Mercedes CLS Started the Four-Door Coupe and Added a Fifth Seat in 2018

The Mercedes-Benz CLS had four seats, less legroom, less headroom and a smaller boot than the E-Class it was built on, and it cost more. By every ordinary measure of practicality it was a step backwards, and it created a whole segment. Volkswagen answered with the CC in 2008, then the Porsche Panamera and the Audi A7 followed in 2009.

The CLS has since run through three generations, the C219, the C218 and the C257. Across them it kept the sloping roofline, but the seat count, the drivetrain choices and the available body styles all changed.

The first four-door coupe: the Mercedes CLS and the C219

The first CLS-Class was a fastback, a body style that Mercedes marketed as a four-door coupe. It was produced between 2003 and 2010. Mercedes was the first manufacturer anywhere to offer the style, and the C219 totalled only 170,000 cars worldwide before the C218 took over in 2011.

In the Mercedes range it sat above the E-Class in price but below the S-Class, which made it a premium alternative to the saloon it was built on rather than a replacement. The design patents were filed on 24 July 2002, and the idea was previewed by the Vision CLS concept shown at the 2003 Frankfurt show. A fastback is a body whose roof slopes in one unbroken line down to the tail, and here a coupe-style roof was fitted to a four-door body to achieve it. The production CLS 500 debuted at the 2004 New York show.

Mercedes CLS C219 platform and technology

Underneath was the W211 E-Class platform, with the same engines, transmissions and wheelbase of 2,854 mm (112 in). The CLS was 95 mm (4 in) longer, 51 mm (2 in) wider and 27 mm (1 in) lower than the saloon. Mercedes claimed a 30% stiffer suspension and faster steering. Technology included cornering lights, the electrohydraulic Sensotronic Brake Control (SBC), a seven-speed 7G-Tronic automatic and a turbo-diesel producing 197 kW (268 PS; 264 hp) and 560 Nm (413 lb ft).

Standard equipment covered heated, automatically dimming mirrors, rain-sensing wipers and automatic climate control. Seatbelts and airbags were linked to a sensor system that could detect and react to a crash. Buyers could add self-cleaning bi-xenon headlamps, radar-guided cruise control, keyless go, satellite navigation and AIRMATIC air suspension, which the driver could raise or lower by 76 mm (3 in).

CLS 55 AMG and CLS 63 AMG

The CLS 55 AMG, shown at the 2004 Paris show, used a 5.4-litre supercharged V8 making 350 kW (476 PS; 469 hp) and 700 Nm (516 lb ft). It added 360 mm brake discs with eight-piston callipers from the SL55 AMG, wider 18-inch wheels, stiffer AIRMATIC suspension with several driving modes, AMG bodywork and a five-speed automatic.

In 2006 the CLS 63 AMG replaced it. Its 6,208 cc M156 V8 produced 383 kW (521 PS; 514 hp) and 630 Nm (465 lb ft), slightly less torque than before to suit the new AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic. That gearbox has comfort, sport and manual modes, and sport shifts roughly 30% faster than comfort and 50% faster than manual. The car was limited to 250 km/h (155 mph), reached 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and weighed 1,870 kg (4,120 lb).

Special editions and updates

Two limited editions stand out. The CLS 55 AMG IWC Edition of 2006, made with the Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen, came with special badging and an IWC Ingenieur watch, and only 55 were built. The CLS Grand Edition of 2009 was produced in just 560 units on non-AMG models. The CLS 350 CDI gained 38 kW (52 PS; 51 hp) and 50 Nm (37 lb ft), and the cars had titanium grey 18-inch wheels, laurel wood trim and a choice of designo leather.

The 2006 model year renamed several models: the CLS 350 became the CLS 350 CGI, the 55 AMG became the 63 AMG, and in the United States and Canada the CLS 500 gained a 5.5-litre engine and the name CLS 550. SBC was dropped. A facelift in 2008 brought restyled bumpers and mirrors, LED tail-lights, a grille with two louvres and squarer tailpipes. Inside came the COMAND APS NTG 2.5 system and a new three-spoke steering wheel. The CLS280 joined the range and the CLS 63 AMG got a black grille and 19-inch wheels.

It was less practical than the E-Class it was based on, and it created a segment.

Mercedes CLS C218 vs C257: what changed

Mercedes sold the C218 from 2011 to 2017, and the C257 replaced it in 2018. The shared thread is the E-Class. The C218 used the chassis and most of the technology of the W212 E-Class, and the C257 is built heavily on the W213. The two cars differ most in seating, drivetrain and body styles.

C218: Shooting Brake and 4MATIC

The second-generation design came from the F800 Style concept shown at the 2009 Geneva show, which had a touchpad interface, cues from the SLS AMG and sliding rear doors. The production car was unveiled at the 2010 Paris show and kept the E-Class rear multi-link suspension. Production started in January 2011, with 4MATIC models on sale from September.

