Gear Sports

Vehicle Tested:
2007 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class 2dr Coupe
First Impressions:
It’s not as athletic as a BMW 6 Series and less eye-catching than the Jaguar XK, but the Mercedes-Benz CL550 delivers the luxury end of the equation so well, you’ll forget about the rest.

Hutzenlaub is right about the previous-generation CL500. Its exterior design was understated to the point of being forgettable. The fact that it was an otherwise flawless coupe wasn’t always enough. Now that Hutzenlaub’s team has given the new CL550 a more memorable shape, all the engineers had to do was keep up.

Big car, small streets
The engineers at Mercedes-Benz rarely get left behind at anything, so it’s no surprise that the CL550 feels just about perfect a half hour into a drive on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The narrow, shoulderless streets make the car feel massive, mostly because it is. At 199.4 inches in length, this new CL is 3 inches longer, nearly an inch taller and slighter wider than the previous model. Those numbers put it about 9 inches longer than a BMW 6 Series and only about 5 inches shy of the S-Class sedan.

Weight is up, too. At 4360 pounds, the CL550 is more than 500 pounds heavier than the 650Ci and has nearly 700 pounds on the Jaguar XK. Program Chief Hans-Dieter Multhaupt says the extra pounds come from additional safety equipment, more interior features and the bulked-up hardware needed to give the CL even better performance.

The biggest chunk of that hardware is Mercedes’ new 5.4-liter V8 and the seven-speed automatic transmission that goes with it. Together they shave nearly a second off the previous CL’s 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds, according to Mercedes. Sending 382 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque through the rear wheels, the new engine is one of Mercedes’ cleanest, most fuel-efficient V8s ever, while the gearbox not only offers seven speeds, it also has three shift programs: Comfort, Sport and Manual.

Adjustable transmissions are nothing new, but in this CL the system is integrated with Mercedes’ second-generation Active Body Control (ABC) suspension which is now standard. Going from Normal to Sport not only gets you more aggressive shifts, it stiffens up the adjustable struts and quickens the engine’s throttle response. Manual mode delivers even quicker shifts and gives you full control of the gearchanges through steering-wheel-mounted buttons. Throttle and ABC settings remain the same.