow the driver to set a speed and then depend on the car to slow and even brake to maintain a preset distance behind slower cars up ahead. It's uncanny in operation: On a French autoroute near Nice, driving a Euro-spec CL600 with Distronic that I'd programmed to cruise at 90 mph, I came charging up behind Fiats and Renaults doing 70, and while my foot hovered nervously near the brake, Distronic took care of the disparity. Pull out into the passing lane, and the big boomer accelerates back to 90.
It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for Mercedes to be sued by the first American CL driver who manages to plow into a stopped car despite Distronic, or in some other way manages to misuse it. You need to be aware, for example, of morons who pull out to pass without looking; this is not a set-and-forget system. It'll only provide a maximum of 20 percent braking, although it sounds a warning beep if more is needed.
If you think all Mercs are made of panzer-quality steel, think again. The CL's front fenders are plastic; its roof, rear fenders, and hood are aluminum; and the inner doors are magnesium. Only what's left -- mainly the platform and the front crush structure -- is steel. Consequently, the car is glued and screwed, riveted and flanged together as well as welded, for a weight saving of almost 600 pounds over its predecessor. That puts the new CL500's power-to-weight ratio very near that of last year's CL600, and Mercedes claims the new V-8 will outsprint the old V-12 to 60 mph in just 6.1 seconds.
