What do you think?

 

I like what I see and thanks for posting the picture

 

I posted this pic on the new clk board but I didnt write up my feelings on the interior which can be summed up with the automotive cliche 'talk about raiding the parts bin' its bad enough the exterior looks like a mix of CL/SL in the front...not so clean CL in the middle and new E in the back (but somewhat elongated and compressed)...but they have done the same for the interior...lets see...

steering wheel and air vents taken from new SL
instrument cluster taken from E
Center console and gear lever taken from C
climate control taken from C
switchgear on doors and other places from C
seats looks CLish

the only thing that gives the car any unique character from what I can see is the swirlish shaped wood on the door panel and the interior door handle...

I understand that these days in order to be more economical car manufacturers tend to utilise a number of parts from their entire model line to help round out a car as to maybe help cost cut here and there....but theres not really one thing i see as entirely unique on the 209....

even the engines show no real uniqueness...except for a 20hp increase in the AMG model....I was hoping for at least 400hp here

oh well I will as always reserve final judgement until I see the car in the 'metal' so to speak....but so far from what I have seen this car has not "moved" me in the slightest, sadly not even the AMG body pic....i think the new E looks much better, even more aggressive/sportier and thats a 4 door which traditionally has a harder time portraying those characteristics over its 2 door brother....

last but not least, the pic of the new CLK in black looks much better.....why ? because darker colors can hide ugly lines.....case in point everybody buying a new 7 series wants a dark color LOL (ok that was a cheap shot, but it felt good)

 

CLK is based on the platform of a C afterall!
No big surprise to see some familiar interior/console design. I think the interior looks better than the exterior, IMO.

 

I also agree on the E looking better nabz, i was kinda hoping they would leave the headlights seperated. I think the interior looks way to much like a new c... whats up with the round vents???is that oyster interior?

 

So, Nabz... Doth thou relinquith thy "Godly" title in the model year of our lord,"03??

 

So, Nabz... Doth thou relinquith thy "Godly" title in the model year of our lord,"03??

 

Brian - LOL....maybe until the new convert comes out with the vario roof, that still interests me....I'm glad the CLK cab stays the same shap for one more year, and that no more 55's will be made, means my resale wont take such a hit if I sell at the right time

Harris - granted it is based on the C class, having owned 5 clks I do realize this...and I have no problems with some of the underpinnings belonging to other models...but would have it been so hard to give the new CLK some of its own character...all it would have taken is something as simple as a unique steering wheel or a different design of some switchgear, console bits etc... we know it has C class family dna as far as mechanical aspects are concerned, but it didnt have to look like one...it should have had its own "look"

dt - my guess its ash because theres a definate contrast between leather color and sterringwheel/upper dash....oyster tends to have much less of a contrast between the two...also my guess is that pic is of a "lower" spec model...the burl wood and black dials tell me its of the elegance line...plus there is no power control for the steering wheel which will be something higher specd CLKs will have such as an avantgarde model....a model that I would expect to have dark wood and light dials like the 430/55's now....i think the 320's will have the burl/elegance set up....although they will come better specd to the US.

 

Like the plague that spread like wildfire decimating the population of medieval Europe, the dreaded plague of automotive design has struck our beloved marque....Beware the disease known as "Boxteritis". You have been warned.

 

I prefer the W208 interior in all respects but one. The COMAND system in the W208 sits much too low. At least they decided to put it up higher making use of the navigation system much more convenient. (I'm guessing it is going to go where the radio is in this photo) I really don't like moving controls from the center dash to the door. I'm right handed and prefer everything possible on my right. I also think it looks better if everything is centrally located. Just my opinion.

 

I was seriously considering buying a CLK, after seeing the interior
I am having doubts. I already own a C320, I don't think I want another C look alike.

 

I think you are right in that we will have to see the new CLK in person to make the final evaluation. However, everything that I have seen thus far makes me very happy that I have an 02 CLK.

 

Is it just me or do others feel that the interior of the new CLK looks like the interior of a typical American car?

The rounded motif (i.e. the round air vents, the round buttons on the steering wheel, the rounded look of the center console) all reminds me of getting into the interior of an American rental car at the airport.

I feel that the Chrysler design is creeping into Mercerdes.

Does anyone have the same feeling?

 

Seat adjustment chicklets look like stuck-on afterthoughts, - ridiculous!

The interior appears to have been designed by half a dozen different designers, each screaming for attention to stroke their own egos.

Perhaps the light grey interior shows the designs of the interior in its worst way, because of the extreme contrasts, - all buttons & switches are black on a light background.

It appears, that the CLK will be endowed with an additional windshield-wiper.

 

The door handles are straight off the A class, sorry to tell you.... the place where the seat controls looks like a second or third thought and what is the square piece on the right side of the center wood console?? Doesn't look very impressive....

PHYBENZ
1963 220sb

 

The interior looks like crap. Those center vents are moronic. They look like something out of an 80's Ford Taurus. And is it just the picture or does the shift knob wood not match the rest of it? I would like to think that this pic is a fake...but it probably isn't. Thankfully I'm getting the new E-AMG -- Selling the CLK55 tomorrow!

 

Thanks for posting the pic. Man, that interior looks terrible. All those swoopy curves trying to look organic are ridiculous - even ovoid buttons on the steering wheel. Ford realized that ovoid/organic sucks and changed the Taurus after Toyota took the sales lead with the Camry. What was MB thinking?? What ever happened to the Germanic sence of purpose?? Although the truth really comes from seeing the car in the flesh, the pictures lead me away from admiration. I am so glad I purchased a 2002, the car has a character unto itself which is the way it should be, especially with high end products. If MB is trying to lure the masses into purchasing their product through stylistic gimmickry, I think they are making a huge mistake and will loose the following that they developed over the years.

 

rp430 wrote This stylistic gimmickry continues to the exterior, specifically to the ACURA CL(a very fine quality car) look.

Taillight clusters on the new generation of MB cars resemble a Doberman Pincher
with clipped ears, first introduced on the Honda Prelude in the mid nineties.

Now the new CLK will be the "beneficiary" of the MB family look-alike.

Those design elements belong in a dog-show not on a MB car.

The MB design team (if there is one) might benefit by taking a hard look at the GM's design team new products which are about to enter the marketplace.

 

One thing I notice - the front speaker enclosure in the door is bulky like the 2001+ C-class sedan (w203). Also note the power window controls were moved to the top of the speaker enclosure too - so its got to be just as bulky (wide). This could be a problem with long legs. (I'm 6-0')

I found the space where my upper calf/knee would be on the current W208 body has a scalloped out center area keeping the door panel from contacting my knee...

This could be a problem for the taller crowd...those w203 door panel trims are thicker too. I've sat in them.

 

I hope the people at MB are reading all this post and are taking notice. MB is about to lose most of its loyal customer base. I remember one time I was in a new car and most of the other motorist are showing me a thumb down. It is easy to ignore one or two comments, initially I said to myself they are probably jealous, but when it became more than one, I started thinking. Since then I always join a forum and take a critical look at what other people are saying before making me purchase. I think I will not buy the new CLK. It is time I start looking at other manufacturer, perhaps BMW. I bought an ML320 at introduction, practically all the plastic interior are falling apart now. I was at the dealer more often than I care to mention. Then I purchase a C320, thinking that if it was assembled outside USA, it will not have the same quality problems, but the interior plastics are falling apart at 2000 miles.
MB QUALITY IS NOT AT PAR WITH OTHER TOP LUXURY CARS AND NOW THEIR DESIGNS ARE BEGINING TO SUCKS.