Now that I have had a few days of driving the new beast, I have noticed some other changes.

We all know the front and rear bumpers are different, however, I didn't notice until today that they Parktronic sensors are now flush in the very front (2 closest to the center of the bumper line). In the past years, the sensors have resided in the rub strip that was slight angled and made the sensors even more noticeable. The new flush sensors are much nicer.

The AC control knob, where you can put the system in auto for each side or not, has some nice chrome accent rings around the knobs. Again, not first apparent until I really looked.

There CD changer in the rear is now mounted on a horizontal axis vs the previous years vertical axis. The CD changer is now also built into it's own little cubby hole behind one of the trunk liners. Not really sure why they would of changed this, but what the heck.

The rear cargo mat has a new type of latch system. No biggie there.

The seats are amazing. Soooooooooooooo much better than the previous years seats.

The AMG steering wheel.... I really miss the wood steering wheel on my 2001 as I really think it looked classy, however the all leather AMG wheel is so thick and sporty I call it an even trade off. Now if they can make a wood/leather AMG sport wheel we would have a winner.

The side view mirrors now have Xenon lighting in them, as well as a bottom mounted light that will light the path to the side of your vehicle upon unlocking in dark conditions. There is also the option of having the mirrors auto fold in now upon going into park.

The center mounted cluster display has a lot of additional options. Too many to list, but if you had a 2001 or 2002 you will notice some nice additions.

Gone are the W and S modes on the CL55 transmission. There are now 3 modes. S, C and M. S is the same as it was before whereas C has now taken the place of the previous years W mode. The M mode is for the manual touch shift buttons on the back of the steering wheel. I should add, the touch shift really works good and coupled with the new AMG tuned transmission with Sportshift, it really makes a difference.

The exhaust is so damn intoxicating. I find myself wanting to wind the engine up just to hear it roar. The 4 polished tips were definitely the right choice.

The brakes are wonderful. Never knew how fast a 4000 lbs car can stop via 8 piston calipers with a pizza sized cross drilled rotor. The rear brakes for 2003 also are cross drilled now with a 4 piston caliper. The calipers are amazing looking in AMG silver with the AMG logo on the face. Closer inspection shows that these calipers are really made for AMG/Mercedes by who else but Brembo. The front calipers are so BIG that on an 18" wheel if you were to place a wheel weight in the wrong place, it would get knocked right off.

The newly tuned AMG ABC suspension is tight. Definitely not as lush of a ride as the 2001-2002, but heck, this is an AMG, and as it should feel, sporty and tight.

Using the new wide screen COMAND system for a few days now I really like the added functionality. Although not many things have changed, the new look and new software look are welcome. The Navigation has some additional things added such as the option for entering Long and Lat. now for destinations. As a side note, the 2003+ wide screen CD Navigation units ARE NOT compatible with older MB navigation CD's. These new units need the 2002+ Navigation DX CD's. I believe these new DX CD's started with the 2002 release forward. You also now can use the Navigation CD slot as a single CD slot for playing audio CD's. This slot is recognized as CD 0.

I didn't have Keyless go in my 2001, however do in the new 2003. What can I say ... It's a great option for getting more lazy. Now that I have it, I can't imagine not having it. I never have to reach into my pocket for a key. God I'm lazy.

The auto trunk closer is another option that I did not have on the 2001 that I do on the 2003. Another great option for the lazy at heart. I really like it as I don't have to get finger prints on my trunk anymore when I close it. Would I get it again ? Well, at $470 MSRP, what the heck.

The engine.... Well, I only have 200 miles on it so I still haven't gotten to see what it is all about, however, I did test drive a 2003 DEMO CL55 and had some fun. So I know what to expect. Amazing. Like riding on a lightning bolt. You would never know this was a 4000 lbs vehicle with this engine and suspension. Truly a magnificent design.

More updates and pictures to come soon.

 

You also now can use the Navigation CD slot as a single CD slot for playing audio CD's. This slot is recognized as CD 0.

.........nice post. I just wanted to pint out that you could always use the nav cd slot as audio CD number 0. This has been the case since 2000 for comand 2.0.........I can't imagine that it will be less so for comand 2.5, but maybe I'm wrong.

Ted

 

Adam
Thank you for your comments on your new CL 55. It is encouraging to know that MB/AMG made substantive changes in addition to the more modest, but welcome improvements like the downlights on the exterior mirrors. I ordered Parktronic on my Feb build CL 55 when I realized after looking at an 03 in south Florida a couple of days ago that the sensor buttons are now more subtle. Will also get Keyless Go and trunk closer, so your comments on them are comforting. I will not get the tire pressure monitoring system that I have on my 02 CL 500 Sport due to the frequent reset requirements.
My remaining question is how does the car handle with the narrower rear tires? AMG does not do anything in half measures, so I assume that the 265's are on for a very good reason, I just would like to know what it is. Does seem odd given that they put 285's on the SL 55 and Sport versions. BTW, what tires did your car come with? I have seen Bridgestones, Michelins and Pirelli's on the new CL55's. Would prefer Michelins on mine and will ask the dealer to put them on if it comes through with another make. I may accept Pirellis if they are Asymetrico's, as they were on my 02 Carrera 4S and where impressive, although prone to wear faster than Michelins.
My expectation is that the CL 55 will be the MB of choice for performance in view of the SL 55's newer, but less certain brake system, the CL's lower Cd ratio of 0.29, and the CL's interior and trunk space.

 

On COMAND 2.5 the NAV slot could not be used for CD Audio.

 

Victoryroad, my car came with the new Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tires. GREAT tires, however, tread life is going to be little with these tires. The tread rating I am told is 140. This means 10,000 miles max maybe ?!?!?! Other than that, the tires are sticky as hell. The ride is great, the handling is as good or better than the 2001. Not only did AMG change the rear tire size, both front and rear rim are 0.5" smaller in width. We still do not know why AMG/MB engineers would have done this, but it seems to work. Since my car has low mileage still, I have not had the chance to see if full throttle will light the tires up, however, I assume it will easily.

 

Adam, my lexus IS300 has the potenza RE040s and they also have a treadwear rating of 140. I have 11k miles on the car and i say it could go at least another 7k. Personally i like the Dunlop SP9000 and pilot sports more. If u want i can take some pics, took the tires off at 10k miles to mount my pilot alpins.

 

Have the Dunlop 9000 Sport A's on my 02 CL 500 Sport and they have been OK, although the right front came from the factory out of round and was replaced after a couple of visits to diagnose the problem. My regular wheel and tire shop actually diagnosed the problem and the MB dealer complied with my replacement request. Just replaced the rears after 18000 miles but the fronts have another several thousand miles at least left on them. They are better than the Conti's I had on my CLK, although the Dunlops have worn faster.