2023 Mercedes CLE Coupe Review
The Mercedes CLE has arrived on Irish shores.
Mercedes replaces two coupes with one — but is the sleek new CLE still relevant in the modern motoring age?
Review
Pros: great looking inside and out, roomier than you’d think, good to drive
Cons: lacks the style of the old E-Class Coupe
Mercedes-Benz CLE Design
The new CLE seems almost shockingly low and lean when you first approach it. It’s not, really —it’s about saloon height, but we’ve become so conditioned to expect an SUV or a crossover these days that a simple two-door coupe such as this somehow seems strange. Style-wise, the CLE looks very much like the C-Class saloon on which it’s based. While it’s about the same size as the outgoing E-Class coupe — for which the CLE is a replacement, as well as replacing the old C-Class Coupe — it looks much more C-Class-like, especially around the headlights and the low-set grille. At the rear, the way the pillar runs from the back of the roof into the rounded shapes of the boot is also very reminiscent of the old C-Class Coupe. It’s a very handsome car, but we have one small regret — unlike the old E-Class Coupe, the rear side glass is fixed in place, so you can’t wind down all of the windows for a pillar-less driving experience on a sunny day. Ah well, we’ll just have to wait for the convertible CLE which arrives next April.
Mercedes-Benz CLE Interior
As with the exterior, you’ll find a lot of familiar C-Class touches when you sit into the CLE. The rounded off air vents that top the dashboard, for example. The 12.3-inch digital driver’s display and the 11.9-inch central touchscreen, which reclines on the centre console and which, in the CLE, is angled slightly towards the driver. The compact steering wheel with its split spokes, covered as they are in touch-sensitive buttons. All of these are lifted more or less unchanged from the C-Class saloon, but that’s not really a criticism.
True, the interior doesn’t have the same sense of space and airiness as you would have found in the old E-Class Coupe, but overall build quality is excellent, and the seats in the front are as comfortable and supportive as you’d expect. What about the back seats, though? Well, for all of the C-Class look and feel to the CLE, it’s actually slightly larger than the old E-Class Coupe on the outside, and the wheelbase of the two cars is about the same too. A long wheelbase makes for a roomy cabin, and the CLE’s rear seats are pretty useable. True, headroom is not generous, but if the front seat passenger moves their seat forwards just a little (which won’t impinge on their legroom all that much), then the seat behind them becomes usefully spacious. Certainly, three adults can travel in relative comfort — just don’t put your tallest passenger in the back, is all.
The boot is useful too at 420 litres, which perhaps isn’t massive, but it’s certainly big enough for luggage for a week away, or a serious run through the January sales.
Mercedes-Benz CLE Performance & Drive
It seems increasingly likely that the CLE will be the last new car that Mercedes launches based around a combustion-engined lineup. By 2030, Merc expects that it will be an entirely electric brand in Europe, and investment in new combustion engines will cease after 2025. So the CLE — which launches with a range of 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre straight-six engines, all turbocharged and fitted with mild-hybrid assistance — is pretty much the last new combustion-engined Mercedes, ending a lineage that stretches back to the original Benz Patent Wagen of 1886.
You won’t be able to buy a fully-electric CLE, but starting next April you will be able to buy a plug-in hybrid model, which will use the same setup as the C 300 e PHEV, meaning you’ll get a battery big enough for a circa-110km range on a full charge. In the meantime, we tested the CLE 220 d, which uses Mercedes’ long-serving 2.0-litre turbodiesel with 197hp and 440Nm of torque. Its CO2 emissions are kept to a reasonable 123g/km, and it serves as a reminder of the sheer promise that diesel power once held — good performance, excellent economy, relatively low emissions — before the emissions scandal and the climate crisis overtook everything.
In performance terms, it’s nothing too thrilling, with a 7.5-second 0-100km/h time, but thanks to the healthy torque figure, and the fact that the mild-hybrid electric motor can chime in with an extra 205Nm when needed — the CLE feels decently muscular once you’re up and running. Refinement is good too, even if there’s a bit of a diesel rumble on a cold start.
As power is sent to the rear wheels, the CLE feels inherently well-balanced to drive, with light but quick steering and a sense of fluidity to the way it corners. It’s not quite as much of a driver’s car as the rival BMW 4 Series, but it’s well ahead of the ageing Audi A5 in that respect. The ride quality can feel a bit too firm around town, but it gets much smoother once the speed picks up.
Mercedes-Benz CLE Pricing
The CLE comes as standard in AMG-Line specification, so you get 18-inch alloys and an AMG body kit that’s more subtle than you might expect. Standard equipment includes a blind spot monitor, ambient lighting, keyless entry and ignition, parking assistance with reversing camera, and wireless phone charging. Prices start from €73,215 for this CLE 220 d model.
Carzone Verdict
You’d have been forgiven for thinking that traditional two-door coupes were an extinct species, but thankfully Mercedes — along with BMW and Audi — is keeping the dream alive just a little longer. The CLE looks great and is both relaxing and rewarding to drive. Does diesel make it feel a little old-fashioned? Yes, a bit, but if you have lots of long journeys to do it still makes some sense.