Two things were new. First, 4MATIC all-wheel drive, Mercedes' name for its four-wheel-drive system, could be ordered on every model, the CLS 63 AMG included, which the earlier generation could not match. Second, there was a body style that did not exist before: a five-door estate called the CLS Shooting Brake. The term is an old coachbuilding phrase for a sporting estate. Mercedes announced it in June 2012, based on a concept shown at Auto China 2010, and it went on sale that October in all-wheel-drive and AMG forms. It was not sold in the United States.

Standard equipment included bi-xenon headlights, 18-inch wheels, dual-zone climate control, a power sunroof and satellite navigation with a 10GB hard drive. Safety kit covered anti-lock brakes, stability control, active head restraints, 10 airbags in total, driver fatigue detection and lane departure warning. AIRMATIC suspension, traffic sign recognition and a reversing camera were optional.

CLS 63 AMG in the C218

The CLS 63 AMG went on sale in March 2011 with a 5.5-litre bi-turbo V8 making 386 kW (518 hp) and 700 Nm (516 lb ft). It came with an AMG SpeedShift MCT seven-speed transmission, a front track 24 mm (1 in) wider and larger 360 mm ventilated and perforated discs. An Edition 1 was sold in the first year, and a Performance Package added 24 kW (32 hp) and 100 Nm (74 lb ft), which brought the 0-60 mph (97 km/h) time to 4.1 seconds.

From April 2013 the range produced 410 kW (550 hp) and 720 Nm (531 lb ft), and the Performance Package gave way to the CLS 63 AMG S, with 4MATIC as standard and a rear locking differential. The Shooting Brake version of the S arrived in June 2013.

2014 facelift

The facelift for model year 2015 added a new front end, with a diamond-pattern grille on AMG package cars, MULTIBEAM LED headlights, slightly darker tail-lights, a new steering wheel and a free-standing 8-inch COMAND APS display. Diesels dropped the BlueTEC name, so the CLS 350 BlueTEC became the CLS 350d, and the CLS 400 and CLS 220d were introduced. A nine-speed 9G-TRONIC automatic became standard on every model except the CLS 400, which received it in 2016. Both the saloon and Shooting Brake were built at Sindelfingen. The C218 won awards including a 2010 Golden Steering Wheel, the 2013 Auto Zeitung Design Award for the Shooting Brake and the 2016 cars.com Luxury Car of the Year.

The C257 CLS: five seats and a 48-volt boost

Details of the C257 appeared online on 29 November 2017, and the car was shown in public at the Detroit show in January 2018. It is the third generation, available only as a saloon, and Mercedes has no near-term plans for a Shooting Brake. The biggest change is that it seats five, where the previous two generations seated four.

The suspension has four links at the front and five at the rear, and customers choose between rear-wheel drive and 4MATIC. The CLS 53 4MATIC+ has variable all-wheel drive that shifts torque between the axles, and an electric motor that adds 16 kW (21 hp) and 249 Nm (184 lb ft) while also powering the 48-volt on-board system.

Variable all-wheel drive means the car is not locked into a fixed split between front and rear. Instead it can shift torque between the axles. The 48-volt system is a second, higher-voltage electrical network that lets a compact motor help the engine and run power-hungry equipment without straining the car's ordinary low-voltage circuit.

LED headlights, 18-inch wheels, ambient lighting, lane keeping and speed limit assistance are standard. Built-in LTE connectivity gives access to Mercedes me online services, including concierge help and remote control of the car. Air suspension and a widescreen cockpit made of two 12.3-inch displays are optional, and the AMG line adds styling, a diamond-pattern grille, 19-inch wheels and a flat-bottomed steering wheel.

Mercedes CLS generations compared

Choosing between the generations

The differences between the three cars are practical ones. The C219 is the car that carries the original compromise: four seats, and less legroom, headroom and boot space than the W211 E-Class it is based on. Its Sensotronic Brake Control, an electrohydraulic braking system, was discontinued in 2006, so later cars have a more conventional set-up. The CLS 55 AMG and its 350 kW supercharged V8 gave way to the 383 kW CLS 63 AMG with a seven-speed gearbox the same year.

The C218 widened the choice. All-wheel drive, a Shooting Brake estate and a nine-speed automatic after the 2014 facelift all arrived during its life, and the AMG ladder went from 386 kW to 410 kW. Its diesels carry the d suffix from the 2015 model year. The C257 moves in a different direction, with a fifth seat, a 48-volt electrical system supported by an electric motor on the CLS 53 and always-connected services through Mercedes me.

No Shooting Brake is planned for the C257

Mercedes has no plans in the near future to add a Shooting Brake to the C257, the third generation. That leaves the estate body as a feature of the C218 alone.