lorinserbenz

I have owned several preowned Mercedes vehicles and my favorite has always been the E class and SL. My 2005 E320 is my first NEW Mercedes and I REALLY like my car. However I am human and have already thought about my next Benz, which will more than likely be an E55. Before I saw it I was leaning in the towards a CLS. After looking at some very detailed pics I feel its flat out UGLY ( no offense intended to anyone that has ordered one). If it didnt have a star I would think it was a Dodge Intrepid! How do you guys feel about the cars look? To me the E class captures the essence of what a Mercedes should look like. The CLS seems way out in left field, and really doesn't seem to "fit" in the lineup. No matter how many times I look it the CLS I still hate the looks. My E however brings a smile to face everytime I see it.

FIXEDupW209

I don't own an E class however i must say the CLS has become one of my new favortite cars. I wish i remember the ad but there is this burgandy CLS driving and all these women are screaming this guys name and they get some great angles of the car in motion and it looks emazing.

Double Eagle

I like the E better than the CLS but don't find the CLS all that bad. It has a "younger" look to it than the E and probably appeals more to some of the younger buyers. I would personally find it cramped for a four door and the rear visibility is limited which I wouldn't like. However, It think they will probably sell a lot to folks wanting a sporty mid sized sedan.

Omegaonne

DITTO

jprescott

One thing I have noticed is that pictures never do a car justice. Cars that look bad in print can look great in the flesh and vice versa. So far the CLS looks great to me and like you I'm jonesing for a new car. I'd never make a judgement till I see it. Actually my E was going to be a 530i untill I saw it on the lot. It looked so great in pictures but reality hurt when I saw it.

lig

I think the CLS is hideous. That droopy rear is so unattractive.

Give me and E55 any day over that car. If you want a coupe - get a CL.

Fastbuck

My experience exatly with the E60. I love the look of the CLS in pictures and quite fancy one. However, I'll await the car in the sheet metal before placing an order.

lorinserbenz

Yes I agree, in person a car can look better.
To me the CLS looks large in the pictures, but the dimensions do not show it.
I think its great that MB is taking chances with styling, I just hope they dont over do it on other models.

Omegaonne

I saw the car in germany, and still don't like it. It's probably just me though...

HELL ONA HARLEY

I really liked the car from pictures, but when I saw it it the flesh at the auto show in San Fransico.... Well let me just say MB has some great photographers (a little disappointed)... I must say though the exterior is fresh and different, especially for a MB and thats a good thing. Mercedes cars are starting to look to much alike and share too many designs (exterior features).
The interior is another thing.... I feel they used to much of the "E" in the design (parts too) and didn't give it enough of its own "personality". Dispite this I still like the car very much and I'm looking forward to seeing it on the road soon.

cte430

Don't like it

alewifebp

Saw it in person, and really did not like it that much. The interior copies a little too much from the E. And I still can't get over them calling a four door car a coupe.

See: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=coupe

glojo

They are certainly not the only ones. A neighbour has a brand new Bentley Continental?? (I think that is what they call it) I was amazed at how ugly it is. Not only ugly, but for a Bentley it is SMALL. These photographers would no doubt make a dwarf look like Rambo!

Unfortunately the CLS does not fill me with enthusiasim.

Regards,
John

wobbles

For the kind of money a CLS would be asking in Singapore (probably close to 1/2 a million smackaroos), I'd get an E55.

Now THAT (the E%%) is a real car...

vitaman

Saw it a few months ago at the Love Mercedes Tour. I found it visually engaging, far more so than most cars. I really liked the exterior and the interior....really everything about it except for the size. Had they made it slightly smaller than the E I would have put my deposit down on the spot.
The car really draws a crowd and unlike the new BMW's the crowd does not look puzzled and green around the gills.

khaug

Saw two while in Stuttgart to pick up our CDI this September, one at the customer center delivery area, the other in traffic. IMHO, this is an absolutely stunning car. But beauty may be only skin deep, and I'm looking forward to sitting in one at the Detroit Auto Show next month.

