N91K

Hi everyone.
I'm considering getting a CLS550 but when i look for options and packages in mbusa.com i cant find the AMG package, is it standard on the CLS in USA? And is there anyone here with designo interior or exterior? Is the designo mauritius blue exterior available for 2013?

LETO

The CLS is available standard with the sport body styling.

The AMG wheel pkg is available with 18 & 19 inch wheels. This also gets you an AMG steering wheel, manual shift mode & contrast stitching on the seats

N91K

Thank you for the help!

vdubpower

Theres no manual shift mode without Amg package?

Ohji

In the US, the only way to get the manual shift mode is by selecting one of the wheel packages. The wheel packages are also the only way to get contrast stitching and the only way to get a black headliner (unless you opt for designo or buy a launch edition CLS).

vdubpower

thats absurd, is that something new with this year.

is that along the whole line of mercs cars

it doesnt mention anything on the website , that i saw

it just says you get a amg steering wheel along with the wheels

Dabigkaluna

It does open up certain options like the manual shift and the option for sport stitching that just wont take, when ordering at the dealer.

I remember reading somewhere when I was researching this car that the wheel packages, ie AMG + 1 with black interior gives you contrast stitching on the MBUSA website, or maybe it was in the brochure.

Seemed to only be for the CLS as I optioned out a E550 as well. Unlike Lexus, at least we still have some flexibility.

vdubpower

So can someone confirm that the non Amg pack car has or doesn't have the paddles

And also the e- s-m button

Ohji

I own the CLS550, and I do not have either of the AMG wheel packages. My transmission has only E and S (no M), but I do have the paddle shifters. Before I bought my car, I actually wrote to MBUSA and asked if there was any way to special order the manual mode without getting a wheel package (I was considering ordering a designo interior, and you can't combine designo and the wheel packages, for some reason). Their response was that manual mode is only available with the wheel packages. This may change in 2013, though, so check with your dealer to see what the story is for the 2013 models...

vdubpower

That's interesting and weird as the base Amg pack I think is 500$ bucks yet there is pretty significant change to the tranny to allow it to be manual only as the real amg cars have it




our 2010 S has the amg pack , and i think its just wheels and body kit,
we have paddles, and just the C and S modes

JIMCLS81

I thought the paddle shifters were the manual mode.

There is another setup???

vdubpower

you can paddle in regular drive, but the cpu will take over if you dont shift

LETO

The wheel pkg is relatively cheap compared to an AMG sport pkg. As sport styling is standard on this car.

If I remember correctly, an AMG sport PKG was over 5K on my S.

All in all MB kept the configuration choices in the model Low. But my current CLS with all options on it was about the same price as my last CLS that did not even have distronic.

vdubpower

how do you like the 2, esp between the 2 different engines

LETO

2012 is significantly more powerful & has a much sharper throttle response especially in "s"

The steering feel in the 2012 model is also more responsive and has a better on center feel.

The weight balance is much better on the 2012. The car does not understeer as much. The 2009 feels like it has an anvil attached to the front if you drive them back to back.

The airmatic dead body in the trunk issue that was prevalent on the last model has been worked out

Moving the mirrors off the A pillars improves visibility quite a bit.

I do like seeing a bit of hood in the new model compared to the old one. It adds to a better aesthetic (I feel)

Gas mileage is improved with the 2012 model also.

All in all, the 2012 evolves the last gen model in every aspect of performance and even interior to a certain degree.

I do think that the previous model is the prettier of the two. Also lack of 4 zone climate control leads to the center console looking a bit unfinished under the vents in the back.

vdubpower

cool

hows the interior size differ, esp in the back


by the way when they say these are based on the E, are the chassics/wheelbase etc identical or quite different

LETO

The back seems less cramped. The seats are better put together. There was a part of the rear seats in the old cls that was held together with velcro & that has been remedied in the new model.

The chasis & wheelbase are the same. However, the CLS has aluminium body panels. The E has the same electromechanical steering starting 2012. Also the E550 is only available in 4 matic trim & without airmatic.

so, unlike the sheetmetal only difference in the previous generation between the E & CLS, there are quite a few differences between the newer generation models.

However, I do not think there is any difference between the E63 & CLS63 other than appearance

K-A

Nice info. I've driven the old CLS but not the new one. Compared to the W212, I found a lot of shortcomings in the previous CLS's drive and even finish. The new CLS being based off of the W212 with assumedly more of a "sporty flavor" that M-B should engineer into it, makes me believe it should drive significantly better than the previous one. I also like the new CLS's interior a lot more, build quality of these new generation Mercs are like the old-old generation Mercs again (great), while the previous CLS was a part of the un-Merc-like "flimsier" generation.

