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Spoiler - the 4 Series is going to have trouble against this one! The new #CLE Coupe is a gorgeous replacement to both C Coupe and E Coupe in the #MercedesBenz line up! This alongside the new AMG GT, are now the only 2 door coupes the company sells — so they have a lot of burden on them as the only options available.

The CLE starts things off on the right foot, with a gorgeous design taking more from #mercedes’ sporty coupe heritage, rather than the “pillar less” luxury coupes of the part, and thanks to it’s muscle it almost looks like a w205 C63 coupe — and that’s just the standard car!

Then the powertrains, again we’re off to a great start - this is the CLE 450, with an inline 6 Cylinder engine, and 4matic all-wheel-drive! The CLE sounds good with this engine, particularly when you active the internal sound experience called “progressive sport mode”, which magnifies the engine sound for the interior occupants! I’ll show you this later, you’ll love it! This produces 381BHP and a 0-60 of 4.4 seconds.

The CLE has to satiate both C Coupe and E Coupe customers — for C Class fans, it’s still a sporty and dynamic car, but with much more tech, luxury and refinement than it’s ever had before, including things like rear wheel steering (the only one in class!), massaging seats, and adaptive sport suspension. For the E Class fans, you get a car as big, or larger than the previous both outside and in - and tech that largely reflects what you get in the new W214.

But, for the most part, the CLE really looks more like a C Class rather than the new E Class, but that’s not a bad thing in this journalist’s opinion. It’s nice to see that it’s not bloated in weight vs the rivals too, with the CLE weighing in at around 1900KG, it matches the 440i xdrive.

Mercedes once tried this with the CLK in the past, but the build quality then as not up to scratch — and now technology has come far enough that a car can be both sporty and luxurious without sacrificing on either! Indeed both BMW and Audi have also employed this strategy successfully with both the 4 series and A5, so it makes sense.

Engines wise, we will also get a host of 4 Pots ranging from 200HP in the CLE 200 and 220d to 258HP in the CLE 300. Plug ins are coming later, expect them to match the current C and E. There is a Cabriolet too, but this doesn’t benefit from the plug ins, not rear wheel steering.

What about the AMGs then? There are enough spy photos and videos to now make an educated guess on these! Firstly, I think the entry level model will be a CLE 53, and I think it’ll use a new AMG 6 cylinder unit, probably getting close to 500BHP. As for CLE 63, I think it will have the 4 cylinder battery/combustion hybrid like the C63, likely producing 680BHP in a 2.2 tonne thing. The great thing from what I can see however - is that they both seem to share the wide body AMG design! Which means if you only want the emotional 6 cylinder entry level car, you’ll still get the full design experience!

Today however is the first test drive of the new CLE - so I really want to see how a standard Mercedes Benz will stack up in the modern age against excellent cars available at rival houses. Will we have to rely on an AMG to have fun, or is this standard car good enough to put a smile on my face? Let’s find out. :)


Up next on on RBR is the new E Class All Terrain review, SL55 and 63 and MUCH MUCH More!! Subscribe to support us and see them first. :)

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Driving disclaimer:

Please note all driving shots have been filmed either by professionals in a safe environment, or sped up for dramatic effect, or on closed roads. Please drive safely!