After months of waiting I finally was able to test drive this vehicle. Very comfortable ride, standard seats too. Lots of torque and power, some nice sounds from the exhaust especially in race mode. If you downshift on the paddles the pops, bangs and gurgles are there. I put the windows down and it definitely sounds nice. Definitely more of a front wheel drive feel than rear wheel which sort of felt off to me being awd. Handling was aggressive, but you felt safe and in control. When driving an M4 or 440 BMW, there is definitely more of a feeling of the need to be more alert when pushing it. The one thing I will say is the standard spoiler is tiny, almost non existent. I would definitely go with the performance studio package if you want the spoiler that’s been shown in the press cars you are seeing out there. I’m pulling the trigger, it’s a 5-6 month wait at this point. I just need to confgure how I want to order it.
Im torn on the Alcontara vs Leather. I feel the over 5 years minimum of ownership the leather will wear better with less maintenance.
Id love the magneto matte grey, but I’m too cheap to pay to have it wrapped. Being in the northeast, it may be to much upkeep.
Deciding on Black or Obsedian Black, I can’t tell the difference when I see the two.
Bottom line the build is around 92K, but after a nice 15 minute test drive it will be a fun toy.
Black is just black and very prone to swirl marks and holograms. Obsidian is a metallic black. In the shade it looks like a deep black, but in the sun it sparkles and goes from black to kind of a golden charcoal. Just like an Obsidian if you've ever seen one. I captured this picture of my C63S coupe that shows how it looks in different angles of the sun. It was before it got properly detailed and PPF, so there's some polish residue on it.
After months of waiting I finally was able to test drive this vehicle. Very comfortable ride, standard seats too. Lots of torque and power, some nice sounds from the exhaust especially in race mode. If you downshift on the paddles the pops, bangs and gurgles are there. I put the windows down and it definitely sounds nice. Definitely more of a front wheel drive feel than rear wheel which sort of felt off to me being awd. Handling was aggressive, but you felt safe and in control. When driving an M4 or 440 BMW, there is definitely more of a feeling of the need to be more alert when pushing it. The one thing I will say is the standard spoiler is tiny, almost non existent. I would definitely go with the performance studio package if you want the spoiler that’s been shown in the press cars you are seeing out there. I’m pulling the trigger, it’s a 5-6 month wait at this point. I just need to confgure how I want to order it.
Im torn on the Alcontara vs Leather. I feel the over 5 years minimum of ownership the leather will wear better with less maintenance.
Id love the magneto matte grey, but I’m too cheap to pay to have it wrapped. Being in the northeast, it may be to much upkeep.
Deciding on Black or Obsedian Black, I can’t tell the difference when I see the two.
Bottom line the build is around 92K, but after a nice 15 minute test drive it will be a fun toy.
Congrats !!!
Agree with your thoughts on the microfibre (alcantara) it wears quickly and depending what clothes your wearing it also creates static that causes shocks which is never a nice thing...
The standard seats look very classy with the quilted stitching, can't go wrong with those if that's your choice.
Personal opinion between the 2 blacks, I'd also go with the metallic
After months of waiting I finally was able to test drive this vehicle. Very comfortable ride, standard seats too. Lots of torque and power, some nice sounds from the exhaust especially in race mode. If you downshift on the paddles the pops, bangs and gurgles are there. I put the windows down and it definitely sounds nice. Definitely more of a front wheel drive feel than rear wheel which sort of felt off to me being awd. Handling was aggressive, but you felt safe and in control. When driving an M4 or 440 BMW, there is definitely more of a feeling of the need to be more alert when pushing it. The one thing I will say is the standard spoiler is tiny, almost non existent. I would definitely go with the performance studio package if you want the spoiler that’s been shown in the press cars you are seeing out there. I’m pulling the trigger, it’s a 5-6 month wait at this point. I just need to confgure how I want to order it.
Im torn on the Alcontara vs Leather. I feel the over 5 years minimum of ownership the leather will wear better with less maintenance.
Id love the magneto matte grey, but I’m too cheap to pay to have it wrapped. Being in the northeast, it may be to much upkeep.
Deciding on Black or Obsedian Black, I can’t tell the difference when I see the two.
Bottom line the build is around 92K, but after a nice 15 minute test drive it will be a fun toy.
I test-drove a CLE 450 a while back. Very nice car but it was really hard to get a full measure of it on a short drive. CLE 53 will be awesome from my perspective, coming up from a C43.
I had the MB-Tex/microfiber in my CLA 250 and didn't have any issues with it. And, the leather in my C43 isn't that great. I'm guessing that CLE leather should be better.
There's another thread on the Performance Studio Package. The upshot is that it's a lot of $ for a few cosmetic add-ons.
The "tiny" spoiler is a bit of a disappointment. The MB configurator actually removes the spoiler entirely when selecting the Performance Studio Package. A little glitch there.
Anyway, the spoiler is really just for looks to distinguish the car. On cars like this it does nothing aerodynamically at any normal speed.
If you want aero-effects get this...now that's a spoiler:
Alcantara seat inserts are absolutely necessary if you live in a hot climate and like a back that's not sweaty.
Everytime I get in a car with leather seats, that's been sitting outside, my back sweats. Alcantara virtually eliminates that. Priceless to me and is just as durable as any leather I've ever experienced. I literally clean mine with fantastik lol
Alcantara seat inserts are absolutely necessary if you live in a hot climate and like a back that's not sweaty.
Everytime I get in a car with leather seats, that's been sitting outside, my back sweats. Alcantara virtually eliminates that. Priceless to me and is just as durable as any leather I've ever experienced. I literally clean mine with fantastik lol
Ventilated leather seats anyone ??
Not sure what grade of leather the CLE seats are but if they're anything other than real or nappa leather, they will wear very well with minor care applied to them.
I don't know how long and what mileage some of you have owned your cars but speaking from experience having both types of interiors for decades and hundreds of thousands of km's of usage with regards to durability I've had the opposite experience especially when compared to MB fake leather trims, they'll outlast any microfibre/alcantara or even real leather, also have a look at even low usage steering wheels with it, worn and looking "****e" in no time at all...just my opinion.
I test-drove a CLE 450 a while back. Very nice car but it was really hard to get a full measure of it on a short drive. CLE 53 will be awesome from my perspective, coming up from a C43.
I had the MB-Tex/microfiber in my CLA 250 and didn't have any issues with it. And, the leather in my C43 isn't that great. I'm guessing that CLE leather should be better.
There's another thread on the Performance Studio Package. The upshot is that it's a lot of $ for a few cosmetic add-ons.
The "tiny" spoiler is a bit of a disappointment. The MB configurator actually removes the spoiler entirely when selecting the Performance Studio Package. A little glitch there.
Anyway, the spoiler is really just for looks to distinguish the car. On cars like this it does nothing aerodynamically at any normal speed.
If you want aero-effects get this...now that's a spoiler:
Looks awesome on that BS but overkill and totally chavster spec on a CLE LOL
Not sure what grade of leather the CLE seats are but if they're anything other than real or nappa leather, they will wear very well with minor care applied to them.
I don't know how long and what mileage some of you have owned your cars but speaking from experience having both types of interiors for decades and hundreds of thousands of km's of usage with regards to durability I've had the opposite experience especially when compared to MB fake leather trims, they'll outlast any microfibre/alcantara or even real leather, also have a look at even low usage steering wheels with it, worn and looking "****e" in no time at all...just my opinion.
ventilated seats are inferior to alcantara in hot climates. It makes that big of a difference. It's also less cold in the winter but I'm not particularly interested in that aspect.
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