Don't think I'll trade in our CDI for one in any event.

onpaws

The E interior isn't broken, so why fix it in the CLS =)
Same with C and CLK, and S and CL. Plus you know it's only us 5% MBenz owners that are annoyed with the same dash. =)

I think CLS will look great in certain colors and certainly shares alot of visual DNA with the CL in the back, I think.

It's a low risk proposition for Mercedes to try out innovative designs (most components shared already). Why not!

shoes

I have seen the CLS many times in person, since I picked up two cars in Germany this year, once in May and again in October. On my second trip, I drove the CLS500. The driving experience is virtually identical to driving an E Class but the CLS design forces many functional trade offs like:

1. Getting into the back seat requires some gymnastics if you are taller than 5 feet.
2. Visibility is restricted looking back to the rear quarters.
3. The chopped look that is so popular now gives you the feeling of being encased by your vehicle.

I was attracted to German cars because of their engineering and functionality. To me, the CLS is a less functional E Class. Worse than that, the design seems derivative of the Lexus ES. To me this is the first time a German car company seems to have copied Japanese design.

Give me an E!

Rudegar

I don't like the look of the CLS at all. It has a "gangsta" look to me. Alternatively it has a 20's Chicago "gangster" look. Something retro about it. Like a deuce coupe or something. The compressed window line is not attractive to me. Anyway, I left BMW over styling. I think the CLS is a brave but potentially polarizing design. I assume its not a design direction like BMW Bangle-butt, but rather a one-off design. We shall see....

W211 Ryda

The CLS is starting to grow on me. Hated the body lines at first, but starting to like it as I see more pics of it. Would I trade in my E for a CLS? Hell no!

Brav

Id have a hard time picturing myself behind the wheel of that car. No masculinity. The E is on the balance point as it is as far as that goes (for a 23 year old male). It has an interesting style, but I think execution could have been better. Headlights are bangle-esque. Looks like its trying to rip off the Phantom with that long curiving line on the size. Car just looks to stuck up.

SAguirre

Too early to really say!

Too early to tell. For example, I love the W211. It is probably the best looking MB ever made (INHO). However, if you sometimes look at the car from a strange angle, the W211 looks strange!

I have not seen a CLS in person, but I have seen a Maybach in person a few times. I think that they might be trying to look more like a Maybach. I also wonder if the CLS will age badly since it is so bold in style. MB does tend to have timeless designs.

Steve

Incendiary

Aesthetically, the CLS seems fine to me. It's definitely supposed to have a more sexy, curvy, feminine, Italian car look to it, and in that I think it succeeds. My concern lies not with the exterior styling, but more with the purpose of its existence. I think MB is right to think that it will cannibalize some E-class sales. Why have it in the first place? It's being slotted between the E and the S-class, but who is their target? It seems lately MB is just trying to come out with as many crossover and other types of vehicles possible to increase sales and recapture the luxury sales crown from Lexus and BMW. I wish they'd get back to the basics (3 sedan classes, big and small convertible, big and small coupe, one or two SUVs) and work on quality/rebliability. I have to admit, though, that some of the crossovers do please the eye, and I'm sure they are bringing in some new customers to the MB fold...

CALBenzo

Saw it at the luv tour. It's nice, but I like the looks of the E-class better. The rear of the CLS kind of reminds me of the older Sevilles (which I don't like).

DWP

You sort of answered your own question in the second sentence. The CLS is aimed at the customer, possibly but not necessarily female, who places a particularly high premium on style and lookin' good. Mercedes status is important to that customer, but not particularly Mercedes engineering. The CLS doesn't differ greatly from the E in its mechanicals, so apart from the level of standard equipment, the price premium reflects the emotional, esthetic, factor. You could say the same about several M-B models - the CL and CLK come to mind - but the CLS has four doors. That's important to a segment of style-conscious buyers, such as high-end Realtors who carry clients around in their cars.

And, of course, the look-at-me styling of the CLS is an image-redefiner for the entire Mercedes sedan line; a lot of potential customers probably haven't internalized the recent redesigns of the sedan line and still think of Mercedes sedans as dowdy. It's the "halo effect"; Chevrolet has the Corvette, Dodge has the Viper, VW has the Phaeton (and probably wishes it didn't) and Mercedes has the CLS.