I sold my 2001 CLK a while back. Well sort of. I had let a friend drive it for a while and recently got the vehicle back. And have been driving it the last couple of days. A few months back I purchased a BMW M5. I didn’t have my CLK and had been driving my Jeep until I picked up the M5. So I had no direct comparison between the 2 cars. Now I had both the CLK and the M5 in my stable. It was a great opportunity to get a real comparison of the 2 vehicles.


To start off the CLK is a beautiful machine it really gets noticed on the street. It’s quiet and comfortable. With the right rims and accessories it can be a very unique machine. Performance wise it is reasonably quick. I had the V6 with mods and have driven the V8 several times. I have never driven a CLK 55 which I think would be a better comparison for an M5. The engine sound is a little whinny for my liking and the exhaust note even with an aftermarket one is just O.K.

Mercedes’ steering has always been a little unresponsive. I always felt a little disconnected from the road. The brakes are pretty much the same. They’ve always felt a little mushy. Although braking distances and stop times were excellent. The ride stiffness suits the car. Stiff enough to hit corners hard and not too much body roll but still comfortable. The brakes in my car were stock and the suspension was stock other then the lowering springs.

To me the car is best at speed. When moving at 100km/h and needing to pass someone quick this car does it very well. I passed many cars in the mountains while on holidays and hitting 180-200km/h was pretty easy. The best part was that at high speeds the car is solid and strong and never felt loose or out of control. Overall a very well put together car. I never experience too many quality control problems. Not a lot of squeaks and rattles and in almost three years I only had to replace one thing the trunk latch. To sum up the CLK is more of a cruiser it looks awesome, draws attention and has lots of stature.

BMW M5…..as I said this is a bit of an unfair comparison. My first reaction to the car was WOW. A classic design I think BMW’s best. Interestingly enough I found that it seems to get less looks then the CLK. The M5 is currently pretty much stock and will look much different soon. But still I was a little surprised. It seems that most people where I live are not aware of what the car is. There are very few here.

The one thing that gets everyone’s attention is the way the car sounds. It’s known as the beast and that’s a pretty accurate description. The engine sound and exhaust note are awesome. Throaty and aggressive. It reasonably quite under normal driving conditions but louder then the CLK. The steering is very impressive. There are 2 settings normal driving mode and sport. The normal mode gives a very nice feel and is very accurate but the sport mode is the way to go. It makes the steering heavier and much more responsive plus a better throttle response. When driving this car I feel like I am one with the road. The car is planted to the ground.

The suspension is very stiff but BMW manages to keep the ride civilized in daily driving. The brakes which are stock are perfect. Great feel and feedback. There’s not much reason to change them unless I was going to use the car on a track. The transmission which is what BMW is known for is how a 6 speed should feel. The only drawback is that the clutch is a weak point and needs to be replaced often depending on how one drives and an aftermarket clutch and fly wheel is very expensive. I do find that under regular driving conditions it’s little hard to keep it smooth.

The car is ridiculously fast for a sedan, well for anything really. I have had some engine mods done. Chip tuning from Dinan and a AA cold air intake. brake ducts plus a Dinan front strut power brace and a Tubi exhaust system. The car has approximately 425 hp. Stock is rated at 392hp but that’s a very general number apparently most have more then that stock. It pulls hard in every gear and has a very high top speed. I’ve hit 270 km/h and there was plenty of room left. In theory the car will hit 300 km/h but I haven’t got there yet. Everything flies by pretty fast at those speeds and you run out of road quick. The scary part was how fast I got there.

In conclusion the German car Gods have smiled upon me. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to own both of these cars. They are very different and both serve a purpose. Unfortunately I had sold most of the accessories on the CLK so it’s not quite the same and I’m not sure how much longer I will keep it. I am selling the Supersprint Exhaust system and resonator($650 obo) and the CD changer($350) 4 Hankook winter tires($65 each) and 4 Avon zz1’s ($ 100). Thanks for your patience.


whiteyford@shaw.ca

 

time to sell the CLK for the new E55

the E39 M5's probably the most beautiful BMW by far. congrats on the pickup.

 

That E55 is a pretty amazing machine. And it looks beautiful. The engine is so strong. The only complaint I've heard is that car is a little disconnected from the road and driver. The same complaint I had with the CLK, but with 469 ponies under the hood who cares.

 

It's called circular ball steering. Disconnects the driver from the actual driving experience. Does the E55 have r-pinion?

 

that has little to do with the steering feel. The E39 5-series has recirculating ball steering and it's one of the best on steering feedback.

 

And the CLK55 208 series has the same and it feels like I am driving a freaking caddy DeVille. I had a c230 Kompressor from the dealer yesterday as a loaner, with rack-n-pinion, and it felt like a freaking ferrari compared to the handling of the 208..

Recirculating ball has everything to do with the steering feel, by disconnecting the driver from the road. The 210 was a nice car and out handled the new 211, because the G-Damn computer on the 211 over-reacts like a 14 year old girl...

 

of course if you compare the rack n pinion on the W203/209 vs the recirculating ball to the W202/W208. there will be differences. What I'm saying is that the E39 5-series including the E39 M5 all uses recirculating ball steering and it's been far better than the recirculating ball steering MB used or as the matter of fact even better in feedback/feel than MB's rack n pinion. It comes down to how the car is setup.

 

Yes indeed, and I will agree with you on that.

 

It seems like Mercedes likes to make their cars easy to drive. The average driver doesn't really car about the things being discussed in this thread it’s usually just the enthusiasts that car about this kind of stuff and I think we're the minority.

 

Definitely true, but to say that recirculating ball doesn't disconnect you from the road, or the driving experience in craaaaazy...