Having had the COUPE for 3,000 miles. I am convinced, that that was the right choice.

Prior to purchase, there were 4 considerations:

1. In Florida the sunroof is ideal. The CAB would be a carcinogen.

2. Coupe is more quiet than cab, enhances enjoyment of music.

3. Coupe is faster, because it is a couple hundred pounds lighter than the cab.

4. Coupe offers more protection in an accident.

What are your PROS & CONS?

I have to agree with everything you said as a pro for getting a coupe...

...But the biggest con of the coupe is resale value.

THOSE 4 PRO'S YOU LISTED ARE THE MOST SENSIBLE ACESSMENTS TO BUYING A COUPE. AS FAR A RESALE. PRO'S OUTWAY CON'S GOOD JOB.

All that you said plus:

Coupe profile is sleeker looking (than the Cabrio top up).

Painted roof is easier to keep clean.

Coupe is probably easier to heat and cool.

Coupe is somewhat harder to break into.

Coupe top will not deteriorate over time as a soft top will.

The only con I can think of is that you can't lower the top for the ultimate in open air motoring

Like what rp430 said over time the soft top will deteriorate!

Thank you for your response. Here are 10 reasons - as a summary of above responses - in favor of the Coupe; why the CLK Coupe is preferred over the Cabriolet:

1. In Florida the sunroof is ideal. The CAB would be a carcinogen.

2. Coupe is more quiet than cab, enhances enjoyment of music.

3. Coupe is faster, because it is a 360 pounds lighter than the cab.

4. Coupe offers more protection in an accident.

5. Coupe profile is sleeker looking (than the Cabrio top up).

6. Painted roof is easier to keep clean.

7. Coupe is probably easier to heat and cool.

8. Coupe is harder to break into.

9. Coupe top will not deteriorate over time as a soft top will.

10. Coupe is more economical - it is 360 lbs lighter:

CLK 55 AMG Coupe curb weight 3,485 lb/1,580 kg
CLK 55 AMG Cabriolet curb weight 3,845 lb/1,745 kg


Did I forget a coupe of points?

It seems that there are 2 more reasons missing to make it 12.

Graham added:
11. Coupe has more torsion stiffness.

mountain dean added:
12. Coupe looks sportier, classier & purer.

You guys list all these rational reasons for choosing a coupe over a convertible, and I agree with most of them. But I have got to tell you: On a warm, starry, cloudless, breezy summer night on a deserted two-lane blacktop and a girl in the seat next to you, there is no better car in the world than a CLK convertible.

mbtech208:

I can think of a couple in favor of Cab:

1. Mid October, early fall up North with leaves falling, driving on a windy country road through New England, Pennsylvania Duch country or the Shenandoah Valley with a beautiful girl...

2. There is NOTHING like rain drops hitting a soft top.

But, rationally, the COUPE w/ sunroof is my choice.

Why be rational about it? If that were our goal, we probably wouldn't buy a car at all, let alone an MB CLK.

Surely we bought one for the pleasure and, to me the greatest pleasure comes from roof down motoring.

And, I cannot agree that the profile of the coupe is nicer than that of the cab, roof up or down.

Graham

gray wrote:
On Coupe v Cab:

I live in S. Florida and have many friends who are making dermatologists/oncologists rich:

They have SKIN CANCER from SUN EXPOSURE. Some of their faces look like war casualties.

However, Grahan, enjoy your cab while you can!

mbtech208 wrote:

Under those circumstances, I'd rather be on my boat than driving around

Everyone should own a convertible at least once in their lifetime.

Cabriolet is much much more sportier than a Coupe and a lot more fun to drive especially with the top down.

Looks sportier as well when the windows are down, because no pillars in between.

Resale value, definitely better, because much more desirable car than a coupe

Here are some pics...

<br />
<img src="http://members.aol.com/clkcab00/rhclk1.jpg" ></p>


<br />
<img src="http://members.aol.com/clkcab00/rhclk4.jpg" ></p>

cabriolet sportier i dont agree. in my opinion i find the coupe sportier and more classey. to me when i see the rag top up i say it looks cheap looking. just my thoughts.

but if i lived in florida i might think different.

karl k

Maybe your friends are eating the wrong foods .

I live in Hong Kong - I believe that is further south than S Florida - and have lived in Sudan, Tanzania and Papua New Guinea, also I am a regular yachtie. The sun reflected off the sea doubles the exposure. But, this does not seem to affect my skin, perhaps I've become conditioned to it.

Sorry to hear though that your friends are suffering

Graham

One more post on pros and cons of coupe v cab.

My cab seems to lack torsional stiffness. I assume the coupe to be much better inthis department.

Graham

this topic all depends on what you mean by "sporty". i assume it to mean good handling, ample power, etc... then i would disagree that a cab is more sporty vs a coupe. The added stiffness alone that a coupe design benefits from is enough to support that argument. typically most convertibles suffer from being heavier than their coupe counter parts because of all the additional chassis bracing and supports. but again some might say that the conv can be higher up in the fun factor dept. i don't think i'd buy a performance conv even living in s.cal i'd rather buy an open top Rover Defender imo :P. i drove a mustang convertible up Angeles Crest Hwy (local mountain hwy) and i could see the windshield shimmy at every hard turn i took...granted it was a mustang.

but i was down at mercedes here in hawaii and they had a black vert CLK55 i wouldnt say no to either hehehehe

CLIFF

Now we have 12 pros in favor of the COUPE, which are listed below.

Can you think of any more?? tnx
Why the CLK Coupe is preferred over the Cabriolet:

1. In Florida the sunroof is ideal. The CAB would be a carcinogen.

2. Coupe is more quiet than cab, enhances enjoyment of music.

3. Coupe is faster, because it is a 360 pounds lighter than the cab.

4. Coupe offers more protection in an accident.

5. Coupe has more torsion stiffness.

6. Coupe profile is sleeker looking (than the Cabrio top up).

7. Painted roof is easier to keep clean.

8. Coupe is probably easier to heat and cool.

9. Coupe is harder to break into.

10. Coupe top will not deteriorate over time as a soft top will.

11. Coupe looks sportier, classier & purer.

12. Coupe is more economical - it is 360 lbs lighter:

CLK 55 AMG Coupe curb weight 3,485 lb/1,580 kg
CLK 55 AMG Cabriolet curb weight 3,845 lb/1,745 kg

As for reason #10, the new tops are not supposed to deteriorate as they used too. Supposedly the rear window will not turn brown.

How about coupe costs less? I think that would be a PRO for it.

I must say that although I like hearing what turns others on to their cars, I don't believe that comparing cabs and coupes in this way settles anything. There are people who desire the coupe for any number of reasons and people who desire a cab. I have a cab because I've always wanted a convertible. I believe that the coupe looks great, but I had little interest in buying a coupe. The cab has points which favor it over the coupe, and as a cab, some downsides. But overall, I got a cab because I wanted a convertible, not a coupe. Best wishes to all of you, whether you drive a coupe or a cab. Enjoy what you have and don't feel you need to justify it, especially not by trying to drag down the other. (In the same way, I feel the same about comparing CLKs against other cars, including BMWs.) There are rational reasons and emotional reasons for selecting the cars we drive. Let's just enjoy the bounty, as one can't go wrong with most any of them at the price range we are talking about.

Just my $0.02. No flames, please.