Hi all,

I got a pretty good offer for a new CLE53 and am considering pulling the trigger but wanted to ask some of you about your experiences. I rented a GLC 220d coupe for a weekend and found the steering wheel and UX dreadful: touch screens for basic operations, sometimes even the center console next track button wouldn't do anything while on carplay. Also, it seems to not have a way of showing waze / gmaps on the instrument cluster. Probably same for heads up (I haven't had it on the rental)?

Did you get used to this steering wheel? I had a 330e rental for a few weeks and found the UI, the physical buttons on the steering and no massive tablet on it quite nice. It's about a 10k difference in my case to have the M440i, or basically same price for the M4 (manual rwd, not comp) or CLE53. Already owning an older E class coupe I was leaning towards MB. How is the M256 reliability? Both cars offer only 2 years warranty but the B58 and ZF 8 speed are time tested and pretty reliable from what I've heard.

Also, how is the lane assist / distance control? The GLC seemed to only keep the distance and not have the full options. Can the car drive itself in traffic if you get the package? Not that I mind driving the car as analog as I can, but my wife would probably really enjoy these features in traffic. The bimmer was amazing at following cars, turning by itself and in general be quiet and not beep at you every second.

As for the massaging seats, are they any good? The GLC had some feature to simply move the seat a bit - that can't be the whole package, right? Seemed gimmicky to me.

Regarding "AMG Styling Package [PC-36P]" - the sales lady said it gives a spoiler and some plastic bit on the rear bumper. Is that it? For the life of me I can't see any difference on it. I'm also not taking the exhaust option, hate having those fake sounds coming from the speakers.

And lastly, I do believe the 63 is probably coming with the recent announcements. Not that I'm badly affraid of depreciation, but how do you think the 53 will last long term? I hope not to have any regrets of not getting the "proper" AMG.

Sorry for the loaded post but I'm thankful for any insights

 

I suggest you go drive one at your local dealer and bring a list of your questions so you can answer some of the subjective ones in the car.

The massaging seats are decent and we like them, the steering wheel is fine, the exhaust option (we have it) never gets turned on, and depreciation "long term" is yet to be seen. We view autos as sunk costs with no investment type approach. Analyze your use case (sport/luxury, distance driven yearly, type of enjoyment you're looking for, value/price ratio, etc.) and figure it out.

 

How exciting, let us know if you pulled the trigger or not.

I spent an hour with the CLE cabriolet, looking at the tech - seating position etc and decided that was the car for me, I'm hopeful to get this car in May, so not long now.

The steering wheel for me seems fine. It's not ideal not having real buttons, but it is a reasonable option to replace if you really don't like the version which comes with the car. It's not a deal breaker for me. The UX is great, I'm honestly not sure why you don't like it. It's clear and easy to understand. I do interact with the screen a lot, but the buttons are big and it's pretty clear to read - I do see some negative feedback from reviews but I feel they either have it on single layer or classic and don't know the other mode exists and I think a lot of negativity may come from a complete lack of how the UX works. It's adaptive and should actually be more accommodating the more you use it.

The reasons why I bought the CLE 450 cabriolet over another brand were purely because the nature of the Mercedes suite my driving style. I'm not chasing lap times, in fact I don't actually like to drive fast at all, just need something comfortable with a premium feel which was why I option for the 450 over the 300. The technology was also a big plus for me over it's competition, I actually like the look of the portrait screen and features it gives, I love the look of the interior in general even though some lower level materials are not what they were in the past. It's a lovely place to be and to drive in the manner that suits my style.

I can see why a BMW 440i dynamic driving would be better for some, but for me a good cabriolet should follow the DNA of a 4 seat grand tourer rather than a rally car and the Mercedes CLE accomplishes that perfectly.

 

My 2025 AMG CLE 53 is perfect for me.

I bought the AMG version purely for the looks. Performance was secondary.

I have no issues with the controls. Once I learned the touch technique they work well. I have the standard AMG seats but with Nappa leather option and they are supportive and comfortable. I take two to three long trips each year and never had any fatigue or cramps. Just took a 14-hour trip last week and it was wonderful.

I am also amazed that at 80mph I am getting 31-33 miles per gallon.

Great car. Just option it out for your needs.

 

You are not alone in the initial dislike of the all touch controls. I found it took a while but now I don't mind them but still prefer some of the older style "real" buttons. I found the touch controls on the center console screen better than the steering wheel. I find the MB Mbux3 UI to be better than most. As with any new car it take some time to get used to the controls. I find the large center screen can be configured to provide easy access to most needed functions. I also found the MB UI voice control can activate more car functions than most other car brands I have seen. Massage seats are pretty good. Same as what was on my previous E450 coupe. Massage can be activate via voice command or by configuring the left AMG steering wheel pod. I find the CLE 53 lane assist / distance control to work quite well and as good as other cars I have tried. I like the fact it can auto steer around slower cars and then resume your set speed. I think this is is an option part of the Drivers Assistance PKG. Not self driving when not on freeway in my opinion.

Regarding the AMG Styling Package it sounds like that is the Performance Studio Package which includes a larger rear spoiler, different rear diffuser, rear fender flics similar to the ones on the front fender and and enhanced front splitter. Compare two CLE cars with and without and you can see the differences. Your sales person should have done a better job showing you the differences. It's an expensive option so check it out to see if it's what you want to spend the money on. To me the larger rear spoiler was a must have but the other plastic parts were just nice to haves so I went with the Carbon Fiber 2 package which gave me the same larger rear spoiler in carbon vs gloss black, and carbon side mirror covers.

 

I tend to ask the car to perform most of the functions so I don't have to touch the screen, I am weird as well (as I use gloves) just to avoid fingerprints...

 

Hi all,

I had the purchase order signed on my desk for a few weeks but didn't send it out in the end. In my case, the diplomatic sales didn't offer any test drives as I would have to buy directly from Germany and the local dealers weren't keen on providing a test drive if I'm not buying from them. Of course, add to that waiting for 6 months, waiting to get back the sales tax and a potential to get a 80k euro bill at the end for emissions (crazy!).

By the time a found a test drive I was already in talks for a different car. Surprisingly, a used 10k mile CLE53 cost ~50k more than the offer I got for a brand new one (again, taxes!). That's why I was talking about depreciation originally - in my case the "toy" maybe wouldn't tank so hard anyway, at least in comparison to earlier E53 coupes (which I love). Also, I found the sales team often unresponsive, but highly professional.

I ended up getting a CPO BMW X5 45e with a 4 year extended warranty, 0.9% interest and they dealt with my rare situation so I didn't need to pay out of pocket the sales tax (20%). I'm happy to have physical buttons, no beeping for being 1km/h over the speed limit and "less" cameras in your face (EU has some crazy regulations nowadays). My wife loves it but, of course, it's a massive SUV and nowhere near as fun as the CLE. At least I can go on hikes or skiing without a roof box. I still have my E350 coupe back home, so at least I can enjoy that sometimes.

I envy you guys in the states as you had the E500 coupes available locally. Maybe one day, if I feel like wrenching on my car again.

I still linger around and drool at your CLEs, happy to hear the owners enjoy them.

Many thanks for your advice!

 

Congrats nonetheless, the beeping could be turned off everytime in the infotainment too, in the top left corner for EU markets on the CLE.