Comparison Tests
If we take a Darwinian view, the automotive world until very recently broke down into the following species: sedan, coupe, wagon, truck, minivan, SUV, and Pontiac Aztek. But evolution never stops its relentless churn, especially when it is believed that gold lies in the (sometimes invisible) fissures between these established groups.
Thus did Mercedes-Benz introduce the oxymoronic notion of the “four-door coupe” in 2004 with the original CLS. This attack of automotive arrhythmia was a play for buyers who want sex-kitten styling but indemnity against the inconvenience of extra passengers. The CLS was—and still is, headed into this new 2012 model—a sedan as surely as a platypus is an Ornithorhynchus anatinus. But it has an alluringly tapered roof and a back seat that has, much like the human tailbone, shriveled in the expectation of reduced importance.
In its best year, the CLS only pulled in about 14,000 U.S. sales, a fraction of the business rung up by the mainstay E-class on which it is based. Still, where one German brand goes sniffing for more volume, others instinctively follow. Volkswagen now has its Passat-based CC; Audi has launched four-door coupe-y versions of the A4 and A6 called the A5 Sportback (for Europe only) and the new A7; and latecomer BMW is arriving for the second act with its own car based on the Concept Gran Coupé showmobile of 2010.
Audi’s approach is perhaps the riskiest. Defying the notion that a hatchback equals death in this market, the luxurious A7 rolls four seats, five doors, and 25 cubic feet of cargo space into a slant-back fuselage reminiscent of a 1940s streamliner. The dimensions are within a few whiskers of the CLS’s, but compared with the Benz, the A7 swings for the cheaper seats with a $60,125 base price. The CLS starts at $72,175. One obvious reason is the power; Audi fits a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 with a nowadays tame 310 horsepower—the S4’s engine less 23 ponies—to the CLS’s mighty twin-turbo V-8.
Three levels of A7 are offered, this one being the middle Premium Plus, which, for $3620, includes navigation, 19-inch wheels (ours had 20s and a sport suspension for another $1500), parking sensors, HD radio, a color driver-information display, and so forth. Option your heart out, but you can’t get the S4’s torque-vectoring differential, no doubt being held in reserve for the forthcoming S7.
Against an onslaught of new competition, Mercedes stands firm on its original formula. Unwrapped last year in Paris, the 2012 CLS is much like its predecessor, with only marginal gains in dimensions but some fascinating new details. The CLS550 pictured here in a sort of metallic molé hue called Cuprite Brown has the new “Blue Efficiency” M278 twin-turbo and direct-injected (and four cams, and 32 valves, and variable intake- and exhaust-valve timing) V-8, displacing 4.7 liters in yet another blow to the old Benz tail-numbering system.
It makes 402 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque, more than enough to make a 4158-pound car feel quick. It also returns better fuel economy than the old 5.5-liter and liberates the CLS from a $1300 gas-guzzler penalty. The roofline has been re-arched to help people access the rear seats without bonking their heads; and with the optional Premium pack, all exterior illumination is done via LEDs, with 71 individual points of light in each of the front headlamp clusters alone.
The Benz’s a la carte pricing plus a couple of heavy options—including the $4390 Premium package (rearview camera, power rear sunshades, power trunk, full LED headlamps, keyless start, heated/cooled front seats, etc.) and the $2950 Driver Assistance package (radar cruise control, blind-spot and lane-departure warning and intervention systems)—push the price to $83,095, That includes 19-inch wheels and summer tires for $500.
Styling is the No. 1 reason for purchase in this segment, followed by performance, according to Mercedes. Does Audi’s play for practicality stand a chance? Stand by while we investigate
