Mercedes’ CLS63 is basically an E-Class with a far more tapered, sportier body but with less room inside, and in AMG trim, it ends up costing almost $7,000 more. MotorTrend’s latest review of it tries to find reason behind its purchase over that of the regular sedan, weighing in its pros and cons.
Handling is said to be pretty much identical between the two, and reviewer Carlos Lago is keen to point out that the steering feels very particularly nice and allows for good placement on the road. However, he reports that the car doesn’t really feel that sporty on anything other than a straight road, where in S guise (with 577 hp on tap), it screams to sixty in 3.4 seconds.
Its figure eight and braking performance are also very impressive for a barge of its size and weight, though you can’t get away from physics and the car leans heavily in corners or squats onto its rear tires under really hard launches (the kind you need to achieve the aforementioned acceleration time…).
Not the sportiest of choices, then, but it has head-turning design and a surprisingly bubbly exhaust note for a turbocharged car; if you owned one you’d defend it to the death!
By Andrei Nedelea
