OBP

This is for you Ken.

Self installed OEM basic roof rack a few days ago ( 15-20 minute job - will be a 10 minute job the next time around ).

Installed Thule ski/snowboard carrier on the rack ( another 15 minute job ).

Placed skis on rack and centered them.

Loaded a Thomas the Train DVD into one of our two rear seat entertainment screens - keeps the kid happy.

Voila, CLS 550 is being used as a family hauler for a ski trip.

Drove through rain sleet and snow for the Thanksgiving eve storm on the east coast.

Our CLS did well hauling a trunk full of luggage and equipment as well as three adults and a kid. The Conti all season tires never slipped even once despite light snow accumulation on winding VT roads. But since I knew I was riding on all seasons in a storm, I drove pretty conservative. A full laden vehicle must have helped with traction.

Two observations when using our CLS as an SUV substitute:

1) Moderate wind noise from the roof rack assembly at 70 mph and above. Pretty quiet at 65 mph and below.

2) The coeff of drag was affected obviously, which had a fairly serious effect on fuel efficiency - I recorded about 21.6 mpg on the car's computer, hwy driving at about 65-70 mph. Another recent road trip without the roof rack assembly got me 26.4 mpg

And in a week, once we are back and the we take down the roof rack, our CLS will be its svelte sexy self once again.

True versatility.

Got to love this car.

akeni

Very nice where did you get the roof rack?

OBP

Thanks Akeni. It was a pre negotiated deal with the selling dealer. I looked up the CLS accessories catalog and supplied the relevant part number as part of the deal. Car came with the parts in the trunk and I just learned to install and remove them. Should be a 10 - 15 min job once you know how to do it.

Corsair66

Thanks the great writeup - and for thinking of me. Sorry I missed the thread until now.

Fantastic use of the car!!

Ken

OBP

You're welcome Ken. And the snow just washes or melts off once the car warms up. It's the salt that is damaging but as long as you wash thoroughly and remember to spray the underneath of the car soon after the trip, I figure I am controlling long term salt damage fairly effectively. There is a bit of a high knowing your sexy coupe has full fledged all weather capabilities and it'll be the sexiest tank on snow covered streets once my Blizzaks with a spare set of OEM wheels get installed.

You know you're onto a good thing when the RWD BMWs or our respected brethren in SL550s get stranded in snow and you're steady as a snow plow but looking much better than one in tough weather.

Corsair66

Very true. Just glad I don't have to do it. I've shoveled/cleaned all the snow I'm ever going to...

No doubt. Very, very cool.

Absolutely. I've already been thinking about going the SL route the next time around, but I've got plenty of time yet to consider my options and see how the new tech trickles around the MB lineup. I'd love to see the new S-Class screens make it over to the CLS and SL, though not the monstrosity they've put in the CLA.

Ken

OBP

Yes talking about the CLA, I test drove a 45 AMG and I believe the stats, that little 4 pot will beat our 550s in straight line acceleration cos its light and that turbo 4 is pretty potent. But I did not like the weird nav screen and the crackle and pop of the exhaust was somewhat boy racer. Not so much my style. Waiting for what the GLA 45 might bring though I am afraid the weird nav screen will persist.

Corsair66

Nice to hear that the performance is there, but the CLA is clearly aimed at a different market segment. The so-called floating screen looks like a backyard project to mount the largest possible screen without regard to elegance or integration. I hope MB realizes that bringing kiddie tuner "features" over to the high end of the line will alienate much of their core demographic. Wanting to skew younger is one thing, but not at the expense of S, SL, and CLS buyers. That sort of short-sightedness would likely presage mass defections to other marques.

Ken

OBP

See what you mean about not wanting to alienate the core demographic. I'll be looking at sales numbers for 4th Qtr once they come out and what I expect is both the CLA and the W222 S Class will provide a nice boost. For the short term, given the uber lux W222 and the "below 30k" CLA, I think MB will get to have its cake and eat it too. I think here in the US, they will become more like what they have been in Europe: mid to high end auto maker rather than just a high end automaker. Having said all that, I still don't like the free standing nav screen but many CLA buyers don't care and I suspect the new C class will sell well ( recently released shots look pretty) despite the same free standing nav screen.


It's just that for C218 owners like us, dunno why anyone would need a CLA - if you have the big brother with a V8TT, why would you need the little brother with a turbo 4 ? My reason for test driving the 45 AMG was that I needed to know why it was faster than my V8TT but I would never swap out my CLS for a CLA, even if I'll have to smell the exhaust fumes of a 45 AMG in a drag race. Not that my CLS is ever meant to be a drag racer as the title of this thread makes clear.

Corsair66

Agreed on all.

I'm curious about those Q4 numbers, too, though they'll need to be viewed in context. If the sales boost comes more from the CLA than the W222, i fear that MB will pivot to increasingly cater to the low-income "aspirational" market segment. That may be good for the bottom line in the short to mid term, but can't happen at the expense of the top end of the line lest MB leave little toward which the CLA crowd can aspire.

Meanwhile, of course, you and I and many others like us may be treated to the sights (floating screens) and sounds (tuner boy exhaust notes) of the wrong end of the market encroaching on upcoming models of our beautiful cars. I sincerely hope I'm wrong about all this, but I'm definitely concerned.

Ken