As for exterior styling, I agree there, and it seems many "Reviewers" do as well. I wish M-B kept the prettier, more cohesive styling of the original CLS intact. IMO the previous CLS will go down as a classic of sorts, being that it innovated a whole new segment, and to this day is still the purest definition of what this segment should convey, aesthetically.

JIMCLS81

I have also had both models of the CLS, an 06' and a 12'. The 12' is far superior in every aspect and even looks in my opinion. As with all radical designs it takes time for some people to come around.

Dabigkaluna

I have to agree on all accounts as well. There was a used 2008 CLS at my dealership that I was finally able to truly dissect it. Don't get me wrong the W219 will always have that eye catching factor for what it is, but it was too pretty, too swoopy, almost feminine to me. The interior was inviting looking, but didn't seem as solidly built. The new CLS had the right mix of aggressive toughness and luxury. From certain angles it looks like an exotic. But that's just my opinions.
The power difference between the old M273 and the new twin turbo M278 is like night and day though, especially in the bottom end. I drove a N/A 550 up some twisties, and while it had pull, the turbo pulls like an ox on roids. Now, the more I seem to drive it, the more it seems to wake up. I do wish I had a third climate zone, just to have, but I hardly carry passengers, that's why my back seats fold down. That and while the exhaust does sound pretty decent now especially for stock, a little wickeder note wouldn't hurt. But that can be rectified, and according to Meisterschaft that maybe coming soon.

LETO

From a design stand point, the old CLS had the character line on the side that ran from the front to the back that conveys a sense of fluidity to the point where the less aerodynamic older model looks sleeker than the newer one. I feel that the first generation CLS was refined and honed through the facelift and sent off looking like it's best version (in the AMG sport +1 pkg) into history as a legendary car.

MB often does some horrible face lifts that tend to look like bad plastic surgery jobs. However, the last CLS did not seem to suffer from this. Infact the chabge in the grill was welcome.

Dont get me wrong. I also love how the new model looks and am beyond satisfied. It is surprising that the same head of design approved the CLS and the SL. Where the SL looks disjointed and in the past used to be the pinnacle of MB aesthetics every 10 years.

K-A

IMO, M-B's current design team seems to have lost whatever it took to release fluid and refined/coherent designs in the past. The new SL is actually the most simple model M-B has released lately, yet still looks disjointed. The CLS looks completely broken apart at the sides, all the lines are fighting each other, crashing into each other, giving the car a disjointed and stubbier impression from that angle than the proportions should suggest (unlike the previous CLS where as LETO said, ran very elegantly across the car. It had a very dynamic and sleek look at the sides where the front wheel well wrapped into the side profile line, and gained tension to shoot toward the back of the car.... the new CLS's side line harmony is the antithesis to that). The new A and B-Classes are a mess on the sides (for popping smoke "ooh/ahh" effect), the next S seems to be another wedge shaped architecture with a dropping/anti-wedge line (like the CLS) which is just completely unharmonious to my eyes and senses, etc. It's unfortunate, as there's still a lot to love about their designs.... it's just "harmony" isn't one of them, at least with some models.

Dabigkaluna

Broken apart? Interesting. It truley is in the eye of the beholder. I suppose. The lines actually flow quite well when I look at the new car, which in the obsidian black it pronounces the lines in the right places and give the car a nice aggressive body stance.
To me, the W219 with its single profile line cut the car awkardly to me since its inception. The car always looked its best in black because, in that case it hid that, to me, awkard profile line and lacked any noticable diversion besides that. With the pinched off back being more blended into the rest of the car. But thats just MHO.

A little off topic K-A. But a friend of mine about 6'5, 375 sat pretty comfortable, with room, in my CLS with some adjustment of the multi contour seat. I know you have voiced in the past about seating position, just a heads up.

K-A

Wow, thanks for that info. Is he all legs or am I just a torso freak? Honestly although my eyes are quite put off by the CLS's side lines at the moment, I would REALLY love a chance to at least look deep within my tastes and senses and at least give the car a chance (I had to do the same with the W212 E.... I hated the lines at first but just kept studying them, the CLS's are even more challenging to me now), were I able to fit in it. Your words about your friend make me hopeful, but I've honestly tried every single sitting position, and if I sit up straight, my head is seriously about touching the glass of the moonroof. Not only is it uncomfortable and way cramped, but in the case of an accident my head would definitely hit something hard up there I'd be afraid. I'll go back to an M-B dealership and try again I guess.

Dabigkaluna

He's an all round big guy like me. Ex football player and what not,so he's got a couple inches height on me. It's funny to see both he and I in any vehicle together. But we fit and well. When he got comfortable I thought well if he fits...

I had the same reserves about the W212 redesign, but the more I looked at it the more it grew on me. I've always loved E classes, it just took one drive and a look at its quality, I was sold on Mercedes again. Then I saw the CLS on a whim, and it was fast tracked from there. Hell man if you were in Hawaii I'd let you come down and check out the car as much as you'd like.